More than four years after Moscow launched its war of against Ukraine, Russia be allowed to participate in an international football tournament again for the first time in October.
All member associations have been invited by FIFA to the new under-15 World Cup and festival, which will take place from October 22 to 31 in Azerbaijan, the football governing body said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to information available to dpa, the list includes Russia and its ally Belarus.
After the war started in March 2022, all Russian teams were banned from international competitions.
At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and this year's Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals.
Signs of Russia's return to international football competitions had been emerging in recent months.
"Oh, definitely. We have to. Yes... at least at youth level. That ban didn't accomplish anything," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in February when asked by British broadcaster Sky whether FIFA was working to lift the ban.
The sanctions have only "led to more frustration and hatred," Infantino said.
Since the ban came into force, Russia men's professional national team has continued to play international matches outside of major tournaments and is ranked 34th in the FIFA world rankings. The same applies to the women's national team, which is ranked 27th.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has also repeatedly questioned the exclusion of Russian youth teams from official competitions and called for the restrictions to be eased, saying that the young Russian generation would otherwise be permanently isolated on the international stage.
However, a proposal in this regard was rejected due to opposition from the national associations, which criticized Ceferin.
