Restructuring FIFA (World Cup Qualifiers and Confederation Members)

NicCarBel · 2025-04-03T11:58:32+1100

I've had across a few of the qualification threads referring to how, if I had my way, would restructure FIFA (in terms of member make up and confederation structures) in relation to the World Cup and it's qualifiers. So figured having a central spot for all of this would be better (plus, it allows me to have more of a back up then my word doc, that I can access on my phone if I ever want to discuss with anyone).

I've essentially narrowed down to two options, where I've gone into a bit of detail about the members, qualification make up, etc below. But, the TLDR of the two options are:
OPTION 1: AFC absorbs OFC, and then splits into 'East + Oceania' and 'West'; Some of CONCACAF goes into CONMEBOL to have more even members/distance; Some of UEFA goes into 'West Asia'
OPTION 2: AFC absorbs OFC, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL merge into one.

OPTION 1

Restructure of FIFA’s confederations and relevant qualifying paths for the FIFA World Cup.

OFC to be absorbed into AFC
AFC to split into two confederations:
Pacific Football Confederation (PFC) – OFC + East Asia
Central West Football Confederation (CWFC) – West Asia + small amount of countries from UEFA
CONCACAF and CONMEBOL to restructure to have roughly even member numbers and distance between furthest north-south

Updated member numbers for confederations (full members only)

PFC – 32
CWFC – 30
CONCACAF – 22
CONMEBOL – 23
UEFA – 50
CAF – 54

Updated member numbers for confederations (if all associate members became full members)

PFC – 35
CWFC – 30
CONCACAF – 25
CONMEBOL – 26
UEFA – 50
CAF – 56

New Slots for a 48 team World Cup:

PFC – 5 direct slots
CWFC – 5 direct slots
CONCACAF – 6 direct slots
CONMEBOL – 6 direct slots
UEFA – 16 direct slots
CAF – 9 direct slots
1 additional slot for the host confederation.

Qualifying paths – non-host cycles – based off current full members only:

PFC
- Round 1 (2 matches): Bottom 4 ranked nations playoff in a home-and-away tie, with the winners advancing to Round 2.
- Round 2 (10 matches): The top 28 ranked nations, plus the 2 winners from Round 1, are drawn into 5 home-and-away round robin groups of 6, with the winners of each group qualifying for the World Cup.
CWFC
- Final Round (10 matches): All nations drawn into 5 home-and-away round robin groups of 6, with the winners of each group qualifying for the World Cup.
CONCACAF
- Round 1 (2 matches): Bottom 8 ranked nations playoff in a home-and-away tie, with the winners advancing to Round 2.
- Round 2 (10 matches): The top 14 ranked nations, plus the 4 winners from Round 1, are drawn into 3 home-and-away round robin groups of 6, with the top 2 of each group qualifying for the World Cup.
CONMEBOL
- Round 1 (2 matches): Bottom 10 ranked nations playoff in a home-and-away tie, with the winners advancing to Round 2.
- Round 2 (10 matches): The top 13 ranked nations, plus the 5 winners from Round 1, are drawn into 3 home-and-away round robin groups of 6, with the top 2 of each group qualifying for the World Cup.
CAF
- Final Round (10 matches): All nations drawn into 9 home-and-away round robin groups of 6, with the winners of each group qualifying for the World Cup.
UEFA
- Final Round (10 or 12 matches): All nations drawn into 8 home-and-away round robin groups of 6 or 7 (6 groups of 6, 2 of 7), with the top 2 of each group qualifying for the World Cup.

OPTION 2

Restructure of FIFA’s confederations and relevant qualifying paths for the FIFA World Cup.

OFC to be absorbed into AFC
CONCACAF and CONMEBOL to merge and form the Pan-American Football Confederation (PAFC)

Updated member numbers for confederations (full members only)

AFC – 57
PAFC – 45
UEFA – 55
CAF – 54

Updated member numbers for confederations (if all associate members became full members)

AFC – 60
PAFC – 51
UEFA – 55
CAF – 56

New Slots for a 48 team World Cup:

AFC – 10 direct slots
PAFC – 12 direct slots
UEFA – 16 direct slots
CAF – 9 direct slots
1 additional slot for the host confederation.

Qualifying paths – non-host cycles – based off current full members only:

AFC
- Round 1 (2 matches): Bottom 14 ranked nations playoff in a home-and-away tie, with the winners advancing to Round 2.
- Round 2 (8 matches): The top 43 ranked nations, plus the 7 winners from Round 1, are drawn into 10 home-and-away round robin groups of 5, with the winners of each group qualifying for the World Cup.
PAFC
- Round 1 (2 matches) Bottom 6 ranked nations playoff in a home-and-away tie, with the winners advancing to Round 2.
- Round 2 (12 matches): The top 39 ranked nations, plus the 3 winners from Round 1, are drawn into 6 home-and-away round robin groups of 7, with the top 2 of each group qualifying for the World Cup.
CAF
- Final Round (10 matches): All nations drawn into 9 home-and-away round robin groups of 6, with the winners of each group qualifying for the World Cup.
UEFA
- Final Round (10 or 12 matches): All nations drawn into 8 home-and-away round robin groups of 7 (with one group of 6), with the top 2 of each group qualifying for the World Cup.

----------------------------------------------------------

Updated members list for each relevant confederation for OPTION 1 (PFC, CWFC, UEFA, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL)

PFC
- Japan
- South Korea
- Thailand
- China
- Malaysia
- Australia
- Vietnam
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Cambodia
- Myanmar
- Chinese Taipei
- North Korea
- Mongolia
- Macau
- Laos
- Brunei
- Timor-Leste
- Guam
- American Samoa
- Cook Islands
- Fiji
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Tonga
- Tahiti
- Vanuatu

CWFC
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
- Qatar
- Iran
- Uzbekistan
- Iraq
- Jordan
- Bahrain
- Oman
- India
- Turkmenistan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Tajikistan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Bangladesh
- Syria
- Maldives
- Palestine
- Bhutan
- Nepal
- Sri Lanka
- Afghanistan
- Yemen
- Pakistan
- Russia
- Georgia
- Kazakhstan
- Azerbaijan
- Israel
- UEFA
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- Faroe Islands
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Northern Ireland
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Ireland
- Romania
- San Marino
- Scotland
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- Wales
CONMEBOL
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Aruba
- Barbados
- Costa Rica
- Curacao
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Guyana
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
CONCACAF
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Belize
- Bermuda
- British Virgin Islands
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Montserrat
- Puerto Rico
- St Kitts and Nevis
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- United States
- US Virgin Islands

List of non-FIFA members (that are members of a confederation) and where they would be placed (OPTION 1 / OPTION 2)
- Northern Mariana Islands (PFC/AFC)
- Reunion (CAF)
- Zanzibar (CAF)
- Bonaire (CONMEBOL/PAFC)
- French Guiana (CONMEBOL/PAFC)
- Guadeloupe (CONCACAF/PAFC)
- Martinique (CONMEBOL/PAFC)
- Saint Martin (CONCACAF/PAFC)
- Sint Maarten (CONCACAF/PAFC)
- Kiribati (PFC/AFC)
- Tuvalu (PFC/AFC)

Welcome!

Restructuring FIFA (World Cup Qualifiers and Confederation Members)

NicCarBel

First Team Regular