European football’s governing body, UEFA, is preparing to oppose plans by FIFA to expand the FIFA Club World Cup to 48 teams, according to reports from The Times.
FIFA has been considering expanding the tournament for some time, with discussions already taking place during the 2025 edition. Now the governing body is reportedly pushing to increase the number of participating clubs to 48 for the 2029 tournament, which is scheduled to be hosted by Spain and Morocco.
The move would mirror the expansion of the FIFA World Cup for national teams, which will feature 48 nations starting from the 2026 edition. FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently hinted that the next Club World Cup “could be larger” than the current 32-team format. Behind the scenes, FIFA is also believed to be interested in shortening the gap between tournaments and potentially making the competition a biennial event.
UEFA, however, is expected to strongly oppose both ideas. The European governing body believes that expanding the tournament or staging it more frequently would place excessive pressure on an already crowded football calendar that includes domestic leagues, international competitions and national team matches.
According to the report, many European clubs share UEFA’s concerns. A more frequent Club World Cup could further congest the schedule and increase the risk of injuries for players. Expanding the number of participating clubs would also lengthen the tournament itself, adding to the workload.
UEFA is also reportedly against increasing the number of European teams in the competition beyond the current 12 slots and would oppose allowing more than two clubs from the same European country to participate.
While FIFA views large global events as essential to sustaining football’s economic growth, UEFA insists that protecting players’ physical and mental health must remain a priority. There is also another major factor: safeguarding the commercial and sporting prestige of the UEFA Champions League.
With both sides defending their positions, a quick agreement between FIFA and UEFA appears unlikely. As history has often shown, tensions between the two governing bodies tend to take time to resolve.