Russia is making a partial return to international football after being included in the draw for the boys' Under-15 World Cup festival, announced by FIFA on Friday. The country was grouped with Turkey, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Sierra Leone and Sudan for the inaugural tournament, which will be hosted by Azerbaijan next month.
Russia has been shut out of FIFA and UEFA competitions since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. That exclusion followed several European federations declaring they would not play against Russian teams, a stance later upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after FIFA and UEFA argued that allowing Russian sides to compete risked opponents boycotting fixtures. Poland, for instance, had refused to face Russia in a World Cup qualifying playoff scheduled for March 2022.
The invitation to this new Under-15 event, extended last December to all 211 FIFA member federations including Russia, marked the first easing of that ban. Turkey is the only European nation in Russia's six-team group at the festival, which will run from October 24-30 and feature 191 teams in total.
Still No Path Back to Europe's Top Competitions
There remains no prospect of Russian clubs or senior national teams returning to the European Championship or the Champions League. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said Russia's senior sides will not be allowed back while the war in Ukraine continues.
The draw itself tells its own story about the state of international football's politics. Only 37 of UEFA's 55 member federations took part, with Ukraine notably absent, and Germany and the Netherlands also choosing not to enter. The United States and North Korea are missing from the tournament as well.
A New Format Aimed at Smaller Nations
FIFA framed the festival as a way to give countries that rarely qualify for major tournaments a genuine competitive experience. "The FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival addresses a fundamental challenge in international football: providing meaningful competitive opportunities for nations in which qualifying for FIFA competitions remains an enormous challenge," the governing body said.
The games themselves will look a little different from the usual format, played eight-a-side with 20-minute halves on smaller pitches, according to FIFA. A girls' version of the Under-15 World Cup is set to follow next year, with both events planned to become annual fixtures from 2028.
