Russia mulling Asia switch amid European football ban
The Socceroos could face new opposition in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup if the Russian Football Union (RFU) gets its way.
With all Russian teams currently banned by European football federation UEFA following the country’s illegal invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, Moscow has expressed interest in joining the Asian Football Confederation alongside Australia, Japan, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
“We don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Meanwhile, the AFC is open to accepting us into its midst,” RFU president Aleksandr Dyukov said of Russian football’s predicament.
Accordingly, Dyukov will preside over a historic meeting of the RFU’s executive committee on yesterday (today) where officials will consider whether to abandon European football and join the AFC in a bid to make the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“No-one has ever left UEFA,” Dyukov said, conceding there was no set process in place for switching confederations.
If the move was given the green light, that would mean top Russian clubs like Zenit St Petersburg, Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Moscow
would no longer be allowed to compete in UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and Europa League and would instead play in their Asian equivalent against A-League clubs.
Should Russia be controversially parachuted into the Asian World Cup qualifying section, it would affect the chances of other teams such as Australia of reaching the next World Cup.
Ranked 37th in the world, Valery Karpin’s side have been reduced to playing low-key friendlies since their UEFA ban, drawing 0-0 with both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in November.
But historically Russia has enjoyed success on the field, winning the 1960 Euros as the Soviet Union and more recently reaching the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup on home soil.
Russia has a geographical right to request AFC membership since the majority of its territory is in Asia, though the capital Moscow is located west of the Ural Mountains in Europe.
Besides, Israel play in UEFA for political reasons despite being an Asian nation by geography, while Kazakhstan and Turkey are both mainly Asian countries yet choose to compete in European football.
Dyukov expects a decision on Russia’s footballing future to be made by the end of the year, to give the national team a chance of qualifying for the next World Cup in four years’ time.
He insisted FIFA – whose president Gianni Infantino has a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin – would not oppose Russia’s inclusion.
“Also, it must be said, unfortunately, we are also growing apart from Europe ideologically,” Dyukov said.
The Kremlin reportedly supports the switch to Asia due to the ongoing political and economic tensions with the United States and the European Union.