The Expanded World Cup 48 Teams Format: Here's All You Need To Know

World football governing body, FIFA has announced that the 2026 World Cup will have 48 teams in 16 groups of 3 nations.

FIFA’s ruling council on Tuesday unanimously approved an expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026, with a format of 16 groups of three nations.

FIFA's new format will see European places at the competition likely to rise from 13 to 16.

It will also see lower ranked teams from Africa and Asia be able to take part in the prestigious competition as they could have as many as nine teams from each governing body. 

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino had made the enlargement of football’s most prestigious showcase a top priority since the beginning of his administration in February 2016.

According to ESPN FC:

Delegates were asked to vote on four proposals to change the existing format or stick with the current format of 32 teams. 

Infantino’s preferred option for change was for a 2026 competition featuring 16 groups of three, followed by a 32-team knockout, increasing the number of games from 64 to 80 but remaining inside a 32-day schedule. 

There were also options to have a 40-team tournament, with 10 groups of four or eight groups of five, but the only other 48-team make-up would see a 32-team one-game knockout round with the winners joining 16 already-qualified teams. 

With 80 matches instead of 64, FIFA forecasts $1 billion extra income from broadcasting and sponsor deals, plus ticket sales, compared to $5.5bn forecast for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

World Cup Q&A

Q: How exactly will the group stages work?

Each team plays twice in their three-team group. The top two advance into the last 32, which will be a knock-out stage.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has hinted that group matches ending in a draw could be decided by a penalty shoot-out, in order to stop sides playing for a result in a game to favour them both. 

There will be a total of 80 games under the new format. Currently, in the 32-team schedule, 64 matches are played overall.

But if a team finishes in the last four in the 2026 tournament, they will have played seven matches, the same number as a 32-team World Cup.

There were also options for the 37-member FIFA Council to vote for a 40-team tournament, with 10 groups of four or eight groups of five, but the only other 48-team proposal saw a 32-team one-game knockout round with the winners joining 16 already-qualified teams.

European places at the competition will likely rise from 13 to 16. Africa and Asia could have as many as nine teams each. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil they had five and four teams respectively. FIFA could decide by May how many entries each continent has.

Q:  What other impact will 48 teams have on the tournament? 

More teams means more games. 80 matches will take place at the 2026 World Cup, as opposed to the current total of 64. However, if a team finishes in the last four, they will have played seven matches, the same total as with the current format.

FIFA have also estimated that their profits would rise by around £520million with the expansion.

Q: Where will the 2026 World Cup be held?

It is not known where the tournament will be played yet, but with Asia and Europa barred from bidding as they host the next two events, the United States are expected to make an offer. They could either be sole bidders, or come forward with a joint proposal alongside Mexico or Canada.

With 48 teams naming squads of 23, there will be 1,104 players heading to the 2026 World Cup. That, and the increased number of fans that will travel to watch the competition which takes place once every four years, are all factors which will favour larger countries, such as the United States, hosting the tournament.

Q: Why did president Infantino want the World Cup expanded?

Infantino vowed to increase the number of teams competing in the showpiece event when he was campaigning to replace his disgraced predecessor, Sepp Blatter, at the helm of FIFA.

His proposal appealed to more of the 211 FIFA members, many of whom do not reach the tournament. Infantino initially spoke of increasing the number of competitors to 40, before raising it again to 48.

Confederations outside of Europe have felt disadvantaged with entries to the World Cup for many years.

That maiden edition of the World Cup which took place in 1930. It was hosted and won by Uruguay, and only 13 countries participate.

The World Cup expanded to 24 teams in 1982 in Spain before moving to its current 32-team version at France 1998.