Next week's football friendly between Russia, Cuba to be recognized by FIFA
The 45,000-seat Volgograd-Arena was built for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and hosted four group stage matches of the world football championship
NOVOGORSK /Moscow Region/, November 15. /TASS/. The friendly football match between the national teams of Russia and Cuba, scheduled to be held next week in Volgograd, will be officially registered by the world’s governing body of football, FIFA, Valery Karpin, the head coach of the Russian national side, said on Wednesday.
"There will be six substitutions during the match, therefore this match will be officially counted in the FIFA World Ranking," Karpin told journalists.
The press service of the Russian Football Union (RFU) announced on November 3 that the country’s national team would play an exhibition match against the Cuban squad. The friendly between Russia (currently 39th in FIFA Rankings) and Cuba (169th in FIFA Rankings) will be held at the Volgograd Arena, in the south of Russia, on November 20 with kick off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Moscow time (4:30 p.m. GMT).
The 45,000-seat Volgograd-Arena was built for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and hosted four group stage matches of the world football championship.
Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, has a population of over one million people, situated along the Volga River. The city and the surrounding areas were the scene of the fiercest battles of World War II, including the Battle of Stalingrad, which was widely considered to be the turning point in the war.
The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) announced on February 28, 2022 that the Russian national team and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from taking part in FIFA-sanctioned events.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made the same decision with regard to the Russian national football team’s participation in UEFA tournaments.
Both FIFA and UEFA cited Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as being the reason for their decisions.
Since sanctions were introduced, the Russian national football squad has played a host of friendlies against other countries, namely against Kyrgyzstan (2-1), Tajikistan (0-0), Uzbekistan (0-0), Iran (1-1), Iraq (2-0), Cameroon (1-0) and Kenya (2-2).