Why did Turkey not participate in the 1950 World Cup?

The World Cup, one of the most popular sports organizations in the world, kicked off in Qatar on November 20. National teams from 32 countries compete in 8 different groups of 4 teams in the group stage of the organisation. Although millions of people are closely following the World Cup, the excitement experienced by the citizens of the countries who managed to participate in the tournament is of course more …

Unfortunately, our country did not have the opportunity to participate in the 2022 World Cup. However, there is a sad period in our history when we were unable to go to the tournament, although we qualified for the World Cup. Let’s take a closer look at one of the most tragic events in our sporting history, the story of the Turkish national football team’s failure to participate in the World Cup that was held in Brazil in 1950…

After the World Cup, which was held in France in 1938, football fans were deprived of the most prestigious football organization in the world for 12 years.

After the tournament in France, ii. World War II deeply affected the entire world. For this reason, the World Cup cannot be organized for 12 years. This exciting tournament, which witnessed unforgettable moments and events throughout history, was brought back to life only in 1950 after the end of the war.

It was decided that Brazil would host the 1950 tournament.

Serious preparations for the World Cup have begun in the country. The Maracana Stadium, one of the largest stadiums in the world with a capacity of 200,000 people, was built in Rio de Janeiro during this period. In addition, hosts Brazil emerged as the tournament’s favorites…

In order for Turkey to qualify for the 1950 World Cup, it had to overcome the obstacles of Syria and Austria.

Unable to fully overcome the devastating effects of the war, Austria announced its withdrawal from the tournament. Thus, Turkey faced Syria on the ticket to the World Cup. The national players under the coaching of Cihat Arman, one of the legendary names of Turkish football, left the field with a clear 7-0 victory with goals from Fahrettin Cancifer (3), Bulent Ekin, Erol Keskin, Lefter Koçukandoniadis and Gunduz Kilic. Turkey played a great match against Syria and qualified for the World Cup…

In the 1950s, there were turbulent days in Turkey, as in many countries.

Moreover, according to the conditions of that period, Brazil was very far from Turkey! The government could not allocate the necessary allowance for Brazil’s trip to the Turkish Football Federation due to the country’s economic problems. That is why Turkey could not go to the tournament, although it had the right to participate in the 1950 World Cup!

Thus, Turkey entered history as a country that had the right to participate in 3 different World Cup tournaments throughout its football history, but could only participate in two tournaments only. Our country succeeded in participating in the tournaments held in 1954 and 2002.

If Turkey’s national football team is able to go to Brazil for the 1950 World Cup, it will be in Group D, which includes the United States, Mexico and India.

Only 13 teams participated in the 1950 World Cup, which Turkey was unable to attend due to financial difficulties. England, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Yugoslavia from Europe. Mexico and the USA from North and Central America. Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay from South America managed to participate in the tournament.

Uruguay defeated Brazil in the final game of the tournament to win the title.

Who knows, maybe the national team could have traveled to Brazil and brought the trophy to our country if it had not been for the economic problems that Turkey was experiencing at that time …