GENEVA: The world’s governing body of football, FIFA, has cleared Russia’s U-15 boys and girls’ teams to participate in youth world champion...
GENEVA: The world’s governing body of football, FIFA, has cleared Russia’s U-15 boys and girls’ teams to participate in youth world championships, the FIFA press office said in a statement on Thursday.
"Following the approval by the FIFA Council last December of a U-15 tournament for boys and girls as part of FIFA’s unwavering commitment to promoting the youth game, the Bureau of the Council has appointed Azerbaijan as the host of the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival 2026," the statement reads.
"While the first edition will be open to boys’ teams from all FIFA Member Associations, the second instalment in 2027 will feature girls’ teams only. Building on this momentum, from 2028 onwards, all Member Associations will be invited to participate with both their boys’ and girls’ U-15 teams in two separate competitions," the statement added.
According to the DPA news agency, the wording indicating that all FIFA members can participate in the tournament also applies to Russia.
The 2026 FIFA U-15 World Cup will be hosted by Azerbaijan, taking place from October 22-31, 2026.
Russia’s football ban
The world’s governing football body, FIFA, announced on February 28, 2022, that the Russian national team and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from participating in FIFA tournaments.
In turn, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made a similar decision regarding the Russian national football team’s participation in UEFA tournaments.
Both FIFA and UEFA cited Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as grounds for their respective bans on Russian teams’ participation in competitions.
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