The 2026 World Cup, the most famous football tournament around the globe, starts next week. For the first time in this format, 48 countries will be on the field in the FIFA championship.
Of the 193 countries recognized by the UN, not all participate or have participated in a World Cup edition. But one country began to make an appeal to join this list: the Kiribati Islands. The risk is that the region will not be able to qualify before the country disappears from the map.
The country is made up of a group of islands and is located in the Pacific Ocean, but suffers directly from the effects of climate change in recent years. The expectation is that, with the increase in ocean volume, Kiribati will be completely underwater in 10 or 15 years. This way, the islands would completely disappear from the world map.
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There are 33 islands, but only twelve of them are inhabited by the population. The main island is South Tarawa, which suffers from overpopulation and already has a lack of infrastructure for all the inhabitants, who need to migrate from the region for various reasons.
The highest point of the archipelago is 81 meters. Furthermore, climate change is already causing other problems that harm the homes and quality of life of more than 138,400 residents.
With the prospect of relocating thousands of people in the near future, the country would have the last chance to participate in a World Cup in 2030. To this end, the Kiribati football federation (KIFF) appealed to the international community, asking for help from managers, coaches and former players.
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The objective would be to promote football in the Kiribati Islands to build a technical committee and selection capable of classifying the country in the next FIFA tournament. Furthermore, KIFF believes that football would be a way to raise awareness among the world’s population to be aware of climate change.
The archipelago is not part of the FIFA affiliation list, which prevents the country from participating in the championship. The process to reverse this situation is challenging, as it would require a well-structured federative organization, domestic competitions, calendar, development programs, and adequate sports infrastructure.
