“We cannot deprive a certain generation of footballers of the opportunity to get to the World Cup.” Osinkin – about the likely transition of Russia to the AFC

The head coach of Samara Krylia Sovetov, Igor Osinkin, believes that it is better to move to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) than to deprive a whole generation of players of the opportunity to play at the international level.

Earlier, Match TV learned that FIFA would not interfere with Russia’s participation in the selection for the 2026 World Cup when moving to the AFC. A Match TV source in FIFA noted that this could be a decisive argument for Russia’s transition to the AFC.

– The transition of Russian football to the AFC is a complex issue in which a lot needs to be calculated. There are certain risks in this: how soon can we be returned to UEFA, or will the European association be offended if we choose to move to Asia, and most importantly, is AFC itself waiting for our participation?

In financial terms, participation in the Asian league compared to the European one is two big differences. Therefore, there is a question of the practice of international games. In economic terms, some of our clubs are in the red. We do not own the whole situation, and there is no unequivocal opinion.

I was only interested in European football. If you look at club participation in the AFC, we are in 11th place, and it will be difficult for us to get into the top three. We do not imagine ourselves at the top of the table this season. Not about us yet. Roughly speaking, not our wedding. We must keep in mind that logistically this is a super-difficult tournament, and it will be much more difficult.

Before, we really were above the Asian teams, and they were not a strong competitor. But it is worth noting: Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia showed themselves very worthily at the World Cup. Now there will be no unequivocal “walk” in the Asian confederation.

Everyone is interested in international matches. Recently, the legionnaires who come to us are not afraid to fly, they are accustomed to distances. Our legionnaires fly home for two days.

Are we losing entertainment? It is clear that we will not find Germany and France there. There must be correct expectations from this transition. We must set ourselves the task that we cannot deprive a certain generation of football players of the opportunity to play at the international level, including getting to the World Cup. In this context, there will always be interest. Do not be surprised if it is smaller than the European one. It concerns both the national team and the club level.

Compared to the European league, we will not be constantly in a competitive environment. But what we have today: there are no official matches of the national team and no UEFA club level – this must be replaced. It is better to change the matches of the Asian Confederation than to have nothing,” Osinkin told Sport24.

The next World Cup will take place in 2026 in Mexico, the USA and Canada. Russia did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup, as it was excluded from the selection at the stage of the play-offs.