The head of the RFU admitted that the Russian youth team will play at the European Championship

The Russian youth football team (players no older than 17 years old) retains the opportunity to compete at the 2024 European Championship, despite the decision of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), said the President of the Russian Football Union (RFU), Alexander Dyukov.

On September 26, the UEFA Executive Committee asked the leadership of the union to propose a solution that would allow the Russian national teams U‑17 and younger (both girls and boys) to be reinstated. On Tuesday, UEFA abandoned the idea of ​​Russian youth teams returning to tournaments, as it was impossible to find “a technical solution to allow Russian teams to be admitted.”

— The decision of September 26 on the admission of national teams remains in force. The executive committee was supposed to consider the technical issue of how to admit youth teams for the 2023-2024 year. At the moment, no technical solution has been found, so this issue has not been considered and no decisions have been made to reverse the previous decision. That decision remains in effect.

— We don’t have time to play in the qualifying round for the European Youth Championship that has just begun?

— There is a theoretical possibility (of participation in the European Youth Championships). There is time to find a technical solution.

— That is, to include Russia in the group that plays in November?

– Yes. While there is such a possibility.

— Does this opportunity expire at the end of November?

– No, why? The qualifying tournament starts in October, there is not much time left,” Match TV quotes Dyukov.

The ban on the participation of Russian national teams of all ages in international tournaments has been in effect since February 2022 due to the situation in Ukraine.

The Russian national team beat the Cameroon team in Moscow on Thursday with a score of 1:0 in a friendly match.

— An excellent and entertaining match, high-quality football. The team pleased us with its desire and dedication, because from the first minutes it matched one of the best teams in terms of speed of movement, speed of decision-making, and moved the ball quickly,” noted the head of the RFU.

On October 16, Valery Karpin’s team will play against the Kenyan team in Antalya, Turkey. The game will be shown live on the Match TV channel.