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Ghana & Kosovo excluded from Fifa Congress ahead of 2026 World Cup vote

Ghana & Kosovo excluded from Fifa Congress ahead of 2026 World Cup vote

Ghana & Kosovo excluded from Fifa Congress ahead of 2026 World Cup vote

Ghana and Kosovo were unable to send a representative for the 68th FIFA Congress, which was held in Russia, the country that is hosting this year’s world cup. The bid, which the two countries were supposed to participate in, was held at 9.30 am on June 13, 2018 and was against North America including Canada, the United States, and Mexico and Morocco. North America won the bid to host World Cup 2026. Just before the bidding session, news channels reported that Osei Tutu Agyemang, Ashanti Regional FA boss, will be representing Ghana but FIFA later confirmed that Ghana won’t be participating.

If you are a Ghana fan, don’t be disappointed. You can always use Betway online betting for betting legally on the team you think will win the World Cup.

Isaac Addo and Wilfred Osei Kweku, members of Executive Committee of Ghana Football Association, were supposed to attend the bid but the Ghanaian government didn’t let them. The government took the decision as they are planning to dissolve Ghana Football Association because of widespread corruption, which was revealed in a documentary made by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, a Ghanaian journalist.

A Look at the Developments

Kwesi Nyantakyi, president of Ghana Football Association, was slammed with a 90-day ban by FIFA following the documentary. As a result, Nyantakyi resigned from his position on the FIFA Council and vice president of Confederation of African Football. On the other hand, Kosovo wasn’t able to participate in bidding because of the sudden demise of the country’s football association president, Fadil Vokrri. He is nothing less than a legend for Kosovo since because of his efforts the country could create a space for themselves in world soccer. Kosovo became a member of FIFA and UEFA governing bodies in 2016.

Ramush Haradinaj, prime minister of Kosovo, mentioned on his Facebook page that Vokrri was an inspiration for many generations of the country’s athletes. Vokrri played for Yugoslavia in the 1980s, during which he played 12 games and made six goals.

How does the voting work?

The voting is pretty simple as the country or team who gets most votes wins the bid. Earlier, the 24 members of FIFA executive committee conducted the bid but the system was changed after the scandals surrounding Russia’s 2018 bid and Qatar’s 2022 bid. In the change of policies, all members of FIFA get an equal vote. However, four countries weren’t allowed to participate excluding Ghana and Kosovo. These countries are Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. They aren’t barred from voting forever as of yet since the FIFA executive committee is yet to make their decision.

Ghana not being able to vote affected the bidding since Morocco is affiliated with the African country. If Ghana would’ve voted, then Morocco would’ve returned the favor and voted to let Africa host a FIFA World Cup in the near future.

For now, we have the 2026 World Cup held by the U.S., Mexico and Canada!

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