Belarus says no to Russian bid for joint football league
Russian football clubs were excluded from international competition after Russia's assault on Ukraine in 2022. The authorities in Russia reportedly proposed the creation of a joint football league for Belarus. However, they met with a firm rejection. The rules are clear.
1:43 PM EDT, October 22, 2024
Russian club teams compete only in domestic league competitions. Meanwhile, the Russian national football team cannot participate in international tournaments and plays only friendly matches, usually against Asian teams.
The situation differs for Belarusian club teams, which have the right to play in European competitions. For example, on November 7, Dynamo Minsk will play against Legia Warsaw in Poland as part of the UEFA Europa Conference League. Due to these opportunities, the Russian authorities reportedly proposed creating joint competitions with the Belarusians.
Belarusians refused to create joint football competitions with Russians
The Belarusians refused, citing FIFA and UEFA regulations. The first vice president of the Belarusian Football Federation (ABFF), Andrei Vasilevich, stated that "creating a joint league with Russia is impossible due to UEFA regulations," reports the sport24.ru service.
In a conversation with the aforementioned service, Andrei Vasilevich said that the football associations from Russia and Belarus had not finalized the topic of creating joint football competitions. However, he did not rule out such a possibility in the future.
The Belarusian Football Federation and the Russian Football Union are members of UEFA. This means we cannot create joint leagues, let alone participate in them. We are honest about fulfilling our obligations. Perhaps something will happen in the future, but it will not happen quickly—we read.
