An expanded World Cup field could be coming sooner than expected.

CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez submitted an official request to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to expand the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from 32 to 48 teams, according to The Associated Press.

Under current plans, the 2026 World Cup will serve as the debut for a 48-team competition.

Expanding the number of teams to 48 in Qatar would likely also require increasing the number of games played from 64 to 80. That's based on the current format for the 2026 World Cup in which there are 16 groups consisting of three teams each, as opposed to the contemporary model of eight groups containing four teams apiece. Those extra matches would likely be part of a new 32-team knockout round consisting of the top two teams from each group.

As it stands, CONMEBOL - the South American confederation consisting of 10 members - sends its top four teams directly to the World Cup via the qualification process, with the fifth-placed team competing in a two-legged, inter-confederation play-off. In a 48-team field, six South American nations would secure direct qualification, while a seventh-placed side would require a play-off round, as the FIFA Council decided in May 2017.