The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) Council have unanimously decided on a 48-team World Cup in 2026. This was confirmed on FIFA media twitter handle on Tuesday. The decision to increase the number of qualified teams for the 2026 World Cup was decided at the Council meeting held in Zurich and was attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

There will be 16 groups which will be made up of three teams each. "The FIFA Council unanimously decided on a 48-team #WorldCup as of 2026: 16 groups of 3 teams," FIFA media wrote on their Twitter handle. Prior to the FIFA Council meeting, notable names in world football like the legendary Diego Maradona, gave their backing for the increase of teams to 48. Presently, 32 teams with four teams in each groups feature at the World Cup.