FIFA president Gianni Infantino said FIFA is studying the possibility of extending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams.
He added in a sports conference that FIFA was also considering how Gulf states could help Qatar host some matches.
In November, the FIFA president renewed his concerns about Qatar's ability to host the 2022 World Cup, saying that as FIFA president he would be "very happy if matches could be held in some countries in the region."
"The chances of raising the number of teams participating in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 are a difficult challenge," he said, adding that the International Federation would make the decision in March (the date of the next FIFA meeting in Miami).
In recent months, the Confederation of South America has offered a proposal to apply this increase from the next World Cup in Qatar, which has been the subject of recent research between the parties concerned and is clearly supported by the Swiss president of the International Federation.
I think that increasing the number of teams in the World Cup to 48 is good for football, which is why we are doing so in the World Cup in 2026, "he said in an interview with media, including Agence France-Presse, Swiss city of Zurich.
"Can we do that starting in 2022? This is a difficult challenge, and we have to make the decision in March, the date of the next meeting of the FIFA in Miami," he said. "As FIFA president, I would be very happy if some matches could be held in some countries in the region."
But the FIFA president's plans, which he wants to implement in 2022, collide with the fact that Qatar is small and unable to absorb an event of this size, as revealed by confessions by Qatari officials about the plan to host the fans.
Despite Qatar's impressive picture of the world's preparations for the World Cup, the reality on the ground seems to be different, amid doubts that the Doha system could accommodate large numbers of fans between 21 November and 18 December 2022.
Qatar's largest hotel owner, Katara, recently announced the installation of 20,000 hotel rooms on cruise ships in the Gulf to host tens of thousands of visitors.
But worse, the plan also includes the construction of tents in desert areas close to the stadiums to host the World Cup.
This seems to have prompted the idea of other countries joining Qatar in hosting the 2022 World Cup, when he said: "We have to see if this is possible and feasible, we are looking at Qataris and our other friends in the region and we hope that will happen."
