Bhaichung Bhutia believes expanding the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams could improve India’s chances of qualifying for the tournament, but warned that such a move could come at the expense of the overall quality of the competition.FIFA is considering increasing the number of teams participating in the 2030 World Cup from the 48 teams that appeared in the 2026 edition to 64 teams. The proposal was officially presented by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) in April last year.
No decision has been made yet, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently said the governing body would consider the proposal after the ongoing World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Defending champion Argentina will face Spain in the final on Sunday in New York.The 2030 World Cup finals will mainly be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while the opening three matches will be held in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to celebrate the tournament’s centenary. Uruguay hosted the first FIFA World Cup in 1930.Speaking to news agency PTI, former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia said a larger World Cup would naturally give countries like India a better chance of reaching football’s biggest stage.
“From the point of view of an Indian football fan, I think it is a welcome step to have more teams. I am not saying India will qualify but India will have a better chance of qualifying if their number goes up to 64 from 48,” Bhutia said.At the same time, he stressed that expanding the tournament alone would not solve the problems of Indian football.“But this does not mean that the country does not need to do any work. We still have to improve our system, our structure, develop at the grassroots level, produce more players and bring more children to football.”Bhutia said India must first build a stronger football system and follow the example of countries that have consistently developed talent through youth football.“India needs to focus on qualifying for the U-17 and U-20 World Cups, then the senior team, only then we have a chance like what Uzbekistan and Morocco are doing. They (Uzbekistan and Morocco) qualify for the U-17 and U-20 World Cups regularly despite being small countries.”While Bhutia acknowledged the potential benefits for countries seeking to qualify, he also believes the tournament itself may lose some of its competitiveness if the number of teams increases further.“But yes, from the point of view of football fans in general across the world and the value and excitement of the World Cup, I think the quality of football will definitely go down if you have 64 teams playing in the World Cup,” the former India captain said.