Due to’serious circumstances’ in advance of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA has once again suspended the football associations of two additional countries.
The next iteration of the international competition, which takes place once every four years, is scheduled to take place in the summer of 2026 in at least three different countries.
With a total of eleven stadiums that are scheduled to host games, the United States of America will be the most prominent host nation of the three. The tournament will also be comprised of three cities in Mexico and two cities in Canada.
Argentina is the reigning champions, having earned their third World Cup victory at the competition that took place in Qatar during the winter of 2022. They prevailed over France on penalties after the two teams played to a 3-3 draw after extra time concluded.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian Football Union (RFU) has been barred from participating in competitions held by both FIFA and UEFA on multiple occasions.
The men’s and women’s teams will not be able to compete in the World Cup or the European Championships as a result of this limitation. Additionally, domestic club teams are not permitted to compete in UEFA competitions.
In Europe, the draw for the qualification groups took place in December. Russia was the only member of UEFA that was not included in the draw. The remaining 54 nations were distributed among a dozen different groups.
Now, FIFA has suspended the football federations of two other nations with immediate effect due to “serious circumstances.” This effectively prevents both nations from even having the possibility of competing in the 2026 World Cup.
Congo and Pakistan are the two countries that have been suspended by FIFA, and the organisation has specified the reasons for the suspension of both countries.
For what FIFA has described as a “particularly serious situation of undue interference by third parties” in its affairs, the Congolese Football Association, also known as FECOFOOT, has been banned from participating in the organization’s activities.
The following is an excerpt from a statement issued by FIFA: “FECOFOOT has been suspended with immediate effect due to a particularly serious situation of undue interference by third parties in the affairs of the organisation, which constitutes a clear violation of FECOFOOT’s obligations in accordance with the FIFA Statutes.”
“The decision was taken in consultation with CAF after two FIFA/CAF missions were dispatched to Brazzaville.”
It has been stated by FIFA that the suspension will only be lifted if certain conditions are met. These conditions include the following: the return of FECOFOOT’s headquarters to the full control of the Congolese Football Association; the cessation of any efforts to “change the signatories” of FECOFOOT’s bank accounts; the delegation of decision-making authority to an ad hoc committee; and the full cooperation of all parties involved in order to enable the association to function without any foreign influence.
As a result of the Pakistan Football Federation’s (PFF) failure to adopt a revised constitution that would “ensure truly fair and democratic elections,” the PFF has also been suspended.
The official statement from FIFA stated: “The suspension will only be lifted subject to the PFF Congress approving the version of the PFF Constitution presented by FIFA and the AFC.”
Currently, Congo is in the bottom spot of Group E in the CAF qualification section, and Pakistan finished in the bottom spot of Group G in the second round of the qualification process in the AFC confederation.
