The Fifa council confirmed on Tuesday morning that it had unanimously voted in favour of the new format, which will involve 16 groups of three teams that sees the top two qualify for a knockout round of 32.
The 211 member associates had five available options to choose from, with two 40-team plans, two 48-team plans and the current 32-team model, and have chosen to go with the 48-team option that will see 16 extra qualification spots created for the 2026 World Cup, which is likely to be held in North America.
The plans will see the total number of games increase from 64 to 80, although teams will still play a similar number of matches during the World Cup with the four semi-finalists playing seven games – the same as the current model.