UEFA drops plan to readmit Russian underage teams to its competitions

A controversial plan to admit Russian under-17 teams to UEFA competitions amid the invasion of Ukraine has been shelved.

A motion passed by UEFA's executive committee on 26 September had asked the organisation’s administrators to look at a "technical solution" to enable the under-17 boys and girls teams to enter qualification for finals tournaments due to take place in Cyprus and Sweden next year.

A number of associations, including the Football Association of Ireland, had announced their opposition to the plan, and insisted that their teams would not line up against Russian opponents under any circumstances.

The formal readmission of Russian teams had been on the agenda for the executive committee meeting on Tuesday which also decided on hosting for the men's Euros in 2028 and 2032.

However, a UEFA spokesperson said: "The agenda point was withdrawn as no technical solution to allow Russian teams to play could be found."

The FIFA council had also approved the return of Russian teams to its competitions last week, but that decision is now effectively rendered redundant as the European competitions act as the qualification pathway to the global events.

FIFA and UEFA originally banned all Russian national teams and clubs from their competitions in February last year within days of the Russians launching their invasion of Ukraine.