Italy, Egypt, or Algeria? Who Might Replace Tunisia in the World Cup
Mystery still surrounds the decision of FIFA regarding the participation of the Tunisian national team in the World Cup Qatar 2022, amid a series of reports about who would replace the Carthage Eagles if FIFA decided to permanently exclude them.
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According to Al-Jazeera Website, FIFA has stressed to the Tunisian Federation that the country's participation in the upcoming World Cup finals in Qatar this year may be threatened, if it becomes clear that there is any government interference in the management of the affairs of the local federation.'
FIFA sent a letter to the Tunisian Football Association last week, summarizing its concerns after the Tunisian Minister of Youth and Sports, Kamal Dokish, threatened to dissolve some bodies in the Federation, in addition to some recent statements that annoyed FIFA.
FIFA confirmed to Reuters that the letter had been sent but declined to comment further.
Reuters has not yet received any response from the Tunisian Federation or the Tunisian Ministry of Sports.
The letter said that failure to adhere to the independence of work on the part of the Tunisian Federation will expose it to penalties in accordance with FIFA regulations, including suspension.
According to several press sources, the FIFA letter was as follows
“In this regard, we would like to remind you that member associations of FIFA are legally obligated to conduct their affairs independently and without influence from third parties (as per the FIFA Statutes). Any failure to comply with these obligations may result in the imposition of penalties under the FIFA Laws, including suspension of the relevant association".
According to the Tunisian "Mosaic" website, the Tunisian Football Federation sent its response to the inquiries of the International Football Association in its last correspondence, which asked for clarifications regarding the interference of the government side in the work of the Federation and planning to dissolve it.
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In the case that the Tunisian national team is excluded from participating in the tournament, it will be deprived of its seventh participation in the World Cup after 6 previous participations, the last of which was in the World Cup Russia 2018.
It is worth noting that the Tunisian national team was drawn into Group D along with France, the world champions, Denmark, and Australia.
In the same context, according to Italian reports, in the case that the Tunisian national team is excluded from the finals, the Italian team will be invited to participate in the World Cup in Qatar, as it is the best in the FIFA classification.
However, other African reports believe that if Tunisia is excluded from the World Cup in Qatar, FIFA may resort to the escalation of an African team, given that Tunisia's share of the seats in the African continent must be given to an African team by comparing between the best teams in the continent in terms of classification, such as Egypt and Algeria.