MIAMI: The South American proposal for the 2030 World Cup to feature 64 teams has received a serious blow with CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani rejecting the idea.

The opposition of Montagliani, who heads the confederation for the 41 member associations in North and Central America and the Caribbean, follows similar stances taken by UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the first with 48 teams, up from 32 at Qatar in 2022.

Montagliani said increasing the size of the field again in 2030 would damage `the broader football ecosystem.

`I don`t believe expanding the men`s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues and players,` Montaglianitold ESPN.

`We haven`t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don`t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.

The 2030 World Cup is being hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with games also being played in Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil.

CONMEBOL, South American football governing body, made headlines earlier this month by calling for the expansion to 64 teams as the World Cup marks its 100-year anniversary.

A 64-team tournament would mean 128 matches, doubling the 64 played in Qatar in 2022.

`We are convinced that the centennial celebration will be unique, because 100 years only happen once,` CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez said earlier this month.

`And that`s why we are proposing, for the only time, to hold this anniversary with 64 teams, on three continents simultaneously.

`So that all countries have the opportunity to live a global experience, and so that no one on this planet is left out of this celebration which, even though it`s played everywhere, is our party.

On Saturday, AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa also expressed opposition.

`Personally, I don`t agree,` the Bahraini leader told AFP, adding the 2030 edition had settled on 48 teams `so the matter is settled`.

`If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams, but someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams, Sheikh Salman said on the sidelines of the 35th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur.

`Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin had called the proposal a `bad idea`.

It remains to be seen what stance the FIFA leadership will take on the idea but secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said the world body would `analyse` the South American proposal.-AFP