Both the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) and the Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) have been involved in long-running attempts to gain a seat at the table of the organisation but are now set to be granted membership status when the vote of the 209 member associations takes place at the Congress here on Friday (May 13).

Kosovo’s application was already on the agenda after they were narrowly accepted as a member of UEFA at the body’s Congress in Budapest last week, with 28 associations voting in favour and 24 against.

The FIFA Council, which replaced the Executive Committee as part of widespread reforms aimed at repairing the reputation of the scandal-hit organisation, agreed to add Gibraltar’s membership to the agenda during its two-day meeting, which concluded today.

Should they both be granted membership, Gibraltar and Kosovo will be able to take part in qualification for the 2018 World Cup, FIFA has confirmed.

The GFA’s potential FIFA inclusion follows a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling, which ordered the organisation to take "all necessary measures" to accept Gibraltar “without delay”.

Gibraltar’s requirements for admission to FIFA "were not met" on September 26, 2014, and the governing body subsequently refused to send their application for membership to the Congress.

The GFA appealed to CAS, arguing that FIFA "improperly" rejected its bid.

They asked the Lausanne based body to directly award them with FIFA membership.

CAS refused to do this, but partially upheld the GFA appeal and did rule that the application should be transferred to the FIFA Congress for approval.

Gibraltar, a British overseas territory at the tip of the Iberian peninsula, has been trying to join FIFA and European governing body UEFA for nearly 20 years.

A CAS decision in 2013 saw them become a member of UEFA, and their national side went on to play in qualifying for the 2016 European Championships in France.

They have faced continual opposition from Spain, who still dispute the sovereignty of the nation.

Kosovo are currently only allowed to play friendly matches organised by FIFA, with certain restrictions applying such as a ban on the country facing clubs and teams from countries of the former Yugoslavia.

The country’s complicated political status has seen several players born in the state play for different countries.

These include Xherdan Shaqiri and Valon Behrami, both of whom represent Switzerland, as well as Finland’s Shefki Kuqi and Albania’s Lorik Cana.

Kosovo’s acceptance into UEFA was blasted by Serbia, which they gained independence from in 2008.

Serbia’s Foreign Ministry claimed it was “a warning that we live in the world of interest and politics, and not justice and rules”, while Serbian ruling party official Marko Djuric said “the foundations of European football were shaken” by the decision to admit Kosovo.

Elsewhere, the FIFA Council also opted to suspend the Benin Football Association "due to a recent injunction by a local judicial court which impeded the holding of the due election".

The country joins Indonesia and Kuwait on the list of banned Federations and the Congress will now vote on their potential reinstatement on Friday.

The 2018 FIFA Under-17 World Cup has been awarded to Uruguay, with the tournament scheduled to take place from November 20 to December 13.