US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he had encouraged FIFA to consider Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup. He mentioned having spoken directly with the president of the football governing body regarding this matter.
In a message posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump expressed his desire to “repay” Pakistan’s military leadership and prime minister for their contributions to the United States and the global community. He wrote that he wanted to acknowledge the efforts of Pakistan’s top officials by advocating for their national football team.
Trump further stated that he had discussed with the FIFA president the possibility of either including Pakistan’s football team in an upcoming World Cup or potentially removing a NATO team to create space for them. However, no official response or comment has been made by FIFA on this claim, and Trump did not provide additional details about the conversation.
The Pakistan national football team, governed by the Pakistan Football Federation, represents the country in men’s international football under FIFA-sanctioned events. Pakistan has been a FIFA member since 1948 and joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954. The team made its international debut in 1950 but has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals.
Beyond South Asia, Pakistan has not reached any major international football tournaments. Its notable achievements include winning the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament and securing gold medals at the South Asian Games in 1989 and 1991. The team experienced a brief era of relative success during the 1950s and early 1960s, but its performance declined as football’s global prominence grew.
Experts attribute Pakistan’s football struggles to persistent issues such as poor organizational structure, administrative neglect, and insufficient investment in the sport. Additionally, football has struggled to gain widespread popularity in Pakistan, where cricket overwhelmingly dominates the sports scene across South Asia.
