There are more reasons for optimism, but it is extremely difficult to find a technical solution before the end of the SVO
Photo by city news agency “Moscow”
The partial, and in some cases almost complete, lifting of sanctions from Russian athletes following the relevant recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) made it possible to hope that football clubs from the Russian Federation, as well as national teams, would soon be allowed to participate in international competitions. The President of the Russian Football Union (RFU), Alexander Dyukov, said late last week that in 2025, including following the recommendations of the IOC, there were many good precedents that give hope. “We assume that international football regulators will make decisions that will allow our teams to take part in official international competitions,” Dyukov said. He added that a substantive conversation with FIFA and UEFA could take place as early as 2026. In the meantime, from communication with these structures, he concluded that they accepted the IOC decision positively, even if they did not perceive it as binding.
The RFU President recalled the situation in 2023. Then FIFA and UEFA decided to lift the suspension from the Russian U17 national teams, that is, from juniors. However, very soon this access was frozen. UEFA said it had not found “a technical solution to allow Russian teams to play.” The “technical solution” is, as you might guess, the agreement of other national federations to play with the Russians. If there were several such federations, options would certainly be found. But in 2023, UEFA backed down under pressure from critical mass.
What has changed in 2025? Officially, not much. Following the recommendations of the IOC, news agencies conveyed UEFA’s position: the organization is ready to return Russians, but only after the end of the SVO. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, before the recent World Cup draw, strongly praised Donald Trump’s peacekeeping initiatives, and he himself probably would not mind lifting the ban from the Russian Federation. But Infantino is an experienced diplomat, official and politician; he is unlikely to make sudden movements until he feels that the trend towards lifting sanctions cannot be stopped.
At the same time, according to some sources, UEFA discussed the prospects for the return of Russian clubs and national teams in 2025. A consensus seems to be gradually emerging; even the Norwegians and Swedes are supposedly ready for dialogue; the British, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Poland and the Baltic countries are radically opposed. On the one hand, this is a shift. On the other hand, there are no prerequisites for rapid movement. With such a group of opponents you will not find that same “technical solution”. The conflict between Israel and Palestine added arguments to Russia. No one suspended Israeli teams from the competition, despite demands to do so voiced in many European countries. But so far these arguments do not outweigh and do not help bring the Russians back.
They almost stopped talking about a possible departure from UEFA to Asia. And the structure of UEFA tournaments is ready for the return of Russians. The draw for the Nations League will take place in February, the draw for the 2028 European Championship qualifying tournament will take place only in December 2026. If the ban is lifted, four Russian clubs could play in European competition, albeit from the early qualifying stages. That is, it is theoretically possible to integrate Russian teams into the tournaments themselves quite quickly. But in practice, this can most likely be done only if Moscow and Kyiv conclude a peace treaty or at least cease fire and are close to an agreement. We need a political solution. A football compromise (after all, the number one sport) could also be part of a big deal.
