The 2030 FIFA World Cup is shaping up to expand again, from 48 teams to 64.

Supposedly, a one-time centenary*** experiment under serious consideration by FIFA.
The official line will be familiar: inclusion, opportunity, letting more of the world join the party.
In reality, it looks like another calculated step in turning football into an ever-expanding content and betting machine. More teams mean more matches, and more matches mean more broadcast slots, more sponsor activations, a lot more $ for gambling partners, and more revenue streams in an industry that already generates billions.
We saw the same logic with the UEFA Champions League reboot as it changed from pure group-stage thrillers into league-phase fixtures with a lot more matches, engineered for maximum profit.
The rhetoric was about "competitiveness" and "more games that matter" but the outcome was record income.
Do you remember the Joga Bonito era, those Nike campaigns that celebrated Ronaldinho's mischievous genius?
- That version of football was the best of all time.
Today's game, optimized by data, VAR, and relentless physical conditioning, often feels like it was designed in a boardroom before it was played on a pitch. The uncomfortable truth is that football's governing bodies have discovered the same truth as every other major sport: the marginal value of one more match, one more nation, one more narrative arc, outweighs the marginal loss in quality.
***talking about centenary, even though the hosts will be 🇵🇹, 🇪🇸, and 🇲🇦 you might be surprised to learn that 🇦🇷 is automatically qualified and will play their first match in Buenos Aires.
Reason given by FIFA: Centenary celebration.
So, yes. No matter what, it does feel like Argentina is FIFA's darling.