미국이 피지, 뉴질랜드와 함께 2038년 월드컵을 개최하는 방안은 무엇일까요?

The successful bid to host World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico marked the first time football’s greatest show would be played across a continent, not in a country or two.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has overseen the growth of the World Cup to 48 teams, a number that not only threatened to weaken sustained interest in a mind-bogglingly large tournament of 104 matches but doesn’t provide a balanced bracket.

Talk of a 64-team centenary tournament in 2030 was repelled but the drive for expansion and the more logical format of a 32- or 64-team World Cup means it’s likely that 64 will be the next step.

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The World Cup could return to the United States as part of a bizarre transpacific bid

FIFA president Gianni Infantino (Image credit: Getty Images)

For now, 48 teams are more than enough. 104 matches already require multiple hosts and the first three-host World Cup in 2026 will be followed by another – indeed, technically a six-host World Cup – in 2030.

The 24th World Cup finals will be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. If two continents weren’t enough, there will be one centenary match apiece in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to mark 100 years since Uruguay held the first finals in 1930.

The World Cup can only be hosted in Oceania or CONCACAF in 2038 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Somewhat conveniently, the inclusion of three South American nations in the 2030 bid ruled out all CONMEBOL countries from hosting the World Cup in 2034. CONCACAF, CAF and UEFA are also excluded because of FIFA’s rotation policy, paving the way for Saudi Arabia.

But what’s next? With FIFA’s quest to host a tournament in Saudi Arabia achieved without much friction, where else in the world can possibly play host to this quadrennial football behemoth?

FIFA’s rotation dictates that there must be two tournaments between hosts from the same confederation. With the AFC joining the ‘out’ list in 2034, the only options left on the table are Oceania or a return to CONCACAF.

Or, if New Zealand pursue and succeed with a unique proposal, both. Given the sheer size of the challenge, it might be the only way to take the tournament to a new host in 2038.

It was reported last year that New Zealand does indeed want to host the World Cup and had looked at creative ways of making it happen. AFC members Australia can’t be a part of the solution.

Lumen Field in Seattle is a World Cup 2026 venue (Image credit: Getty Images)

“It’s clearly not realistic we could ever host one on our own,” New Zealand FA chief Andrew Pragnell told The Athletic. “They’re getting bigger and the capacity requirements are well known. But we are certainly capable of hosting a group and a couple of knockout games, so the key for us is partnership.

“Given the limited stadium sizes in the rest of Oceania, we have to partner.”

The Athletic reported that a coalition with the United States could be the key to a successful 2028 bid for New Zealand, with Hawaii potentially at the forefront of a bid whose American leg could otherwise be primarily based on the West Coast.

“Fiji, meanwhile, is also currently exploring building a stadium,” according to The Athletic. Fiji’s long-running strategy includes the construction of a World Cup-ready stadium, while Hawaii’s stadium evolution plans are already in motion.

However the final bid takes shape, it appears that FIFA would need to have some uncharacteristic flexibility in terms of stadium capacities and travel expectations between games.

What do you think? Is a transpacific World Cup an elegant solution to a problem of football’s own making? Let us know…