The FIFA council has approved an expansion of the Men’s World Cup. Starting with the 2026 tournament, 48 teams will compete in sixteen groups of three teams each.

The qualifiers for the 2018 edition select 31 teams to join the host nation, but as of 2026, 50% more teams will survive the qualifying process. These teams will be allocated into sixteen groups, each comprising three teams. The top two teams in each group will advance to the elimination phase, which will include a new round of 32. The maximum number of matches to be played per team will remain at seven.

The move fulfills FIFA president Gianni INFANTINO’s campaign pledge to expand the Men’s World Cup. Negotiations to allocate the sixteen new places to the confederations are expected to begin in FEB 2017, and the bidding process to host the 2026 Men’s World Cup is expected to open in 2020.