The Bureau of the FIFA Council has agreed on a proposed slot allocation for the FIFA World Cup as of the 2026 edition. But that wasn't a decision, just a recommendation which will now be submitted for the ratification by the FIFA Council, whose next meeting is scheduled for 9 May in Manama, Bahrain, two days prior to the 67th annual FIFA Congress. The Bureau of the FIFA Council, which comprises the FIFA president and the presidents of each of the six confederations, convened at the Home of FIFA in Zurich. Earlier this year, the FIFA Council unanimously decided to expand the FIFA World Cup participating teams to 48 instead of the current 32-team competition. Since then, FIFA, the confederations and the member associations had engaged in a consultation process which resulted in the proposal recommended by the bureau. According to the proposal, the split of direct berths becomes as follows: the Asian Football Confederation will receive eight direct slots, Africa nine direct slots instead of five, the CONCACAF received six direct slots and so does the CONMEBOL. Oceania is awarded only one direct slot, while UEFA receives 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. The allocation accounts for 46 of the 48 participating teams which means that there is still two remaining slots. The proposal reviewed by the bureau includes a play-off tournament involving six teams in order to decide those last two FIFA World Cup berths as follows: 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 or countries 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. The 2026 edition host nation has not yet been named. Traditionally, the former FIFA Executive Committee used to decide the organiser seven years before the scheduled event. It was the tradition until December 2009 when FIFA took an unprecedented decision and named two host nations for two future editions: Russia was named as host nation of the 2018 World Cup while Qatar was chosen host nation of the 2022 World Cup.
