European Leagues reject Infantino’s 64-team World Cup proposal

The European Leagues (EUFL) have firmly rejected Gianni Infantino’s proposal to expand the World Cup to 64 teams, intensifying a growing dispute between European football organisations and FIFA.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and reported by RMC, the organisation said FIFA “should no longer be allowed to take unilateral decisions of this magnitude”.

The European Leagues said decisions of this nature were contrary to the interests of domestic leagues, clubs, players and supporters. Those groups, it added, were the foundation of the value and success of international competitions.

The organisation also presented the proposed World Cup expansion as part of the same approach FIFA had adopted with its plan to create a commercial company responsible for managing the commercial and operational rights to its competitions.

That project was recently abandoned after widespread opposition.

According to the European Leagues, FIFA gave the relevant parties no more than four weeks to consider the commercial-company proposal. It said there had been no meaningful consultation with leagues, clubs or players, despite those groups being likely to feel the greatest impact of such a decision.

The organisation warned that it could take further action, including boycotting any new FIFA competitions or future expansions of existing tournaments, unless the world governing body introduced major reforms.

Those reforms, it said, should focus particularly on governance and the way decisions are made.

The latest dispute comes as pressure continues to build on Infantino. The FIFA president has faced increasing criticism from several areas of world football following the collapse of his project to sell a stake in the commercial rights to FIFA competitions to private-sector investors.

In a separate development, former Portugal international Luis Figo joined the critics calling for Infantino to leave his position. In a message posted on X, Figo called for the FIFA president’s resignation and described his conduct as “low”, “deceitful” and “cowardly”.

The European Leagues had already taken action against FIFA two years ago, when it submitted a complaint to the European Commission. The organisation alleged that FIFA faced a conflict of interest because it combined the roles of regulator and commercial operator of its competitions.

The latest controversy also follows FIFA’s decision to increase the number of teams at the 2026 World Cup to 48. The plan to raise the field again, to 64 teams, appears to be facing stronger opposition.

Infantino is seeking to strengthen his position ahead of the FIFA presidential election scheduled for 2027.

The dispute has also been linked to a report that Infantino offered Morocco the opportunity to host a World Cup final in return for one service, described as a proposed “barter” arrangement. The claim was referenced in coverage of the widening disagreement surrounding the FIFA president.

The European Leagues’ statement represents the clearest rejection so far of the proposed expansion and signals that opposition could extend beyond public criticism if FIFA proceeds without major changes to its decision-making process.