FIFA President Gianni Infantino has proposed expanding the World Cup to 48 teams ©Getty Images

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has proposed expanding the World Cup to 48 teams - eight more than he originally suggested in his election manifesto.

Infantino said the change could come in for the 2026 tournament, with a final decision due to be made by FIFA’s ruling Council in January.

The topic is also likely to be discussed during the Council’s meeting in Zurich from October 13 to 14.

Under the plans, 16 of the 48 nations would exit the World Cup after one knockout round.

The remaining countries would then compete in the same format as the current tournament, with the 32 teams taking part in a group stage followed by a knockout phase.

"These are ideas to find the best solution, we will debate them this month and we will decide everything by 2017," Infantino said at an event at Bogota's Sergio Arboleda university in Colombia.

"They are ideas which we put forward to see which one is the best."

Infantino’s pledge to grow the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams was one of the standout proposals he made during his campaign for the top job at world football’s governing body.

The Swiss-Italian was elected to replace the disgraced Sepp Blatter in February and vowed to press ahead with the plans following his victory.

Gianni Infantino initially pledged to grow the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams in his election manifesto ©Getty Images
Gianni Infantino initially pledged to grow the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams in his election manifesto ©Getty Images

While groups such as the European Club Association rejected the idea, it would have gone down well with the Confederations, many of whom have often felt aggrieved at the amount of World Cup places they are given.

The idea was criticised last week by Germany manager Joachim Löw, who admitted he was fearful an expanded tournament would "dilute" the quality of the competition.

Almost a quarter of FIFA’s membership, which grew at the organisation’s Congress in May with the additions of Gibraltar and Kosovo, would compete at the World Cup if the plans are approved.

"The idea is that 16 teams would qualify directly to the group stage and the other 32 would play in a preliminary phase, in the country where the World Cup is being played - they would play for the remaining 16 places," Infantino added.

"It means we continue with a normal World Cup for 32 teams, but 48 teams go to the party.

"FIFA's idea is to develop football in the whole world, and the World Cup is the biggest event there is.

"It's more than a competition, it's a social event."

The host nation for the 2026 World Cup will be decided in May 2020.