FIFA Banned Nation From 2026 World Cup Qualifying In Exceptional Ruling
Both FIFA and the regional confederation were involved in the decision.
FIFA blocked a nation from competing in 2026 World Cup qualifying in what was an exceptional ruling, given that all other members of their confederation were allowed to compete.
The Asian section of World Cup qualifying contains 46 nations, with the first two of five rounds also serving as qualification for the 2027 Asian Cup.
After the third round, six nations - Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Japan and Australia - qualified automatically for the World Cup, while Qatar and Saudi Arabia secured their spots in the fourth round.
A fifth round will take place in the form of a two-legged fixture between United Arab Emirates and Iraq, with the winner entering the inter-confederation play-offs.
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There in, in fact, 47 member associations involved with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) - but one was blocked from the World Cup qualifying process.
Northern Mariana Islands, a Micronesian territory of the United States, are a part of the AFC, but are yet to be admitted to FIFA.
As a result, they were banned from all stages of the World Cup qualification process - even those that involved qualifying for the Asian Cup.
But the AFC themselves also excluded the island nation from competing in the play-off round for Asian Cup qualifying.
They faced similar issues before the 2019 and 2023 tournaments, which were also held in conjunction with World Cup qualifying.
Back in 2015, they were classed as one of the AFC's 'emerging countries', which did not enter the main qualifying draw but instead competed in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup.
They were drawn into Group D of qualifying for the Challenge Cup, losing 6-0 to Nepal, 9-0 to Palestine and 4-0 to Bangladesh.
Baseball is the biggest national sport in the Northern Mariana Islands, which counts Saipan - the scene of the infamous 2002 bust-up between Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane and manager Mick McCarthy - as its capital and most populous island.
Ruselle Zapanta, the executive director of the Northern Mariana Islands FA, told FIFA in 2021: "Football is not so far behind [baseball] in terms of number of players.
"Our year-round competitions for all ages gives us a great way to overcome other sports and slowly get households thinking of football.
"We understand it will take generation to turn football into the islands' pastime activity, but we hear stories from parents about how kids are beginning to look into football instead of baseball. Now, with our training facility, football has a home here in the Northern Mariana Islands, and we look forward to using football as a source of positivity to benefit our island community."
Topics: FIFA, FIFA World Cup, Football
Ryan Smart