Russian chief hopes FIFA follows swimming and skating NA rule

The president of the Russian Football Union (RFU), Alexander Dyukov, has expressed hope that Russia could still feature in the next FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States from 11 June to 19 July 2026.

After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and kicked off the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II, global institutions began banning Russian teams and players from taking part in competitions. This included the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) which responded to the "special military operation" announced by Putin on 24 February 2022 by barring the Russian national team and all Russian clubs from participating in FIFA-run events and tournaments. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) soon followed suit with the same ban, both citing the Kremlin's militantly offensive as the reason behind the sanctions. 

At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, some Russian and Belarusian athletes then accepted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) invitation to compete as Neutral Athletes (NAs) and abide by special rules banning them from taking part in the parade of delegations and restricting them from displaying their national flags. They were also subject to checks over any potential past military links or endorsement of the war.

In November, World Aquatics then revised rules for Athlete Participation in events during periods of conflict and granted Russian and Belarusian swimmers the right to compete at the Budapest 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) as NAs on December 10-15. They did, however, remain banned from water polo events because it "intrinsically involves inter alia physical contact between athletes."

On 20 December, the International Skating Union (ISU) then announced "a pathway to allow a limited number of Individual Neutral Athletes to participate under strict conditions in designated Olympic Qualifying Events for the 2025/26 season" meaning that athletes from Russia and Belarus can compete in competitions ahead of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

For Dyukov, these measures are the start of a turning tide and he expects other institutions to continue to adapt and assuage their existing embargoes. "Change is in the air and I am expecting the tide to turn next year regarding the return of all our national teams and football clubs to the international arena," said Alexander Dyukov, who intends to run for another term as president of the RFU. "For us to participate in the World Cup qualifiers, FIFA and UEFA would need to rescind the decisions made at the end of February 2022. Those decisions have not been reversed, meaning we can’t participate in the Final Draw."

Group stage qualifying matches begin on 21 March 2025 and last through to 18 November 2025 before play-off matches take place 26-31 March 2026 ahead of the final tournament beginning 11 June 2026. Dyukov feels plenty can change between now and the first group stage matches. "As long as the matches haven’t started, there is still a chance," he said. "We’ve seen individual athletes participate in international competition recently, and this is a positive sign that similar bans for Russian football might soon be lifted."

The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, the first to feature 48 teams in a new format up from 32, will take place across 16 cities in the co-hosting countries.