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According to FIFA, 204 national football teams have submitted applications to participate in the 19th FIFA World Cup, which will take place from June 11 to July 11, 2010 in the Republic of South Africa. This is a record number of teams competing in the qualifying rounds.
This list includes the host country, South Africa, which does not have to participate in the qualifying matches, as well as the newly formed state of Montenegro, which will become a FIFA member in May.
Out of the 208 countries united by FIFA, only the Philippines, Bhutan, Brunei, and Laos did not express desire to compete for a spot in the World Cup.
In the qualification for the 2002 World Cup, 193 countries participated, in 2006 - 194 countries. However, there is still a possibility that one of the countries that have submitted applications may withdraw their candidacy.
FIFA has also distributed quotas for each continent in the upcoming tournament, where 32 national teams will participate. Europe has been allocated 13 spots, Africa - 5, Asia and South America - 4 each, North America and the Caribbean region - 3 spots. Two more spots will be determined after the play-off matches, where the best team from the Oceania region will play the fifth Asian team, and the fourth team from North America and the Caribbean region will play the fifth team from South America.
