UEFA allowed underage Russian football players to play

The first sports structure responsible for a team sport that at least slightly softened the regime of complete isolation in relation to representatives of Russia was the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). He authorized admission to top competitions under his auspices for domestic female football players and football players under the age of 17. Thus, in theory, they can try to qualify for the European Championships, which will take place next year.

The Union of European Football Associations announced that it has sanctioned admission to competitions under its auspices for all Russian football teams playing in the U-17 category, that is, for players no older than 17 years old. The suspension of senior national teams and clubs remains in force “until the end of the conflict in Ukraine.” UEFA said in a statement that “children cannot be punished for actions for which adults alone are responsible” and that “due to a protracted conflict” “an entire generation” of youth players “is deprived of the right to compete in international football tournaments.” The structure’s president, Aleksandar Čeferin, equated such bans to “discrimination” against children. UEFA clarified that youth teams will be allowed in a neutral status, without the ability to use national symbols, and matches will only be able to be played outside Russian territory.

In any case, we are talking about a very noticeable event. After the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, the entire sports industry in Russia found itself in a difficult situation. However, the situation in team sports is particularly difficult. In the rest, after the appearance in March of new recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had previously insisted on maintaining a regime of essentially total isolation in relation to Russian athletes, it was significantly softened. Many domestic teams are already competing in top tournaments. However, the recommendations did not change the status of team events. The IOC, like most sports federations, still considers it impossible for them to return to international competition even with strict restrictions and reservations, and in this sense the UEFA decision seems to be a small breakthrough.

It’s funny that it took place thanks to an organization with which Russia seemed to be planning to sever relations relatively recently. At the end of last year, the Russian Football Union (RFU) admitted that it was considering the option of moving from under the auspices of UEFA to the auspices of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It never took place, but during the entire period of isolation, which included a ban on participation in official games, the Russian national team never met European opponents in friendly matches, intersecting mainly with teams from Asia: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – in 2022, with Iran, Iraq and Qatar – in 2023 (besides them, its opponents were the Egyptians twice). Honorary President of the RFU Vyacheslav Koloskov told RIA Novosti that, in his opinion, UEFA’s decision indicates that he is “interested in the RFU and our football in general.”

The nearest major tournaments for national teams under 17 are the European Championships. The men’s competition will take place in Cyprus in May-June 2024, the women’s competition in Sweden in May. Both lead up to qualifying tournaments. At the same time, the composition of the men’s groups has already been formed. However, in theory, this should not turn into an insurmountable obstacle for the Russian team. The fact is that the UEFA press release notes that its executive committee turned to the administration of the structure with a request to ensure the participation of Russian teams in the competition, even if their draw has already taken place.

Alexey Dospehov