UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has voiced strong opposition to a proposal to expand the FIFA World Cup 2030 to 64 teams, calling it a “bad idea” that could undermine the integrity of international football.

Speaking following the UEFA Congress in Belgrade, Čeferin criticized FIFA for not informing UEFA in advance about the initiative and expressed concerns over how such an expansion would affect European football’s qualification process.

“We were not consulted,” Čeferin said. “Jumping from 48 to 64 teams just devalues the qualifiers. With the current 48-team format, Europe already has 16 spots. If it goes to 64, that number increases, and suddenly the qualification stage means far less.”

FIFA, for its part, responded by saying the idea had been “raised spontaneously” and would still “require thorough analysis” before any decision could be made. The organization emphasized that no formal proposal has yet been tabled.

But within UEFA, there’s growing frustration over what some see as a unilateral move by FIFA that affects the global football calendar. The prospect of a 64-nation World Cup raises logistical, competitive, and commercial questions — particularly in a tournament that, from 2030, will already feature matches in multiple continents.

As tensions grow between the two governing bodies, the future format of the World Cup may be decided not only on the pitch, but also in boardrooms across Europe and beyond.