UEFA to Request 16 World Cup Places From 2026

UEFA, the governing body of European football, will request 16 places at the expanded World Cup in 2026.

Europe currently receives 13 places under the current 32-team format, and will ask FIFA to award them three of the newly-introduced 16 places under the new 48-team competition.

The new-look tournament, which will see 16 groups of three take part in the first round, has been designed to hand continents outside the traditional superpowers of Europe and South America greater opportunity of qualifying for the world’s greatest footballing competition.

FIFA’s members voted unanimously in favour of World Cup expansion in January, with the overall number of games to rise from 64 to 80.

UEFA teams have won 11 of the 20 World Cup tournaments, including all of the last three editions.