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0 / 31 Fotos
1938
- Spain didn’t participate in the 1938 World Cup because their application was allegedly rejected by FIFA due to the ongoing Spanish Civil War.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
1938
- Though there is another version of events that claims that it was Spain that dropped out of the process. Either way, the nation never made it to the qualifying rounds.
© Getty Images
2 / 31 Fotos
1950
- The 1950 FIFA World Cup was held in Brazil. There were two banned nations following the aftermath of World War II, which had ended just five years prior. One was Germany.
© Getty Images
3 / 31 Fotos
1950
- And the other nation banned from the 1950 FIFA World Cup was Japan. FIFA's decision was influenced by the United Nations, which was founded in 1945.
© Getty Images
4 / 31 Fotos
1954
- Germany and Japan made it to the 1954 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Switzerland. Though a whopping six nations weren't able to participate in the tournament, and not because of anything they did on the pitch.
© Getty Images
5 / 31 Fotos
1954
- Iceland, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Vietnam, and India didn’t meet the application deadline and consequently missed the qualifiers.
© Getty Images
6 / 31 Fotos
1958
- Sweden hosted the World Cup in 1958. The tournament saw Brazil winning their first World Cup, but both South Korea and Ethiopia were not present.
© Getty Images
7 / 31 Fotos
1958
- The reason why these nations were not there remains unknown. It is believed that the two countries were the last to apply and ended up being discarded due to the competition format.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
1958
- The Confederation of African Football had just been founded, and the Asian and African qualifiers were still being held as one. It’s believed that FIFA capped the number of participants.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
1958
- But while these teams didn’t make it, others actually dropped out due to political and religious reasons. Turkey, Indonesia, and Sudan withdrew from the qualifiers because they refused to play against Israel.
© Getty Images
10 / 31 Fotos
1966
- The 1966 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted and won by England, also marked the ban of South Africa from the tournament.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
1966
- Thirty-one African countries boycotted the World Cup to protest a 1964 FIFA ruling that affected how they would qualify. But they also protested the readmission of South Africa to FIFA in 1963.
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
1966
- South Africa had been banned from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) due to the apartheid regime in 1958. They were then assigned to the Asia and Oceania qualifying group, but in the end FIFA banned the nation altogether.
© Getty Images
13 / 31 Fotos
1966
- It was not until 1992 that South Africa participated in the qualifying rounds for the World Cup, held in 1994. Though they didn’t make it to the group stages of the World Cup until 1998.
© Getty Images
14 / 31 Fotos
1966
- But South Africa was not the only nation to be banned from the 1966 World Cup. Guatemala, Congo, and the Philippines also joined them.
© Getty Images
15 / 31 Fotos
1966
- However, these nations’ absences were due to technical reasons. Congo didn’t submit the request to FIFA in writing, Guatemala missed the deadline, and the Philippines didn’t pay the necessary fees.
© Getty Images
16 / 31 Fotos
1970
- The 1970 World Cup was held in Mexico. FIFA rejected the applications of Guinea and Zaire, for reasons that are unknown.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
1970
- Albania also didn’t participate in the qualifiers for the 1970 World Cup. The reason why remains unknown to this day.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
1982
- In 1982, it was the Central African Republic that failed to submit their application on time and pay the fees to enter the tournament.
© Getty Images
19 / 31 Fotos
1986
- Mexico 1986 was the World Cup that banned Iran. This was because of the Iran–Iraq War. However, Iraq was allowed to compete, and managed to qualify for the final tournament.
© Getty Images
20 / 31 Fotos
1990
- Mexico, the host nation of the 1986 World Cup, didn’t compete in the 1990 edition in Italy because they were suspended by FIFA.
© Getty Images
21 / 31 Fotos
1990
- Mexico adulterated the age of players during the qualification rounds of the U-20 World Cup. The senior squad was subsequently punished and was out of the 1990 World Cup.
© Getty Images
22 / 31 Fotos
1994
- For the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, two nations were banned from the competition due to war and terrorism: Yugoslavia and Libya.
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
1994
- And then there’s the bizarre case of Chile. They were losing against Brazil in 1989 during the last round of the qualifiers when a fan threw a flare onto the pitch. Chile’s goalkeeper Roberto Rojas pretended to have been hit by it, he then pulled a blade hidden in his glove and cut himself with it. The referee stopped the game over safety concerns.
© Public Domain
24 / 31 Fotos
1994
- The whole episode, which became known as "The Maracanazo of the Chilean team," was uncovered, and Chile was eventually barred by FIFA from qualifying for the 1994 World Cup.
© Getty Images
25 / 31 Fotos
2002
- For financial reasons, Guiana didn’t get the chance to play the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
© Getty Images
26 / 31 Fotos
2014
- In 2014, Brunei was the only team barred from the FIFA competition, for having their government interfere with their national soccer federation.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
2018
- Similarly, in 2018 Indonesia was banned by FIFA following their government's interference with the soccer federation.
© Getty Images
28 / 31 Fotos
2018
- Zimbabwe was also left out of the 2018 World Cup, in this case because the federation owed then-manager José Claudinei months of unpaid salaries.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
2022
- In light of the recent conflict involving the invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA announced that "all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams" were indefinitely suspended. This, of course, includes Russian participation in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Sources: (ESPN) See also: FIFA World Cup fails: the biggest blunders ever made
© Getty Images
30 / 31 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 31 Fotos
1938
- Spain didn’t participate in the 1938 World Cup because their application was allegedly rejected by FIFA due to the ongoing Spanish Civil War.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
1938
- Though there is another version of events that claims that it was Spain that dropped out of the process. Either way, the nation never made it to the qualifying rounds.
