New military aid from England; NATO calls on allies to “do more” for Ukraine

The Russian Football Federation (RFS) has not followed through on its threats to leave UEFA, and announced on Friday that it wants to form a working group with the European body, ten months after the invasion of Ukraine, resulting in a ban on the Russian game. .

According to the head of the RFS, Alexander Tuko, at a press conference in Moscow, the group must find solutions. “To resolve the question of the return of Russian clubs and national teams to official international competitions as soon as possible”.

“We are studying the possibility of returning to UEFA competitions”He continued, three representatives from UEFA and others from FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be invited to participate in this task force. “For us, it is important to participate in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup”Mr. Dioukov added.

In recent weeks, as the RFS has multiplied, there has been the possibility of joining the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) from UEFA, which could have significant financial consequences for Russian clubs. However, on Friday, Alexander Dyukov did not completely rule out the possibility if negotiations with UEFA fail. “We can redirect to Asia, but we need FIFA’s decision to participate in the 2026 World Cup and we will quickly find an agreement through this task force”He explained.

According to him, this task force should be with UEFA “It’s a sign that bridges aren’t cut and we can try to find solutions to restore that [leurs] relationships”. “Of course, politics influence football. But let’s see how much », Mr. Dyukov argued. On February 28, four days after the start of the Kremlin offensive in Ukraine, the Russian Federation was excluded from all competitions organized by UEFA.

In early May, UEFA announced“No Russian Club” Will not participate in European Cups (Champions League, Europa League and Europa League Conference) for the current 2022-2023 season. In mid-September, the RFS confirmed that they would not be able to take part in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, which were scheduled to start in March.