Football's world governing body Fifa is to launch a feasibility study into holding the men's and women's World Cups every two years instead of four.
The proposal, by Saudi Arabia's football federation (SAFF), received backing at the Fifa's annual congress.
The study will also aid in looking at the qualifying competitions for these tournaments.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino called it an "eloquent and detailed proposal", with 166 national federations voting in favour with 22 voting against.
The men's World Cup has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament began back in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 due to World War Two. The women's tournament has also been every four years since it began in 1991.
Moving to a biennial schedule would impact other international tournaments such as the European Championship, which also takes place every four years, in the even years between World Cups.
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, while claiming there was room to make changes to the international calendar after 2024, said having a biennial World Cup will help countries outside Europe to feature in more meaningful games as well.
One of the biggest arguments against this idea is that many fear staging a World Cup every two years would devalue the tournament.
At the moment, the World Cup is one of the most coveted tournaments because teams prepare and wait for it for four years. This was a concern even in 1999 when former FIFA President Sepp Blatter made a similar proposal but received backlash.