A potential 48-team World Cup could involve 16 groups of three to kick off the tournament, a FIFA source told Agence-France Presse on Wednesday.
Already an established proponent of an expanded World Cup, president Gianni Infantino has reiterated his desire to introduce a new format for the 2026 edition.
The proposal was a major part of his campaign in the months before he was elected Sepp Blatter's successor.
And now he's beginning to act on that promise.
An increase in World Cup participants would give smaller nations a fighting chance of making the quadrennial festival of football.
But disputes over the ways in which FIFA would incorporate more qualifiers has complicated any expansion theory.
Infantino initially suggested a potential one-off playoff to determine the final 32 teams, 16 of which would earn automatic qualification as the highest-seeded countries.
That single-game scheme didn't gain much traction.
Infantino rejigged his proposal to include all 48 teams in the final tournament, with 16 groups of three.
Two teams from each group would advance, sending home the last-placed side after two matches.
A new round of 32 would then commence.
But Rob Harris of the Associated Press outlined a potential problem with such a change. Permutations would become even harder to work out - little would separate goals scored and goal difference - leaving FIFA to explore other potential add-ons like penalty shootouts.
Infantino is expected to present his ideas to the FIFA Council in January.
The World Cup has used the 32-team format since 1998.