The 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico will feature 104 games, including a new round of 32 stage, with plans for three-team groups abandoned.
The finals will be the first to feature 48 teams, as the FIFA Council approved the format at a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda today.
Qualifiers are to be split into 12 groups of four rather than 16 groups of three as was initially proposed.
Group winners and runners-up, along with the eight best third-placed teams, would then advance to a last-32 stage.
In a statement, the global governing body said the four-team format would reduce the risk of collusion.
"Based on a thorough review that considered sporting integrity, player welfare, team travel, commercial and sporting attractiveness, as well as team and fan experience, the FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four with the top two and eight best third-placed teams progressing to a round of 32.
"The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams."
It is expected that the new format will not mean the tournament has a bigger overall 'footprint' than the 2014 and 2018 tournaments when preparation time is included, but the actual tournament is set to get longer, going up to 38 or 39 days for 2026 compared to 32 in 2018 and 2014.
The next men's World Cup final will be played on 19 July 2026.
The preparation period for 2026 between a player’s release and his country’s first match looks set to be around two weeks, double what was in place for the winter finals in Qatar last year but shorter than the previous two summer tournaments.
The thrilling end to the group phase in Qatar has persuaded FIFA to stick with four-team pools for the 2026 finals, while there had also been integrity concerns raised over three-team groups because teams would be unable to complete the group at the same time, raising the possibility of results being engineered.
The Council also approved the new men's and women’s international match calendars at the meeting.
The men’s calendar was fixed for the 2025 to 2030 period, with the major change being the introduction of a 16-day, four-match international window in late September and early October to replace the separate September and October windows which are currently in place.
The women’s international match calendar for 2024-25 features six windows as it does currently, with window types varying between the confederations.
The Council has also approved the establishment of a player welfare task force which will look at the implementation of mandatory, worldwide rest periods.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: "Our fundamental objective is to have clarity on this topic, and to have meaningful football matches while protecting the well-being of the players and recognising that many regions need more competitive football."
Chelsea and Real Madrid have secured places at FIFA's new-look, 32-team Club World Cup in 2025 after that competition’s access list was also approved by the Council.
Europe has 12 spots in the new tournament with the first four going to the Champions League winners in each of the four years leading up to 2025. Chelsea were European champions in 2021, with Real victorious last year.
Europe's other eight spots in the new Club World Cup will be awarded on a club ranking system over the four-year period leading into the finals.
Manchester City and Liverpool are currently second and third respectively in the UEFA club coefficient rankings, so could have a strong chance of qualifying.
However, the number of clubs per country will be capped at two, except where a country has more than two Champions League winners in the four-year period.
The new format us expected to be replicated every four years but FIFA said it is also looking to maintain an annual club competition from 2024.
This would involve the Champions League winners facing the team emerging from play-offs between continental champions from the other five confederations at a neutral venue.
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