The RFU allowed Russia to receive a wild card for the 2026 World Cup

The Russian national team can receive a wild card for the 2026 World Cup. This assumption was made on March 31 by Maxim Mitrofanov, General Secretary of the Russian Football Union (RFU).

According to him, Russia may return to tournaments under the auspices of the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

"I can say that there is a dialogue, it is quite positive. Maybe something has changed. There will be a UEFA Congress now, and many federations have requested negotiations. These are working meetings, and many countries express their support in one way or another," Mitrofanov said, as quoted by Sport-Express.

When asked if a wild card is possible at the 2026 World Cup, the RFU Secretary General stressed that "anything is possible in this life."

Russian clubs and national football teams have been banned from participating in international tournaments under the auspices of FIFA and UEFA since February 2022.

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Earlier, on March 26, the Independent reported that UEFA had launched the process of returning Russian national teams and clubs to international tournaments. In addition, there are high-ranking football figures who would return Russian teams "tomorrow." Some believe that Russia should not have been suspended at all, the article says.