The plans, put forward by South American governing body Conmebol, have also drawn opposition from Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The tournament will be hosted by Spain, Morocco and Portugal, after the opening matches are held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the United States, Mexico and Canada, has already been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.

But Conmebol said it wanted to add more participants to mark the competition’s 100-year anniversary.

“I don’t believe expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players,” Montagliani told ESPN.

“We haven’t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.”

Concacaf is the governing body of football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

The decision to expand the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams was taken in 2017 following a unanimous vote at a Fifa congress.

Fifa’s 75th congress will be held in Paraguay on 15 May, when Conmebol’s proposal could be discussed.

If the proposal is accepted, the 2030 edition would consist of 128 matches, double the number played under the 64-game format used from 1998 and 2022.

In March, Ceferin described the proposal as a “bad idea” while AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa said it would cause “chaos”.

“If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams,” said Salman.

“But someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams. Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.”

The GSS’s latest population projections for 2021 to 2050 indicate a marked rise in the number of inhabitants throughout the Greater Accra region.

As of 2024, Ghana’s total population is projected to exceed 33 million, a significant increase from 30.8 million in 2021.

The Greater Accra Region, in particular, is anticipated to see a substantial rise in its population, including a growing number of school-aged children, which is expected to reach 2.96 million by 2030.

The youth population aged 15 to 24 years is also set to nearly double in size.

Presenting the data, Deputy Government Statistician Dr. Faustina Frempong urged the government to address the rapid population growth in the Greater Accra region, which is characterized by its limited land area.

“Government needs to intervene in the exponential population growth in the Greater Accra region covering smaller land spaces,” she cautioned.

The purpose of these population projections is to provide valuable insights into the future demographic landscape, aiding policymakers, researchers, and the public in understanding potential changes.

The GSS emphasized that these projections are crucial for monitoring the progress of national, continental, and global development goals.

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