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FIFA voted to increase the number of teams at the World Cup from 32 to 46 starting from 2026, FIFA's press office announced.

“The FIFA Council unanimously decided on a 48-team World Cup as of 2026: 16 groups of 3 teams,” FIFA said on  Twitter.

The top two teams from each group will advance to a 32-team knockout round. The addition of 16 more teams will also mean that the number of games will rise from 64 to 80. But the competition will still take 32 days.

FIFA chief  Gianni Infantino came up with this proposal when he ran for the presidency last year. The 48-team tournament will feature more games to sell, more fans to engage and will provide additional profits.