The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has abandoned its intention to allow Russian youth teams with players under 17 to participate in international tournaments.
Source. This was reported by the Associated Press.
In a statement, UEFA said that the organization "failed to find a technical solution that would allow Russian teams to play," Sky News reporter Rob Harris said on Twitter.
Earlier, FIFA, followed by UEFA, allowed Russian youth teams to participate in international championships. It was assumed that the teams would be called the "Russian Football Union" and would play without a flag, anthem, or national Russian uniform.
In September, the UEFA Executive Committee decided that Russian youth teams would be allowed to participate in European competitions.
UEFA stated that "children should not be punished for actions for which responsibility lies solely with adults."
A number of countries, including Ukraine, England, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, have announced that they will boycott tournaments with Russian teenagers.
The next European Championship for youth teams (under 17) will be held in Cyprus in May-June 2024. The qualifying matches will take place in the fall, and the draw for this tournament, in which 55 national teams were to take part, has not yet been made. The final part of the tournament will include 16 teams.