Uefa has been forced to stall plans to reintegrate Russia’s under-17 teams into its competitions after widespread opposition rendered them unworkable.
The surprise decision to accept junior teams and end a blanket ban on Russian sides, in place since the country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, came when a vote was passed on 26 September. A Uefa executive committee meeting in Nyon on Tuesday had been due to discuss the issue again, with suggestions beforehand that it could be brought to a fresh vote, but the topic was pulled after the governing body accepted its efforts had hit a dead end.
“The agenda point was withdrawn as no technical solution to allow Russian teams to play could be found,” Uefa said. In particular Uefa had examined whether Russia’s under‑17s, playing without any national flag or kit, could enter this autumn’s qualifying phases for its men’s and women’s youth tournaments. But the proposal was widely unpopular and at least 12 of its 55 member federations said their teams would not play against Russian representatives.
The fallout from Uefa’s decision to readmit Russia led one of its vice‑presidents, Karl-Erik Nilsson, to quit his role as chair of the Swedish sports confederation last week after it was revealed that he voted in favour. Sweden, which will host the Uefa women’s under-17 championship finals in 2024, has been among those steadfastly opposed to Russia’s participation on the international stage and said it would not allow their presence if they qualified.
England’s Football Association also refused to let national teams play against Russia. Speaking after the committee rubber-stamped the joint UK and Republic of Ireland bid to host Euro 2028, the FA chief executive officer, Mark Bullingham, said: “We have made ourselves incredibly clear on Russia. That has not changed. They haven’t found a technical solution so from our understanding nothing has changed.”
While any attempts to accommodate Russian teams are now on hold, there has been no reversal of the decision last month and the original vote technically stands. It means Uefa could still accept their participation in future youth tournaments if a solution is found, although the prospects of that appear faint while the war in Ukraine continues.
