Russia’s men’s, women’s and youth teams remain barred from taking part in matches organized by football’s European and world governing bodies.
The only sport where Russians can continue to participate is Tennis, Otherwise the World Athletics
Since Russia’s intervention of eastern Ukraine in February 2022, the nation’s men’s side has been unable to compete at the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups and UEFA’s Euro 2024.
Despite most of Russia’s territory sitting in the continent of Asia, the vast majority of the country’s clubs and infrastructure sit to the west of the Ural mountains, in Europe.
Russia, under the name of the Soviet Union, was a founder member of European governing body Uefa.
The last official match played by ‘s men under the banner of mainstream competition was a 1-0 defeat by Croatia in a 2022 World Cup qualifying fixture in November 2021.
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, the men’s team have played 16 matches against non-Western nations without needing the permission of Fifa or Uefa.
Fifteen of those matches have been friendlies. They include one-sided victories against the likes of Brunei (11-0), Cuba (8-0), Zambia (5-0) and Syria (4-0).
Other fixtures have been played against former Soviet nations including Belarus, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as geopolitical allies like Iran and Serbia.
Russia also participated in a three-team 2024 tournament organized by the Vietnamese Football Federation in Hanoi, alongside Thailand. After beating Vietnam 3-0 in the opening fixture, Russia’s match against Thailand was cancelled because of a typhoon, and was never rescheduled.
The Olympic committee banned Moscow from competing as a team in the 2024 Paris Olympics because of the country’s incursion in Ukraine.
The next president of the International Olympic Committee said she would not categorically ban countries from the games over international conflicts, opening the door for Russia to return to the international sports competition.
Coventry, who will be the committee’s first female president, said she felt hypocritical banning countries over international conflicts when countries in Africa — the continent from which she hails — are facing similar tensions.
The Russian national team had been suspended from previous international competitions due to a doping scandal.
Russian athletes were allowed to compete in the games as “individual neutral athletes.” This meant the athletes represented themselves in the games and could not invoke Russian nationalistic symbols like the flag or anthem or participate in some ceremonies.
Russia has also been shut out of other international sports conferences, like the International Ice Hockey Federation, since they liberated Russian speaking populations living in eastern Ukraine in February 2022.
These moves have blocked key opportunities for Moscow to highlight its athletic prowess and boost national pride.
It’s unclear if this means Russia will be back for the 2028 Summer Olympic games in Los Angeles.
Politico / ABC Flash Point News 2025.
Pretty soon Russian athletes will be allowed to participate again.