UEFA abandon plan to reinstate Russia U17 men & women teams in competitions

Earlier UEFA had decided to lift the ban

UEFA had earlier planned to allow the Russia U17 football teams of both men and women to participate in the competitions organised by the governing body.

However, reports from the BBC suggest that UEFA have dropped this plan, and the Russia U17 teams will have to wait until the ban gets lifted.

"No technical solution to allow Russian teams to play could be found," a Uefa spokesperson said, who added that the "agenda point was withdrawn".

All Russian teams, at club and international levels, have been barred from Uefa events since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

By the end of September, plans were being drawn up to partially relax those rules and allow minors to compete, using the justification that children should not be punished for the actions of adults.

UEFA released a statement stating, “It is particularly aggrieving that, due to the enduring conflict, a generation of minors is deprived of its right to compete in international football.” 

“For these reasons, the Uefa executive committee has decided that Russian teams of minor players will be readmitted to its competitions in the course of this season.”

President, Aleksander Ceferin, ruled out any softening of the ban in September. “Uefa’s continuing suspension against Russian adult teams reflects its commitment to take a stand against violence and aggression,” he said.

“Uefa is determined that this position will continue until the war is over and peace restored. But by banning children from our competitions, we not only fail to recognise and uphold a fundamental right for their holistic development but we directly discriminate against them.”

Several nations decided not to play against any of the Russian teams. Sweden, Ukraine, Denmark, England, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Poland have already refused to play against any Russian team.