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Equatorial Guinea has been expelled by FIFA from the 2026 World Cup
The International Football Federation has notified the sports institution of Equatorial Guinea that they would not participate in the 2026 event if they did not pay off their debts.
FIFA expelled Equatorial Guinea from the 2026 World Cup for debts to coaches Esteban Becker and Miguel Ángel Pozanco.
This sentence would be void if the Guinean federation makes the payments, which are equivalent to more than two million dollars, before the draw for the qualifying phase that will take place in July 2023.
FIFA sent the expulsion notice to the Equatorial Guinea soccer federation for the World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
The document indicates that "due to the continuity of non-payments to coaches Pozanco and Becker, it is notified that Equatorial Guinea will not be able to participate in the 2026 World Cup."
The report also indicates that Equatorial Guinea will not be taken into account for the draw for the July 2023 qualifying phase.
In addition, it highlights that they have a margin of more than a year and a half to pay off the corresponding debt.
The debt of the Equatorial Guinea federation with coaches Becker and Pozanco has been pending since 2017, when there was a change of government and the federation board was fired.
For this reason, the two coaches filed a claim document with FIFA, who has endorsed and supported their demands, continuously notifying the Guinean federation to settle the pending payment.
After the notification from FIFA, the Equatorial Guinea soccer federation lied about an alleged negotiation with the coaches, where they allegedly offered supposed advances of the pending payment.
After being eliminated from the Qatar 2022 World Cup, the Guinean board put aside the case of the coaches.
