FIFA Women's World Cup Expanding to 48 Teams Beginning with 2031 Tournament

FIFA announced Friday its plans to expand the Women's World Cup to 48 teams starting in 2031.

"This is not just about having 16 more teams playing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup but taking the next steps in relation to the women’s game in general by ensuring that more FIFA Member Associations have the chance to benefit from the tournament to develop their women’s football structures from a holistic point of view," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.

Infantino added that the move "ensures we are maintaining the momentum in terms of growing women’s football globally."

A 48-team field puts the Women's World Cup in line with the men's tournament. The 2026 World Cup will be the first to welcome 48 teams, up from 32.

More games inevitably means more revenue for FIFA and its individual federations, money that will get funneled down to the players.

However, some are likely to question the value of expanding the Women's World Cup for many of the same reasons that the idea of a 48-team men's event sparked criticism.

Matches in the group stage won't carry the same stakes when eight third-place finishers move on to the knockout phase. The gap between the best and worst teams in the World Cup is widening as well.

Exacerbating the second facet, women's soccer hasn't had as much time to build a broad infrastructure compared to when FIFA made 48 teams a reality on the men's side.

Whereas the men's World Cup dates back to 1930, the Women's World Cup was first staged in 1991. Established European powers such as England, Spain, and France only started to fully invest in their national teams within the last decade. Spain, which won the 2023 World Cup, didn't qualify for the first time until 2015.

Countries without prestigious domestic leagues or a successful men's national team are further behind the curve.

At the 2023 World Cup, Vietnam had a minus-12 goal differential in the group stage. The Philippines scored one goal and allowed eight in three matches. In Group C, Zambia and Costa Rica combined to earn three points with a minus-15 goal differential.

Even with the expected growth of women's soccer, lopsided games are bound to be more frequent at the 2031 World Cup.

Some may argue that's an acceptable cost if it ultimately yields more money that can be spent to help raise the standard of the sport, though.