MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. The International Association of Football Federations (FIFA) is staying neutral regarding the return of Russian football teams to international play, a senior official with the Russian Football Union (RFU) said on Wednesday.

"How does FIFA regard Russia’s return? They are holding a neutral stance, basically they believe everyone should play, particularly Russia, which is a huge football power and recently hosted the [2018 FIFA] World Cup," RFU Secretary General Maxim Mitrofanov said in an interview with Russia’s Sport-Express daily.

"However, FIFA does not want to be the organization to make a final decision saying ‘You should come to an agreement, we will give our consent, but it is wrong for us to interfere into your system of interaction’," he continued.

"As long as FIFA stays neutral, it won’t face a lot of pressure, but as soon as it becomes proactive they will turn up the heat. Moreover, we all know where the next [2026 FIFA] World Cup will be held. That is why FIFA is taking a careful stance," Mitrofanov added.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. The matches will be played in 16 various cities of the co-hosting countries. This will be the first FIFA World Cup featuring 48 teams compared to the previous 32-team format.

Russia hosted its first and only FIFA World Cup in 2018. The championship took place at 12 stadiums in 11 cities across Russia, namely in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.

Russia’s football ban

The International Association Football Federation (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 tournaments.

In turn, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made a similar decision in 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 grounds for their respective bans on Russian teams’ participation in competitions.