“This ban has achieved nothing”
Return of Russian teams? Infantino makes you sit up and take notice
Updated on 02/02/2026 – 6:44 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Gianni Infantino wants to see Russian teams back in international competitions. The FIFA President sees the current ban as counterproductive.
Fifa President Gianni Infantino announced in an interview that he would like to allow Russian teams to return to international football competitions. “Oh, definitely. We have to. Yes… at least at youth level. This ban has achieved nothing,” replied the president of the world football association FIFA when asked in an interview by the British broadcaster Sky whether FIFA should lift its ban. “It just led to more frustration and hatred.”
Fifa and the European Football Union Uefa had banned Russian teams from international competitions to protect the integrity of the competition. This step was not taken as a direct response to the military invasion of Ukraine. Despite the exclusion, the Russian men’s and women’s national teams continue to play international matches outside of major tournaments and are ranked 36th and 28th in the FIFA world rankings.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin also critically questioned the exclusion of Russian youth teams. He argued that the isolation of the young Russian generation must be avoided in order to promote their international integration.
