European football’s governing body, UEFA has abandoned plans to readmit Russian U17 teams into next year’s youth European Championships.
Recall Russian teams have been barred from participating in UEFA competitions since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
Last month, UEFA announced plans to reinstate the Russian youth team into the international football setup, having suspended all Russian teams from UEFA competitions since 2022.
However, the organisation has decided to back down on the plans, saying that finding a way to reintegrate Russia’s U17 side has proven too difficult logistically.
“No technical solution to allow Russian teams to play could be found,” a Uefa spokesperson said, who added that the “agenda point was withdrawn”.
UEFA had earlier argued that boys and girls should not be punished for the actions of adults but a number of national associations, including the English Football Association, publicly expressed their opposition to playing against Russia if drawn against them at either the men’s competition in Cyprus or the women’s in Sweden next year.
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“Speaking as an English FA, we made our position very clear 18 months ago – we won’t play Russia in any category age group as long as there is a war,” FA chair Debbie Hewitt said after the executive committee meeting on Tuesday.
“We felt very strong in that. That is a position we retain.”
Recall that UEFA also revoked Russia’s hosting rights for the 2022 Champions League final and 2023 Super Cup, which were due to be held in Saint Petersburg and Kazan respectively.
Apart from barring Russian teams from participating in continental competition, the association also cancelled the sponsorship contract with state-owned energy giant Gazprom.
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