The vote to decide whether to resign from UEFA in favor of the Asian Football Confederation was postponed today
The executive committee of the UFR was to make a final decision today
The Football Union of Russia (UFR) today postponed the vote to decide whether to resign from UEFA in favor of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) due to the exclusion of the Russian national team and clubs due to the military intervention in Ukraine.
“The postponement is related to the need to hold additional consultations on Russia’s potential entry into the AFC. The vote is scheduled for before December 31,” the federation statement said.
The executive committee of the UFR I had to make a final decision todaysince, according to its president, Alexandr Diukov, it is the only way to participate in the Asian qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup.
The honorary president of the federation, Viacheslav Koloskov, opined that the postponement is related to the need to study more in detail entry into the AFC.
“The reason is that today there is no guarantee that they are not waiting and they will accept us in the AFC. That’s why we have to talk about it with the leaders of the Asian confederation,” he said.
Diukov acknowledges that “nobody has ever left UEFA& rdquor ;, so there is no precedent or jurisprudence for cases like this.
In his words, Russia still has time to participate in the World Cup qualifying phase as an Asian team and that FIFA is not opposed to it.
“We do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. Meanwhile, the AFC is willing to accept us now in its midst. We can wait? How much? If they gave us a specific term (…) But what if it’s 10 or 15 years? & Rdquor ;, she wondered.
The The Kremlin welcomes the fact that the Russian team and clubs play in Asiasince, due to the current antagonism with the US and the European Union, both foreign policy and the national economy are oriented towards that continent.
Almost all Russian clubs and national football legends such as Dasáyev, Kolibanov or Sichov have also declared themselves in favor of resigning from UEFA.
Among them would be the coach, Valeri Karpin, although Diukov assured that the coach supports the change, but with reservations.
“We talked about it and we came to the conclusion that playing is better than not playing,” he said.
The sports press is the one that has been most skeptical. Several well-known journalists have spoken out against turning their backs on UEFA both because the UFR would keep the doors of European football closed for a long time and because of the losses in revenue, television audiences and interest among fans that matches between Russians and Asians would entail.
One of the few men in football who has openly warned about the danger of change is the historic coach of Spartak Moscow and former Russian coach, Oleg Romántsev.
“I am categorically against going to Asia (…). The exit can mean not only a step back, but a road to nowhere,” he said.