Three countries have had their football associations suspended by FIFA due to ‘serious circumstances’ ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The next edition of the FIFA World Cup, held every four years, will take place across three countries—USA, Canada, and Mexico—during the summer of 2026. The USA will be the biggest host, with 11 stadiums set to stage matches, while Mexico and Canada will contribute three and two host cities, respectively, to complete the tournament’s composition.
FIFA has taken swift action, suspending the football federations of Congo and Pakistan with immediate effect due to “serious circumstances.” This decision effectively rules out both nations from participating in the 2026 World Cup.
The Congolese Football Association (FECOFOOT) has been suspended due to “a particularly serious situation of undue interference by third parties” in its affairs.
A FIFA statement read: “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.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has been suspended for failing to adopt a revised constitution that ensures “truly fair and democratic elections”. Although Pakistan had already been eliminated in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), FIFA justified its sanction due to non-compliance with internal regulations. The Asian nation’s football federation failed to implement constitutional reforms to ensure democratic elections and proper management of its organizational structure. Until these measures are in place, Pakistan remains ineligible for official tournaments.
The FIFA statement read: “The suspension will only be lifted subject to the PFF Congress approving the version of the PFF Constitution presented by FIFA and the AFC.”
PFF Normalisation Committee Chairman Haroon Malik explained that FIFA wants to amend the PFF Constitution to align with international standards. However, the newly elected PFF Congress members have not agreed to FIFA’s proposals.
Russia is the third country that has been suspended by FIFA after it invaded Ukraine back in February, 2022. In UEFA’s qualification draw, conducted in December, Russia was the only member nation excluded, with the remaining 54 teams divided into 12 groups.
Congo is currently bottom of Group E in the CAF qualification section, while Pakistan finished bottom of Group G in the second round of the qualification process in the AFC confederation.
With these new bans, three teams have now been ruled out of the 2026 World Cup due to disciplinary sanctions imposed by FIFA. In the meantime, the other confederations continue their respective qualifying rounds to determine the teams that will participate in the upcoming global tournament.
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