FIFA ‘to expand’ 2029 Club World Cup to 48 teams | OneFootball

FIFA has virtually settled on enlarging the 2029 Club World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, a shift that could open the door for Boca to rejoin the elite after missing out in 2025.

The Guardian reports that FIFA has agreed a joint venture with European Football Clubs, a lobbying group, a commercial move that is set to accelerate expansion to 48 places late in the decade.

The rationale is primarily commercial, with more heavyweight clubs expected to lift the event’s value and ease the sale of TV and advertising rights. Pressure from Barcelona, Manchester United and Liverpool, who missed the 2025 edition, has also fed the push, mirroring the scale-up seen at the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Financial stakes are vast. The inaugural expanded edition saw the European champions earn about 115 million dollars, and a berth would deliver major income from a new global TV deal valued at one billion dollars with multiple streaming platforms.

For Boca, extra slots would likely make South American qualification less forbidding, yet the current Conmebol ranking picture is challenging. An early continental exit in 2026 left the club on just 10 points, well short of Brazil’s pacesetters.

With no room for error in the years ahead, Boca accept that continental form must improve sharply. To make this new mega event, they are almost obliged to win the Copa Libertadores in 2027 or 2028, or produce deep runs that haul them up the standings.

Source: LaNumer12.com.ar