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This is a difficult question to answer.<\/p>\n
The notion of a 64-team tournament is almost unprecedented in top-level international sport, so it is difficult to cite any examples.<\/p>\n
Next summer’s expanded format is complicated enough, with the top two and best eight third-place finishers from 12 groups of four qualifying for the last 32.<\/p>\n
The obvious structure for a 64-team World Cup in 2030 would be for the top two from 16 groups of four to qualify for the last 32. Perhaps a bit tidier than next years?<\/p>\n
Should the proposal eventually be accepted, the 2030 edition would include 128 matches – up from the 64-game format played between 1998 and 2022.<\/p>\n
Next year’s World Cup will have 104 matches and will take 72 games \u2013 eight games more than an entire 32-team World Cup \u2013 just to get down to 32 teams.<\/p>\n
From the start of the 2026 tournament until the end of the last 16 there will be 96 games across 27 days, with no rest day.<\/p>\n
Just one of those days will feature a single match, and just two days will have only two matches. The remaining 24 days will feature three, four or even six matches.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the impact of another 16 teams joining the fray is rather mind-boggling.<\/p>\n
How would they fit in the extra matches?<\/p>\n
Fifa has already stated the 2030 finals will run from 8 June, with the final on 21 July, and the possibility of making the tournament longer would seem unlikely with the footballing calendar already more tightly packed than many would like.<\/p>\n
This would mean the need for more games per day in the group stages and thus extra stadiums would have to be considered.<\/p>\n
There have been suggestions Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay could host more games during these group stages.<\/p>\n
And what would the impact be on qualifying?<\/p>\n
For starters, it would be almost inconceivable that the world’s top football nations would not qualify for the World Cup.<\/p>\n
While Italy are currently preparing to sit out a third consecutive World Cup, such shock scenarios, which are all part of the drama, are hard to envisage should a 64-team tournament become a reality.<\/p>\n
Conmebol could already see a maximum of seven teams qualify for next summer’s event, and they would clearly want more members qualifying for an expanded tournament.<\/p>\n
All other continents would also be expected to have more qualifying spots, but the logistics around this are purely guesswork for now.<\/p>\n
The mere potential of a 64-team World Cup has raised plenty of questions – as well as eyebrows. Whether it gets off the ground or not remains to be seen, a matter for sporting and political power-brokers to figure out.<\/p>\n
This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything<\/i><\/a> team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n