The world football organization FIFA has announced the return of the Russian youth football team to international competitions, adding that the Under-15 World Cup and Festival to be held in Azerbaijan in October 2026 will be open to all FIFA member countries.
According to FIFA, the teams participating in the tournament, which will be held from October 22 to 31, and the format of the matches will be announced later.
Although Russian national teams and clubs remain banned from participating in international competitions from 2022, membership of the Russian Football Federation has not been suspended.
Russia has called FIFA’s announcement a significant step towards its return to world football, with Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev saying on social media that the decision is a positive step for the return of Russian teams to international sports.
It is worth mentioning that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian teams and athletes were banned from various international sports, but in recent years some international sports organizations have started to gradually ease the restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
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