RFU head responds to question about Russia's return to international tournaments

Russian Football Union (RFU) President Alexander Dyukov said on February 8 that he believes in the return of Russian national teams to international tournaments in his new term in office.

"Of course, I believe that during my new four-year term, Russian clubs and national teams will be allowed to play in international tournaments," he told TASS.

Dyukov was re-elected as head of the Russian Football Union on February 2.

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On February 5, Maxim Mitrofanov, secretary general of the RFU Ethics Committee, said that some members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the International Football Federation (FIFA) may have changed their rhetoric regarding the Russians' return to international competitions. He expressed hope that increased work would lead to the return of the Russian national team as early as 2025.

Earlier, on December 25, 2024, Russian Football Union president Alexander Dyukov said that the Russian national soccer team could play matches against European rivals in the first half of 2025. Maxim Mitrofanov, general secretary of the Russian Football Union, told Izvestia at the same time that the Israel Football Federation was in favor of allowing Russian teams to participate in international competitions.

On February 28, 2022 , FIFA and UEFA suspended national teams and clubs from the Russian Federation from participating in all competitions under the auspices of the organizations. As the organizations assured, soccer will become "a vector of unity and peace between nations" if the situation around Ukraine improves.