MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. The national football teams of Russia and Zambia have agreed to play a friendly match either in September or in October, Azim Yarakhmedov, a Russian ambassador to Zambia, said on Thursday.

"There is an agreement between the Russian Football Union [RFU] and the Football Association of Zambia [FAZ] that a friendly football match would be played between the national teams either in September or October, and I hope this match will be organized," Yarakhmedov said speaking at a news conference in TASS.

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.

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), Kenya (2-2), Cuba (8-0) and Serbia (4-0).