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 may come at the cost of the competition’s overall quality.FIFA is considering increasing the number of teams in the 2030 World Cup from 48, which featured in the 2026 edition, to 64. The proposal was officially put forward by South American football body CONMEBOL in April last year.No decision has been taken yet, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently said the governing body will examine the proposal after the ongoing World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Defending champions Argentina will face Spain in Sunday’s final in New York.The 2030 World Cup will be mainly hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while the opening three matches will be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to mark 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 perspective of an Indian football fan, I think it’s a welcome move to have more teams. I’m not saying India will qualify but India will have a better chance to qualify if they increase to 64 from 48,” Bhutia said.At the same time, he stressed that an expanded tournament alone would not solve Indian football’s problems.“But that doesn’t mean that the country need not do any work. We have to still get our system, structure, grassroot development right and produce more players, bring more kids 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 U-17, U-20 World Cups, then the senior team, then only we have a chance like what Uzbekistan and Morocco are doing. They (Uzbekistan, Morocco) are qualifying for the U-17 and U-20 World Cups regularly despite being small nations.”While Bhutia acknowledged the potential benefit for countries chasing qualification, he also believes the tournament itself could lose some of its competitive edge if the number of teams is increased further.“But yes, from the perspective of overall football fans across the world and the value and the excitement of World Cup, the quality of football, I think, would definitely decrease if you have 64 teams playing in the World Cup,” said the former India captain.
