Bhaichung Bhutia believes that the expansion FIFA World Cup to 64 teams could improve India’s chances of qualifying for the tournament, but warned that such a move may come at the cost of the overall quality of the competition.FIFA is considering increasing the number of teams in the 2030 World Cup from 48, which it presented in the 2026 edition, to 64. The proposal was officially presented by the South American football body CONMEBOL in April last year.No decision has been made, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino said recently that the governing body will examine the proposal after the ongoing World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Defending champions Argentina will face Spain in Sunday’s final in New York.The 2030 World Cup will mainly be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while the opening three matches will be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to mark the centenary of the tournament. Uruguay hosted the first FIFA World Cup in 1930.Speaking to news agency PTI, former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia said a bigger World Cup would naturally give countries like India a better chance of reaching football’s biggest stage.“From an Indian football fan’s perspective, I think it’s a welcome move to have more teams. I’m not saying India will qualify, but India will have a better chance of qualifying if they increase to 64 from 48,” Bhutia said.At the same time, he stressed that an extended tournament alone will not solve the problems of Indian football.“But this does not mean that the country does not need to do a job. We must always get our system, structure, the development of the base and produce more players, bring more children to football.”Bhutia said India must first build a stronger football system and follow the example of countries that have consistently developed talent through youth football.“India needs to focus on qualifying for the U-17, U-20 World Cups, then the senior team, then only we have a chance like what Uzbekistan and Morocco are doing. They (Uzbekistan, Morocco) qualify for the U-17 and U-20 World Cups regularly despite being small nations.”While Bhutia acknowledged the potential benefit for countries chasing qualification, he also believes the tournament itself could lose some of its competitive edge if the number of teams increases further.“But yes, from the perspective of football fans in general around the world and the value and excitement of the World Cup, the quality of football, I think, certainly goes down if you have 64 teams playing in the World Cup,” said the former India captain.