FIFA have apologised to the Ukrainian FA after making an "unacceptable" error during the qualifying draw for the 2026 World Cup. Ukraine were drawn in Group D and will take on Iceland, Azerbaijan and either France or Croatia. However, the Ukrainian FA were not happy after FIFA displayed a map graphic showing countries which could not cross borders to play each other.
Among them were Ukraine and Belarus, but the graphic did not include the territory of Crimea as part of Ukraine. Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, but is internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainian FA immediately sent a furious letter to FIFA about the blunder and they have now received a "sincere" apology from football's governing body. Elkhan Mammadov, FIFA's Chief Member Association Officer, said: "We acknowledge receipt of your letter and would like to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
"We deeply respect the concerns raised and the sensitivity of the issue at hand. The infographic in question was developed by an external third-party service provider. Upon recognising the issue, we have taken immediate steps to address the situation, including working to have the image removed from circulation.
"Additionally, we are conducting an internal review to ensure such oversights do not recur in the future. We fully understand the delicate sensitivity of this matter and while the incident was unintentional, we sincerely regret any concern it may have caused and appreciate your understand as we work to address this situation responsibly.".
