Gianni Infantino wants to enable Russian football teams to take part in international competitions again. “Oh, definitely. We have to. Yes… at least at youth level,” replied the president of the world football governing body Fifa when asked in an interview by British broadcaster Sky whether FIFA should lift its ban. “This ban has achieved nothing. It has only led to more frustration and hatred,” Infantino said.
Shortly after Russia After the attack on Ukraine in 2022, FIFA and the European Football Union Uefa blocked their current competitions for Russian participants. Formally, however, this did not happen as a reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but rather because of the threat to the “integrity of the competition”, as it is called in football political language.
Admission of Russian U17 teams failed in 2023 due to boycott threats
As early as April 2025, Infantino had shown himself open to Russia’s return – in connection with an end to the war. “As the peace talks in Ukraine continue, I hope that we can soon move on to the next phase and bring Russia back into the world of football, because that would mean that everything is resolved,” Infantino said at the UEFA Congress in Belgrade.
With regard to youth teams, Infantino had previously advocated for the ban to be lifted. In 2023, FIFA and UEFA initially allowed Russian U17 teams back into international competitions. As a result, several European associations – including the DFB – announced a boycott. Ultimately, FIFA and UEFA scrapped their plans.
In December 2025, the Fifa Council confirmed that Russian teams would be allowed to take part in U15 tournaments. The world football association followed the recommendation of the Olympic Committee IOC. It had recently called for an “unrestricted” return of Russian teams to international youth competitions.
Putin’s Order of Friendship for Infantino
Russia’s men’s national team continues to play international matches outside of major tournaments and is ranked 36th in the official FIFA world rankings. This also applies to the Russian women’s selection, which is in 28th place in the FIFA world rankings.
During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, human rights activists criticized the restrictions on freedom of expression and arrests of opposition figures. Meanwhile, Infantino enthused that the world had fallen in love with Russia. A year later, Putin awarded the Swiss with an Order of Friendship.
