More than four years after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, FIFA on Thursday indicated that it was opening the way for Russia to enter an international youth competition.

In announcing its under-15 ‘World Cup and Festival’ in Azerbaijan from October 22 to 31, the governing body of world football said it would be open to everyone.

Even though Russian national teams and clubs have been barred from international competitions since 2022, FIFA never suspended the membership of the Russian football federation.

A spokesperson for FIFA would not directly mention Russia when talking to AFP but confirmed that the tournament “is open to all FIFA member associations” and noted that the competition format and details regarding participants would be announced later.

Russia immediately interpreted the statement as an invitation to return.

“We welcome FIFA’s decision to allow the Russian national team to take part in the World Cup and the FIFA U-15 Festival, which will be held in Azerbaijan in October 2026. This is an important step toward bringing Russian teams back into international sport,” posted Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev on social media.

This move appears to be part of a gradual relaxing of restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

In May, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended lifting restrictions on Belarusian athletes allowing them to compete under their national flag and anthem and participate in team sports while recommending that restrictions on Russian athletes remain in place.

After being banned in February 2022, Russian athletes were reinstated under a neutral flag in March 2023, subject to specific conditions being met: competing only in individual events, having not publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine, and having no ties to the Russian military or security services.

Several international sports federations including gymnastics, judo, and swimming have gone further, allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags and anthems.

Last December, a summit bringing together the IOC and representatives of international sports federations, recommended reinstating athletes from both countries, complete with their anthems and flags.

On Wednesday, the IOC changed the Olympic charter section on neutrality, a move interpreted by some observers as clearing the way to drop its ban on Russia.

In 2023, UEFA made an initial attempt to reintegrate Russian youth teams into European football competitions — without flags, anthems, or official kits to avoid “punishing” them for “actions for which only adults are responsible”.

It abandoned the plan in the face of boycott threats from Ukraine, England, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway and Romania.

AFP

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