Statement on UEFA’s stance and Russia’s youth teams in international play
Sports minister Oleg Matytsin commented on UEFA’s decision to bar Russian youth teams from international tournaments, a move he described after speaking with TASS. He noted that pressure from multiple countries appears to have shaped the outcome, marking another chapter in what he called a challenging era where sports and international bodies seem overtly political. He stressed that such politicization erodes the independence these organizations are expected to maintain.
Matytsin outlined a plan to strengthen Russia’s national sports system and to learn from the sobering lessons this episode provides. He argued that the positions taken by international organizations cannot always be trusted and that resilience requires adapting to a changing global sports landscape.
Earlier, in spring 2022, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russia’s national team, along with all Russian clubs, from competitions under their control. The Russian team continued to play only in friendly matches during that period, a move that reflected the broader suspension by governing bodies of international participation.
Around late September, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin announced that Russian U-17 national teams—both women’s and men’s—would be allowed to return to international matches. Reports from early October indicated that UEFA might revisit that decision, and by October 10 it was confirmed that the prior stance had been reversed. These developments formed a complex backdrop to discussions about youth development and international competition. [Source: UEFA communications]
There is a record of public positions from other figures in football who favored excluding Russian youth teams from the squad in past public discussions. This context underlines how debates around eligibility can shift with broader political and organizational pressures. [Source: The Independent]
In Canada and the United States, observers note that the interplay between sport governance and international politics shapes youth development, discipline, and opportunity. The episode illustrates how organizations may recalibrate their policies in response to evolving geopolitical tensions, and how national programs respond to those changes with new strategies for training, talent identification, and international exposure. [Source: TASS]