The hosting of the 23rd Gulf Cup and Kuwait’s hopes of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup have been thrown into doubt after FIFA suspended the nation’s football association because of government interference.
The announcement on Friday has seen Kuwaiti teams and clubs banned from international competition, with the the world governing body’s rules also preventing them from hosting any tournaments.
“The suspension follows the decision of the FIFA Executive Committee during its meeting on 24 and 25 September to give until 15 October 2015 for changes to be made to the sports law of Kuwait,” said a FIFA statement.
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“The suspension will be lifted only when the KFA and its members (the clubs) are able to carry out their activities and obligations independently.
“As a result of this decision, no team from Kuwait of any sort can have any international sporting contact and neither the KFA nor any of its members or officials can benefit from any development programme, course or training from FIFA or the AFC.”
The 23rd Gulf Cup has long been wracked with difficulties.
Internal political squabbling in August saw Kuwait’s General Authority for Youth and Sports challenge the decision to postpone by a year from the original December 22, 2015-January 4, 2016 dates because of infrastructure problems.
FA Kuwait SUSPENDED BY @FIFAcom pic.twitter.com/2VOjh0vfD5
— LM 2015 ⚽ (@LM2015_) October 17, 2015
No resolution had been forthcoming prior to FIFA’s call.
The chaos in Kuwait had been far-reaching across the Arabian Gulf, forcing leagues in the eight competing nations to either change their schedules or draft last-minute proposals.
Al Azraq were also well positioned to progress into the third round of AFC qualifying for the next World Cup. They sat second in Group G, behind South Korea.
The four best runners-up from the eight groups also advance, with Kuwait extremely well-placed.
