The Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions, chaired by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, made the announcement after a meeting at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich.

The increase in initial squad size is a result of feedback from coaches who attended a team seminar at the Russia 2018 World Cup draw in December.

This amendment, however, is still subject to approval by the FIFA Council who will meet in Bogota, Colombia, on March 16.

The deadline for participating World Cup nations to submit their 35-man release lists remains May 14 with the final 23-man list due on June 4 before the tournament kicks off 10 days later.

FIFA also said in a statement that "a great deal of work is going on behind the scenes to ensure that everything runs smoothly for all 32 participating teams [at Russia 2018], including the final selection of the team base camps and matchday operations in the 11 host cities".

FIFA have also announced updates on two women's World Cup tournaments.

The schedule for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, which will take place from June 7 to July 7 in nine host cities, has been announced with matches finalised at the draw in December 8.

The match schedule has also been announced for the 2018 Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay, which will take place from November 13 to December 1 in the cities of Colonia, Maldonado and Montevideo.