The scandalous incident occurred during the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualification.
The Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) sent a letter to FIFA Secretary General Mathias Grafström and UEFA Secretary General Theodore Theodoridis regarding the unacceptable error– the image of a map of Ukraine without the annexed Crimea during the broadcast of the draw ceremony for the European qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“We are writing to express our deep concern regarding the infographic map of Europe shown on 13 December 2024 during the television broadcast of the draw ceremony for the European qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The map, which showed countries that cannot intersect, highlighted the territory of Ukraine without the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
Taking into account a number of official decisions and resolutions adopted by the FIFA Council and the UEFA Executive Committee since 2014 regarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the protection of our country's football stakeholders from the aggressive policies of the Russian terrorist state, including regarding the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, we emphasize that today's version of the cartographic image of Ukraine, officially presented by FIFA during a worldwide broadcast to a multi-million audience around the world, is absolutely unacceptable and looks like an inconsistent position of FIFA and UEFA on the important issue described above, given the ongoing destructive war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine in the 21st century in the very center of Europe,” the letter says, the text of which is cited on the official UAF website.
By the will of the draw, the Ukrainian national team got into Group D.The Blue-Yellows' opponents in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers will be the winner of the 2024/25 Nations League quarter-final Croatia vs. France, as well as Iceland and Azerbaijan.
16 European teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The 12 group winners will directly qualify for the final stage of the World Cup. Another four spots in the world championship will be played for in the playoffs, where the 12 runners-up of the World Cup qualifying groups and the four best group winners of the 2024/25 Nations League who finish lower than second in the group stage of the qualification will compete.
The group round of the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup will last from March to November 2025. The playoff matches will take place in March 2026 and will consist of single-match semi-finals and finals.
The 2026 World Cup will be held in three countries at once: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This will be the first World Cup in which 48 teams will play in the final part. From 1998 to 2022, the World Cup used a 32-team format.
The matches of the 23rd World Cup in history will be played in 16 cities. The opening match of the tournament is scheduled for June 11, 2026 in Mexico City, and the final match will be held in New York on July 19.
