Every Country BANNED from the FIFA World Cup
German States (1950)
When World War II kicked off, FIFA put their illustrious tournament on a hiatus for 1942. Then, when the war ended in 1945, the football-slash-soccer organization had little time to arrange one for 1946. So, that, too, was canceled. But 1950 went ahead. However, for the Germans, there wasn’t going to be a trip to Brazil for any of their nations. At the time, Germany was split into three entities, East Germany, West Germany, and Saarland. On top of other sporting events, all three were banned from the FIFA tournament for their part in the horror. However, the restriction was lifted for the 1954 edition. In that World Cup in Switzerland, West Germany ended up winning the whole thing.
Japan (1950)
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Alongside their Axis powers colleagues, Japan was also prohibited from entering FIFA’s World Cup in 1950. Beyond a few non-official international matches, the Asian nation hadn’t played an Elo-rated match – the world ranking table – since 1940. But once the ban was lifted in 1950, Japan began rebuilding its footballing reputation. It rejoined FIFA, signed up for the 1954 World Cup qualifiers, and formed the Asian Football Confederation with other countries. But Japan struggled to get a ticket to the World Cup. They either withdrew or didn’t get through qualifying. It wouldn’t be until 1998 that Japan finally arrived at a World Cup. Since then, Japan has attended every World Cup.
South Africa (1961-92)
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No country has been on FIFA’s no-entry list longer than South Africa. Back in 1957, the African nation co-founded the Confederation of African Football or CAF. But there was a problem. South Africa was big on segregation. As such, they had separate football federations for races, such as “the all-white Football Association of South Africa.” Well, the other nations in CAF weren’t happy and removed South Africa. By 1961, after ignoring an ultimatum by FIFA to curb their apartheid policies, South Africa was disqualified from the World Cup. This ban meant they couldn’t attend any of the tournaments from 1970 to 1990. When apartheid was abolished, South Africa was able to compete and first arrived at the World Cup in 1998.
Mexico (1990)
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Mexico has the dishonor of being the first World Cup-hosting nation in 1970 to be banned from a future tournament. And it was all due to shenanigans. Known as the “Cachirules scandal,” the North American nation fielded at least four overage players for the 1988 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship. This was a qualifying event for the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship. The fraudulent players were between two to four years over the age limit. When this came out, Mexico was disqualified from the Youth Championship, with the US taking its place. The consequences continued as the senior squad was prohibited from FIFA events over the next two years, ruling them out of the Summer Olympics and the 1990 World Cup.
Chile (1994)
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In 1989, Brazil faced off against Chile in a qualifying match for the 1990 World Cup. With the hosts leading, something weird happened. Chile’s goalkeeper Roberto Rojas went down in his penalty area, clutching his wounded face, with a lit flare thrown from the crowd nearby. His teammates refused to continue, and the game was canceled. However, TV cameras were everywhere. It showed that Rojas wasn’t struck by the flare at all. He fell to the floor and used a hidden razor blade to give himself a grizzly injury. This plan was concocted by Chile’s staff. The scandal, known as “El Maracanazo,” resulted in a life ban for Rojas, which was lifted in 2001. It also prohibited Chile from the 1994 World Cup.
Myanmar (2006)
This Southeast Asian nation has had a bit of an on-again-off-again relationship with FIFA in the past couple of decades. In one instance in 2001, Myanmar was set to face Iran for a qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup. Only they decided to pull out at the last minute, leaving FIFA with no alternative fixture, and withdrew themselves from the 2002 event. As such, the football organization fined Myanmar $23,500 and barred them from the 2006 tournament in Germany. During a World Cup qualifier in 2014 against Oman, crowd trouble from Myanmar led to them being banned from the 2018 tournament. But this was changed on appeal to having their home matches on neutral ground and a fine of $28,000 instead.
Russia (2022)
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Having hosted the 2018 World Cup, Russia soon saw its international sporting name dragged through the mud when the doping scandal erupted. But then, to make it worse for themselves, their government invaded Ukraine in 2022. This forced numerous nations like Poland, the British nations, and Albania to refuse to play Russia. FIFA initially did a half-hearted punishment. They prohibited the country from competing under the name “Russia,” banned their national anthem, and forced them to play home games on neutral grounds. After the backlash, FIFA bit the bullet and barred the team from competing in international tournaments, including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. While Russia appealed, it was unsuccessful. They’re also banned from competing in UEFA Euro 2024.
