The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced on Monday that it has suspended the Iraqi national association, a move that might endanger Iraq’s participation at the 2010 World Cup.

The world governing body of soccer said that the suspension is partially due to a government decision to disband the Iraqi Olympic Committee and national sport federations on 20 of May because its leaders failed to agree on new elections and the fact that it did not have a quorum.

According to The New York Times, FIFA would be willing to reverse the decision, but only if the government would do the same with their suspension. The Iraqi government’s disband is in breach of FIFA and Olympic regulations.

However, the Iraqi officials said that they would not annul the decree, saying that the football association is not affected by the decision and called for FIFA to lift its ban. They also affirmed the fact that if FIFA would not change its decision, the government is not to blame.

Iraq only has four qualifying games left for the World Cup but Iraqi Coach Adnan Hamed said that the FIFA decision left his players confused about whether to play or not.

"The team management is trying to stop the players talking about the issue but the players keep asking us about it," he told the Times.

The next World Cup will take place between June 11 and July 11, 2010, in South Africa.