MEXICO CITY – Piqued by a court decision that blocked the holding of election, the World football governing body, FIFA, has suspended Benin Football Association from world football with immediate effect.
FIFA announced the decision in Mexico City at the inaugural meeting of the FIFA Council, the supervisory and strategic body that sets the vision for FIFA and global football.
With the suspension, Benin will miss the Africa Cup of Nations Group C qualifiers.
A statement posted on FIFA official website reads, “In accordance with art. 38 of the FIFA Statutes, the Benin Football Association (FBF) is suspended with immediate effect due to a recent injunction by a local judicial court which impeded the holding of the due election.
“The FIFA Congress will vote on the confirmation of the suspensions on the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), the Football Association of Kuwait (KFA), and the Benin Football Association (FBF).”
The Council also ratified the decision of the bureau of the Council to appoint a “normalisation committee to run the daily affairs of the Guinea Football Federation (FGF).
The FIFA statement said Uruguay was appointed as the host country for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2018 (Nov. 20– Dec. 13).
Regarding the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Council agreed on a four-phase process: a new strategy and consultation phase (May 2016 – May 2017), enhanced phases for bid preparation (June 2017 – Dec 2018), bid evaluation (Jan 2019 – Feb 2020) culminating in a decision in May 2020.
