There’s a World Cup in a lot of sports—cricket, rugby, women’s soccer, and so on. I’m referring, of course, to men’s soccer, whose quadrennial event is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. Given that there are over 200 eligible entities, and only 32 make the competition, qualifying for the proceedings is no joke. Here’s World Cup qualification explained, using an awesome piece from Wikipedia as a guide.
The Basics
The highest governing body of international soccer (football) is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), operated as a non-profit organization based out of Zurich, Switzerland. As is the case for all such governing bodies, rules are fluid, and what’s written here is subject to change.
Below FIFA are six regional confederations (or subsidiaries) into which the soccer world is divided. These are the Asian Football Confederation (AFC); the Confederation of African Football (CAF); the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF); the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL); the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC); and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Here’s a great map—you’ll notice that studying the makeup of the six confederations is probably not the best way to have your kid learn continental geography.
As part of World Cup qualifying, the six confederations organize parallel tournaments—taking place over several years—to see which nations each confederation will send to the big event. A total of 31 teams get the nod, with the 32nd being the World Cup’s host nation. Below are a few more specifics.
A Bit More Detail
In terms of the exact format that each confederation uses for its respective tournament, if you would like to take that deep dive, I again encourage you to check out the Wikipedia article. The key take-home point is that in the mind of FIFA (and many others), not all of its subsidiaries are created equal, at least regarding soccer talent. As such, not every confederation is granted the same number of bids.
AFC
Of 47 member associations (including Australia!), 4 or 5 advance. The final number depends on the outcome of the inter-confederation playoffs below.
CAF
Of 54 members, 5 advance.
CONCACAF
Of 41 entities in the mix, 3 or 4 earn the invite.
CONMEBOL
Of the 10 participating nations (French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname are actually in CONCACAF), 4 or 5 move on.
OFC
With 13 eligible teams, the region sends 0 or 1.
UEFA
Of 55 members (including Turkey, Israel, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan), 13 advance.
Inter-confederation playoffs
To determine the last 2 qualifiers, the fourth-place team from CONCACAF plays the first-place team from OFC, and the fifth-best team from AFC plays the fifth-best team from CONMEBOL, with the winners rounding out the field.
Criticism
It’s safe to say that FIFA isn’t the most ethical organization, having made a habit of corruption, bribery, money laundering, and the like.
With trust for the operation not being particularly high, it follows that questions have been raised as to whether the allocation of World Cup bids has ulterior motives. Does the current process favor the haves—in terms of soccer and wealth—over the have nots, ensuring full stadiums, optimal revenue, and maintenance of the status quo? Along the same lines, is qualifying through Africa and Asia—together comprising around 75 percent of the world—too restrictive? Is qualifying from the Americas—particularly South America—too easy? And is the overrepresentation of European countries truly backed by on-field performance?
As of 2026, the World Cup will expand to 48 participating nations. While this expansion might alleviate some of the aforementioned concerns, FIFA’s track record suggests that new controversies are sure to arise.
With this general handle on World Cup qualification in your arsenal, feel free to go back to March Madness.
