We have just gotten out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the talks about the 2030 World Cup are already catching wind. But with the rumors around the 2030 World Cup, not everyone is happy with FIFA and Gianni Infantino.
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“Yeah, it’s getting ridiculous. mean, again, nobody’s thinking about the players. You know, we keep talking about there’s more games and more games for the top players. Expanding it is going to make even more games for the top players… but how do we stop this guy? Because it seems that nobody can stop him, and whenever he decides to do something, it’s done,” said Steve Nicol on ESPN.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup had barely finished, and FIFA is already considering expanding from 48 teams to 64 for the 2030 edition. The 2030 World Cup would mark the 100th edition of the FIFA World Cup, and Gianni Infantino thinks that more nations should get a chance.
But before talking about the games, there is another question that deserves more attention. It is whether soccer’s biggest stars can physically keep their fitness at the top level with such a hectic schedule.
That concern has grown because the modern soccer calendar already leaves players with very little room to rest before another season’s kickoff.
The League begins in August and goes on until late May, with the league, the UCL, and international friendlies in the middle. Many players like Yamal, Mbappe, and Haaland will be playing every weekend before returning for Champions League matches during the midweeks.
By the time the UEFA Champions League final arrives, many players would have crossed more than 50 games. Their club season ends, and just a couple of weeks later, there will be preseason friendlies, and then the new season will kick off again.
And the impact of having such a tight schedule has already started to show because we are seeing a lot of injuries to top players. We saw Saliba get injured during this World Cup, and he is going to miss around 5 months of game time. We also saw Yamal injure himself just before the World Cup started, and he couldn’t be the same player he was for Barcelona in the World Cup.
FIFA’s expanded 48-team World Cup already increased the game from 64 to 104 matches, going for six weeks. A 64-team World Cup would push the tournament closer to two months or even more and add another demand to the already tired players.
That would leave many players returning home with even less recovery time before another league campaign begins. But not all is bad because we will see small nations like Cape Verde step up, but is that more important than the players who are playing?
We have already seen Pep Guardiola and players like Rodri and Harry Kane talk about how the schedule is already very tight, and they are not happy with it. And adding an expanded World Cup to this schedule, we might start seeing players protest.
We all know that the main reason for this expanded World Cup is revenue, but risking players’ health for money is not something that will sit well in the sport. So, if FIFA wants to make more revenue, they will have to find an alternative.
