The International Football Federation responded to the UAF's appeal regarding the unpleasant incident.
International Football Federation (FIFA)responded to a letter from the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF), which was sent to FIFA Secretary General Mathias Grafström and UEFA Secretary General Theodore Theodoridis regarding an unacceptable error in the image of the map of Ukraine during the broadcast of the draw ceremony for the European qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
This was reported on the official website of the UAF.
On December 13, during the draw for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA showedmap of Europe, on which Crimea was not marked as part of Ukraine.
“We acknowledge receipt of your letter of December 13, 2024 and would like to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We deeply respect the concerns expressed by the Ukrainian Football Association and understand the sensitivity of this issue.
The infographic map in question was developed by a third party, an external service provider. Upon discovering the issue, we immediately took steps to resolve the situation, including taking steps to remove the image from circulation. We are also conducting an internal review to ensure that such errors do not recur in the future.
We fully understand the sensitivity of this matter, and while the incident was unintentional, we sincerely regret any distress it may have caused, and appreciate your mutual understanding as we work responsibly to resolve this situation.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further clarification or would like to discuss this issue further,” says the letter, which was signed by Elkhan Mamedov, Head of FIFA Member Association Relations.
It was previously reported that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry demands an apology from FIFA for the map without Crimea.
Recall that the Ukrainian national team ended up in Group D. The Blue-Yellows' opponents in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers will be the winner of the 2024/25 Nations League quarter-final between Croatia and France, as well as Iceland and Azerbaijan.
Sixteen European teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The 12 group winners will directly qualify for the final stage of the World Cup. Four more tickets to the planetary The championship will be played out in a playoff, where the 12 runners-up of the World Cup qualifying groups will compete with the four best winners of the 2024/25 Nations League groups who finish lower than second place in the group stage of the qualification.