By a Correspondent
Zimbabwe could receive a major boost in its long-standing quest to qualify the FIFA World Cup after FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed that football’s governing body will assess the possibility of expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams after the 2026 tournament.
The proposal, which would further increase the number of participating nations from the already expanded 48-team format, could significantly improve Zimbabwe’s chances of qualifying for the world’s biggest football tournament.
Infantino said FIFA’s vision is to make the World Cup more inclusive by giving smaller football nations a realistic opportunity to compete on the global stage.
“When organising a World Cup, it’s important to organise it for the whole world—not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world,” he said.
“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.”
For Zimbabwe, which has never qualified for a FIFA World Cup despite producing generations of talented players, such an expansion would represent renewed hope. The Warriors have repeatedly fallen short during African qualifying campaigns, where only a handful of nations traditionally secured places at the finals.
The expanded 48-team tournament, which debuts in 2026, has already increased Africa’s allocation from five places to nine guaranteed slots, with an additional nation able to qualify through an intercontinental playoff. FIFA says the wider representation has already demonstrated its value, with African teams performing strongly under the new format.
Infantino cited the success of the expanded competition as justification for considering an even larger tournament.
“At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa. That just goes to show how important it is to include all teams—to give them this opportunity to participate,” he said.
A 64-team World Cup would mean nearly one-third of FIFA’s 211 member associations could qualify, creating unprecedented opportunities for emerging football nations such as Zimbabwe.
The idea was formally proposed by South America’s governing body, CONMEBOL, in 2025, although FIFA has yet to make a decision. The governing body’s council is expected to review the proposal after the 2026 World Cup.
However, the plan has drawn criticism from several football leaders with president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Aleksander Čeferin, describing the proposal as “a bad idea”, arguing it would weaken both the tournament and the qualifying process.
Similarly, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa warned that further expansion could create “chaos”, while president of Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football Victor Montagliani said a 64-team tournament could damage the broader football ecosystem.
Supporters, however, argue that a larger tournament would make international football more inclusive while generating additional revenue that could be distributed to FIFA’s member associations, including the Zimbabwe Football Association to support grassroots football development.
While no decision is imminent, the prospect of a 64-team World Cup is likely to be welcomed by Zimbabwean football fans, who hope expanded qualification slots could finally see the Warriors reach football’s biggest stage after decades of near misses.
The Warriors’ closest and most famous chance of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup was during the 1994 qualifying campaign under the late legendary German coach Reinhard Fabisch.
The iconic “Dream Team” was just 90 minutes away from reaching the USA ’94 finals. They defeated continental powerhouses like Cameroon and Egypt, but heartbreakingly fell short in their final group-stage decider against Cameroon in Yaoundé, missing out on what would have been their first-ever World Cup appearance.
The “Dream Team” suffered a heart-breaking 3-1 deafeat to Cameroon on October 1993, at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaoundé, eliminating them from the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Needing only a draw to advance, Zimbabwe fell short in the decisive final group match amidst controversial officiating.
