Fifa Expresses Regret Over Crimea Map Error During World Cup Draw

The 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying draw, held in Zurich on 13 December, saw Fifa state it “sincerely regrets” that a map displayed during the event appeared to exclude Crimea as part of Ukraine. The graphic, intended to illustrate countries prevented from being drawn together for geopolitical reasons, highlighted Ukraine but did not incorporate the peninsula, which is internationally recognized as an integral part of Ukraine. Crimea has been under Russian occupation since 2014, and only a limited number of countries acknowledge the peninsula as Russian territory. Fifa has communicated with Igor Gryshchenko, the general secretary of the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF), regarding this matter. Elkhan Mammadov, Fifa’s chief member associations officer, wrote: “We fully understand the delicate sensitivity of this matter and while the incident was unintentional, we sincerely regret any concern it may have caused.” The governing body of world football further noted that the infographic was “developed by an external third-party service provider”. It added: “Upon recognising the issue, we have taken immediate steps to address the situation, including working to have the image removed from circulation.” Fifa also stated: “Additionally, we are conducting an internal review to ensure such oversights do not recur in the future.” Following the qualifying draw, Heorhiy Tykhy, spokesman for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, demanded “a public apology” from Fifa. Writing on X, Tykhy asserted that Fifa “not only acted against international law, but also supported Russian propaganda, war crimes, and the crime of aggression against Ukraine”. In the World Cup qualifiers, Ukraine was allocated to group D, alongside Iceland, Azerbaijan, and the victor of the Nations League quarter-final match between France and Croatia. The expanded 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 teams, is scheduled to be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States.