The United States withdrew from the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar on Wednesday, November 11, eight days before kickoff, citing the US State Department’s Level 3 travel advisory for Qatar and its warning of a risk of armed conflict. The full story of the federation’s letter to its players is in our original breaking report.
On Thursday the empty chair in Group J was filled. FIFA confirmed the withdrawal, held its own safety line in public, and named the team that takes the Americans’ place and their exact schedule: the Dominican Republic, in the country’s first ever men’s U-17 World Cup.
Join The iimiTV Letter
Enter your email and we will send you a confirmation link. Click it and your first edition lands on Friday.
Dominican Republic U17 World Cup Debut Is Confirmed
The replacement was decided on Thursday, November 12. ESPN, reporting FIFA’s statement via EFE, said the Bureau of the Youth Boys’ Competitions Committee confirmed the Dominican Football Federation as the participating member association, after consultation with Concacaf and in accordance with Article 6(8) of the tournament regulations. CK Sports Africa’s report of the same FIFA decision adds the governing body’s own reasoning: the Dominican Republic were identified as the highest-ranked non-qualified team in Group E. FIFA’s line on the new arrivals was short: “FIFA looks forward to welcoming the Dominican Republic to Qatar, while the participating teams prepare for the start of the tournament on Thursday, November 19.”
The choice follows the qualifying record, not a draw from a hat. In February, the Dominican Republic finished level with the United States on seven points in Group E of the Concacaf qualifiers, second only on goal difference, plus 15 to the Americans’ plus 18. Their head-to-head meeting decided it and settled nothing: US Soccer’s own match report records a 1-1 draw in Kingstown on February 10, Malik Jakupovic heading the United States ahead in the 41st minute and Adrian Garcia equalising three minutes later, with the Americans finishing with ten men. The team that came within three goals of taking that berth outright in February now takes it in November. Concacaf’s official highlights of that February 10 final day in Group E are here:
Fedofutbol Reaction: “A Real Madness”
In Santo Domingo, the news landed as the biggest day in the federation’s recent history. Yelena Hazim Figuereo, secretary general of the Dominican Football Federation, said in the federation’s statement, as reported by Flow Magazine from the Fedofutbol announcement:
“The last 24 hours have been a real madness, a mix of emotions, intense work and, above all, the satisfaction of seeing a dream we have worked for for so long come true. Today we can say we are ready to take on this great challenge.” – Yelena Hazim Figuereo, Secretary General, Dominican Football Federation
She called it a historic moment for Dominican football, and the federation said she and its national teams committee began organising the trip and the team’s preparation immediately, with details to follow in the coming hours, because the tournament starts in a week. A second account of the federation’s reaction, carried by AllFootball, quoted her calling the place the result of an extraordinary team’s efforts, with the federation mobilising at sporting and administrative level to be worthy of the moment. The wider context supports the scale of it: this will be the Dominican Republic’s third FIFA World Cup of any kind, after the men’s U-20 team played in Argentina in 2023 and the country hosted the U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2024, and it follows a first ever Olympic football appearance at Paris 2024.
FIFA And Infantino Hold The Safety Line
FIFA’s public position on the withdrawal itself did not move on Thursday. In FIFA’s official statement on the US Soccer withdrawal, the governing body said it had been informed of the decision, that the applicable regulations would be followed, and, in its own words: “FIFA’s security assessments remain unchanged, and no new developments affecting the security situation around the tournament have occurred. FIFA understands that US Soccer’s decision was made in light of the existing US Level 3 travel advisory.” The statement also pointed to the international events Qatar has hosted in recent months, including MotoGP, and said the safety and security of all participants and fans remains paramount.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino made the same point in person in Doha on Thursday, during an inspection of the Aspire Zone. “What I can say is that everyone is welcome in Doha, everyone is safe in Doha,” he said, in reporting of his remarks to Euronews and local media. “Every country, every national team knows best by themselves what they want to do, they decide.” He added: “Qatar is ready, FIFA is ready,” and urged fans to come and watch the best young players in the world. Infantino’s Doha inspection, and his case for the expanded annual tournament, that “talent is born everywhere,” was filmed as he toured the venue:
Qatar’s local organisers echoed the line. Jassim Al Jassim, chief executive of the Local Organising Committee, said preparations were continuing as usual, with several teams already in Doha for training camps, and called it “business as usual.” FIFA’s replacement announcement noted the same picture on the ground: the hosts and 10 other participating teams were already in Qatar, with further delegations expected in the coming days.
What Group J Looks Like Now
The Dominican Republic inherit the United States’ slot and schedule in full. They open against Montenegro on Saturday, November 21, then play Chile on Tuesday, November 24 and Algeria on Friday, November 27, all at the Aspire Zone complex in Al Rayyan, in a tournament that runs from November 19 to December 13 with 48 teams and 104 matches. Montenegro were already one of this year’s debutants, alongside Greece and Vietnam among seven first-time teams; the Dominican Republic now join that debut class a week before kickoff, with the shortest preparation window of any team in the field.
Two loose ends remain from Wednesday. FIFA’s statements on Thursday announced no sanction for the late withdrawal: the Associated Press reporting of FIFA’s confirmation notes the tournament regulations provide for a fine of at least 20,000 Swiss francs, about $24,000, for a withdrawal inside 30 days of the opening game, to be handled by FIFA’s disciplinary committee. And for the 21 American players named on November 6, nothing about Thursday changes their outcome: 18 of them were born in 2009 and age out of this tournament, so the World Cup they qualified for in February, by three goals of goal difference over the team now going in their place, is the one they will not play.
