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FIFA, UEFA may decide on Russia’s participation by year-end, says Russian football chief

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. Russian national football teams and professional clubs could be allowed to return to international play by the end of 2025, Alexander Dyukov, the president of the Russian Football Union (RFU), told journalists on Wednesday.

"I believe that there are prerequisites [for the return of Russian teams to the international arena]," he said "I hope that relevant decisions will be made by the end of the year."

President of the world’s governing body of football, FIFA, Gianni Infantino told TASS in early May that Russia's return to FIFA-authorized tournaments could happen very soon, given the progress of talks between Moscow and Washington regarding the Ukrainian conflict settlement. Infantino’s statement comes shortly after his meeting with US President Donald Trump.

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’s football ban

The world’s governing football body, FIFA, announced on February 28, 2022, that the Russian national team and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from participating in FIFA tournaments.

In turn, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made a similar decision regarding 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.

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