Russian teams are unlikely to return to international competitions in 2025, former Zenit and CSKA footballer Roman Shirokov told the Championat portal. In his opinion, this will not happen before next year.
I do not believe in Russia’s return to the international arena in 2025. The time has already come, but definitely not in 2025. The most optimistic forecast is 2026 , Shirokov said .
Earlier it became known that the Russian national team remained in 34th place in the ranking of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA). These results are presented for the year 2024. Russian football players retained their positions . Two years ago, FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) suspended Russian national teams and clubs from international competitions for an indefinite period due to the SVO.
Two-time Olympic hockey champion Vyacheslav Fetisov expressed the opinion that sports officials are responsible for depriving Russia of its national flag and anthem at international competitions. According to the State Duma deputy, “we allowed ourselves to be treated this way.”
In turn, member of the State Duma Committee on Sports Dmitry Svishchev stated that an analysis of the real reason for the disqualification of Russian athletes from international competitions would be conducted. He recalled that this process began after the events of 2014, when the Republic of Crimea joined the Russian Federation, and with cases of doping of Russians after the Olympics in Sochi.