197 countries vote to suspend Sri Lanka from FIFA

March 16, 2023 at 9:15 PM

Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka were on Thursday, March 16, suspended from voting during FIFA elections.

2,000 delegates including top football executives from world football governing body (FIFA) met in Kigali for the long-awaited 73rd FIFA Congress. The FIFA Congress, the supreme legislative body of FIFA, brings together top executives from FIFA, confederations and representatives from 211-member associations and other football stakeholders.

Of the 211 associations, 199 member associations voted in favour of a motion to suspend Zimbabwe while 197 voted for the motion restricting Sri Lank from voting during FIFA elections.

In January, FIFA suspended the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) over political interference after the federation’s elections fell short of Zurich’s standards.