As the edge of the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, there are three countries that have been disqualified from the competition in qualifying rounds. It essentially controls them from the fight for upcoming US, Canada and Mexico exhibitions.
With the exception of Europe, the remaining Confederates have long begun their long and dangerous journey to reach the tournament final. UEFA is scheduled to begin qualifying later this year.
However, one team will stand out due to its absence in Russia. Surborya has been banned from all FIFA tournaments since February 2022 following the Ukraine invasion. The Federation has chosen to continue the suspension. This means that the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosts will remain on the sidelines from upcoming competitions.
Currently, two more countries have been added to the list of teams suspended by FIFA, namely Congo and Pakistan.
In the former case, FIFA has described “third-party interference” as the reason for disqualifying the Congolese Football Association, also known as Fecofoot. A statement issued by them read:
“Fecofoot is suspended immediately due to a particularly serious situation of excessive interference by third parties in the organization’s operations, which constitutes a clear violation of Fecofoot’s obligations in accordance with the FIFA Act.”
FIFA also states that the suspension will only be lifted if certain conditions are met, such as returning Fecofoot’s headquarters to full control of the Congolese Football Association.
In Pakistan, FIFA said that Pakistan’s football federation was suspended after failing to adopt the constitution presented by the governing body.
“This suspension is subject to PFF Congress, which approves the version of the PFF Constitution presented by FIFA and the AFC.”
FIFA qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup will resume in March during the first international break of the year.
Where were Congo and Pakistan before the suspension from FIFA World Cup 2026?
Russia has been playing friendly games for almost three years, while Congo and Pakistan were very aggressive in the qualifying rounds of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
With all three previous matches in the first round, Congo was at the bottom of Group E without a single point in his bag. Their hopes of progress were already slight before news of a halt.
Pakistan, meanwhile, had already been knocked out of the race after a smug performance in the second round. Ranked 198th in the world, Green Falcon finished at the bottom of the group with zero points after losing all six games.
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From Sport Kida
Edited by Niharu
