FIFA suspend Belize from international football

Belize_national_team_celebrating

By David Gold

June 19 – FIFA has suspended Belize from international football and postponed its World Cup qualifier with Montserrat this weekend, as a result of perceived Government interference with the country’s football federation.

Belize’s Government had told the national football federation that they had not complied with their requirements for the national council, the body in charge of football in the country.

FIFA has warned that Belize faces being thrown out of the World Cup qualification programme if the situation is not resolved adequately.

The Government of Belize had said that the country’s football federation were “not authorised to represent this country in any local or international competition or in any other forum for football on behalf of the Government, People and Nation of Belize.”

As a result of the intervention, Belize had been warned by FIFA that its government and football federation had to settle the dispute by June 30.

However, Belize’s Government wrote to FIFA ahead of the Montserrat clash to say that they would “not be providing any services to the federation with respect to the security of the visiting team and officials at the match.”

FIFA took this statement to be confirmation of Governmental interference, and therefore suspended the Belize national side.

FIFA said in a statement: “The match [between Belize and Montserrat] has been postponed to a new date to be confirmed, but no later than 10 July 2011, provided that the situation is back to normal regarding the FFB and the suspension has been lifted by that date.

“In the event that the match cannot take place by that date, the national “A” team of Belize will be excluded from the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil preliminary competition.”

Belize won the first leg of their tie with Montserrat 5-2.

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