The Executive Committee of the Russian Football Federation has rejected, for the moment, the proposal that had been made to leave UEFA - which banned Moscow from international competitions after the invasion of Ukraine last February - and seek membership in the confederation asian.

"We are really evaluating the option of returning to UEFA competitions as soon as possible," said Russian Football Federation president Alexander Dyukov. It is important for us to take part in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers."

In this sense, the federation has proposed the creation of a group to conduct consultations with UEFA, in an attempt to resume relations, Dyukov said, explaining however that Russia could apply for membership of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in a next phase. The Russia national team has been excluded from the qualifying draw for Euro 2024 and will not take part in qualifying matches, which kick off in March, and remain banned from FIFA competitions.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Tas) of Lausanne has rejected all the appeals presented by Moscow for the revocation of the bans. The decision to join Asia would have various consequences, especially financial, for the club teams, as the president of CSKA Moscow, Yevgeny Giner had underlined : "We will literally have to start from scratch -, he said -. Therefore, perhaps we should wait for a return to great European football."

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