Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia believes expanding the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams would improve India’s chances of qualifying, but he also warned that it could reduce the overall quality of the tournament.
FIFA is considering increasing the number of teams from 48 to 64 for the 2030 World Cup after South American football body CONMEBOL proposed the idea last year. No final decision has been taken yet, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently said the proposal will be reviewed after the ongoing World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The 2030 World Cup will be mainly hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will stage the opening matches to mark the tournament’s 100th anniversary.
Bhutia said a larger tournament could benefit countries like India.
“From the perspective of an Indian football fan, I think it’s a welcome move to have more teams. I’m not saying India will qualify but India will have a better chance to qualify if they increase to 64 from 48,” Bhutia told PTI.
However, he stressed that a bigger World Cup alone would not solve India’s football problems.
“But that doesn’t mean that the country need not do any work. We have to still get our system, structure, grassroots development right and produce more players, bring more kids to football.”
Bhutia said India should first focus on building strong youth teams before thinking about qualifying for the senior World Cup.
“India needs to focus on qualifying for U-17, U-20 World Cups, then the senior team. Then only we have a chance, like what Uzbekistan and Morocco are doing. They are qualifying for the U-17 and U-20 World Cups regularly despite being small nations.”
At the same time, the former India skipper admitted that expanding the tournament could affect its competitiveness.
“But yes, from the perspective of overall football fans across the world and the value and the excitement of the World Cup, the quality of football, I think, would definitely decrease if you have 64 teams playing in the World Cup.”
Bhutia also believes the Indian women’s team is more likely to qualify for a FIFA World Cup before the men’s side.
The 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup is expected to expand from 32 to 48 teams, giving more countries a chance to qualify. India are currently ranked 69th in the world and 13th in Asia in women’s football, while the men’s team is ranked 138th in the world and 26th in Asia.
The former striker said India must invest more seriously in women’s football to make the most of this opportunity.
“I think Indian women’s team has got much better chance than the men’s side to qualify for the World Cup. But we need to put in more interest in women’s football. The top-tier IWL (Indian Women’s League) has to have more teams, we need different leagues for different age groups, set up a lot of grassroots football program.”
He also called for better opportunities and support for young girls who want to pursue football professionally.
“We need to give women more opportunities and value. Otherwise, why would a girl child want to play football and make a career out of it? We have to help her to be completely professional playing football. Only then, the parents can see a great future for their children. That is definitely going to help the sport.”
