Russia is scheduled to compete in a Fifa tournament for the first time since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with its boys' Under-15 team listed as an entrant for next month's World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan.
Following the invasion, both Russian club and national teams were banned from Fifa and Uefa competitions. While Fifa lifted the prohibition on Russia's under-17 teams in 2023, the upcoming event marks the first actual participation by a Russian team.
The Russian squad has been drawn into a group with Turkey, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, and Sudan. The Fifa Council agreed last December that the under-15 tournament would be open to teams from all 211 member associations.
In July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) withdrew its recommendation for global sports federations, including Fifa, to ban Russia. Fifa president Gianni Infantino stated in February that the Russia ban had "not achieved anything" and had fostered "more frustration and hatred." Ukraine's sports minister, Matvii Bidnyi, described these remarks as "irresponsible" and "infantile."
Separately, the IOC provisionally lifted a suspension on the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) in July. The ROC had been suspended in October 2023 for recognising regional Olympic councils in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. Russia's sports minister, Mikhail Degtyarev, welcomed the IOC's decision, stating it should facilitate a complete return for Russian athletes to the international sporting arena.