Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
The recommendation will now be submitted for the ratification of the FIFA Council, whose next meeting is scheduled for May 9 in Manama, Bahrain, two days prior to the 67th FIFA Congress.
After Jan 10, when the FIFA Council unanimously decided on expanding the FIFA World Cup to a 48-team competition, FIFA, the confederations and the Member Associations engaged in a consultation process, which resulted in the proposal recommended by the Bureau of the Council. According to this proposal, the split of direct berths is as follows:
Slot allocation
AFC: 8 direct slots
CAF: 9 direct slots
CONCACAF: 6 direct slots
CONMEBOL: 6 direct slots
OFC: 1 direct slot
UEFA: 16 direct slots
The host country would also automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and its slot would be taken from the quota of its confederation.
In the event of co-hosting, the number of host countries to qualify automatically would be decided by the FIFA Council.
Play-off tournament for two remaining slots
The above allocation accounts for 46 of the 48 participating teams.
The proposal reviewed by the Bureau of the Council includes a play-off tournament involving six teams to decide the last two FIFA World Cup berths:
One team per confederation with the exception of UEFA + one additional team from the confederation of the host country.
Two teams to be seeded based on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. The seeded teams will play for a FIFA World Cup berth against the winners of the first two knockout games involving the four unseeded teams.
Tournament to be played in the host country(ies) and to be used as a test event for the FIFA World Cup.
Existing play-off window of November 2025 suggested as tentative date for the 2026 edition.
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