© Getty Images
2 / 31 Fotos
1950
- The 1950 FIFA World Cup was held in Brazil. There were two banned nations following the aftermath of World War II, which had ended just five years prior. One was Germany.
© Getty Images
3 / 31 Fotos
1950
- And the other nation banned from the 1950 FIFA World Cup was Japan. FIFA's decision was influenced by the United Nations, which was founded in 1945.
© Getty Images
4 / 31 Fotos
1954
- Germany and Japan made it to the 1954 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Switzerland. Though a whopping six nations weren't able to participate in the tournament, and not because of anything they did on the pitch.
© Getty Images
5 / 31 Fotos
1954
- Iceland, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Vietnam, and India didn’t meet the application deadline and consequently missed the qualifiers.
© Getty Images
6 / 31 Fotos
1958
- Sweden hosted the World Cup in 1958. The tournament saw Brazil winning their first World Cup, but both South Korea and Ethiopia were not present.
© Getty Images
7 / 31 Fotos
1958
- The reason why these nations were not there remains unknown. It is believed that the two countries were the last to apply and ended up being discarded due to the competition format.
© Getty Images
8 / 31 Fotos
1958
- The Confederation of African Football had just been founded, and the Asian and African qualifiers were still being held as one. It’s believed that FIFA capped the number of participants.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
1958
- But while these teams didn’t make it, others actually dropped out due to political and religious reasons. Turkey, Indonesia, and Sudan withdrew from the qualifiers because they refused to play against Israel.
© Getty Images
10 / 31 Fotos
1966
- The 1966 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted and won by England, also marked the ban of South Africa from the tournament.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
1966
- Thirty-one African countries boycotted the World Cup to protest a 1964 FIFA ruling that affected how they would qualify. But they also protested the readmission of South Africa to FIFA in 1963.
© Getty Images
12 / 31 Fotos
1966
- South Africa had been banned from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) due to the apartheid regime in 1958. They were then assigned to the Asia and Oceania qualifying group, but in the end FIFA banned the nation altogether.
© Getty Images
13 / 31 Fotos
1966
- It was not until 1992 that South Africa participated in the qualifying rounds for the World Cup, held in 1994. Though they didn’t make it to the group stages of the World Cup until 1998.
© Getty Images
14 / 31 Fotos
1966
- But South Africa was not the only nation to be banned from the 1966 World Cup. Guatemala, Congo, and the Philippines also joined them.
© Getty Images
15 / 31 Fotos
1966
- However, these nations’ absences were due to technical reasons. Congo didn’t submit the request to FIFA in writing, Guatemala missed the deadline, and the Philippines didn’t pay the necessary fees.
© Getty Images
16 / 31 Fotos
1970
- The 1970 World Cup was held in Mexico. FIFA rejected the applications of Guinea and Zaire, for reasons that are unknown.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
1970
- Albania also didn’t participate in the qualifiers for the 1970 World Cup. The reason why remains unknown to this day.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
1982
- In 1982, it was the Central African Republic that failed to submit their application on time and pay the fees to enter the tournament.
© Getty Images
19 / 31 Fotos
1986
- Mexico 1986 was the World Cup that banned Iran. This was because of the Iran–Iraq War. However, Iraq was allowed to compete, and managed to qualify for the final tournament.
© Getty Images
20 / 31 Fotos
1990
- Mexico, the host nation of the 1986 World Cup, didn’t compete in the 1990 edition in Italy because they were suspended by FIFA.
© Getty Images
21 / 31 Fotos
1990
- Mexico adulterated the age of players during the qualification rounds of the U-20 World Cup. The senior squad was subsequently punished and was out of the 1990 World Cup.
© Getty Images
22 / 31 Fotos
1994
- For the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, two nations were banned from the competition due to war and terrorism: Yugoslavia and Libya.
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
1994
- And then there’s the bizarre case of Chile. They were losing against Brazil in 1989 during the last round of the qualifiers when a fan threw a flare onto the pitch. Chile’s goalkeeper Roberto Rojas pretended to have been hit by it, he then pulled a blade hidden in his glove and cut himself with it. The referee stopped the game over safety concerns.
© Public Domain
24 / 31 Fotos
1994
- The whole episode, which became known as "The Maracanazo of the Chilean team," was uncovered, and Chile was eventually barred by FIFA from qualifying for the 1994 World Cup.
© Getty Images
25 / 31 Fotos
2002
- For financial reasons, Guiana didn’t get the chance to play the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
© Getty Images
26 / 31 Fotos
2014
- In 2014, Brunei was the only team barred from the FIFA competition, for having their government interfere with their national soccer federation.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
2018
- Similarly, in 2018 Indonesia was banned by FIFA following their government's interference with the soccer federation.
© Getty Images
28 / 31 Fotos
2018
- Zimbabwe was also left out of the 2018 World Cup, in this case because the federation owed then-manager José Claudinei months of unpaid salaries.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
2022
- In light of the recent conflict involving the invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA announced that "all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams" were indefinitely suspended. This, of course, includes Russian participation in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Sources: (ESPN) See also: FIFA World Cup fails: the biggest blunders ever made
© Getty Images
30 / 31 Fotos
FIFA rejects: countries banned from the World Cup
Russia is certainly not the first
© Getty Images
The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious international soccer competition around. Squads from all corners of the globe come together to compete for the ultimate trophy. Being a world champion is something many nations aspire to, but for some it's nothing but a dream. And we're not just talking about national teams' quality. The truth is that, for one reason or another, many national squads don't even make it to the qualifying rounds, let alone the final stages of the tournament.
Intrigued? Click on and find out which nations were banned by FIFA and why.
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