Leo Trotsky's formula: «There is no world to conclude, not to wage war. At the next executive committee of the RFU, which was held at the end of March, the issue of transferring to the AFC and even the timing of the decision was not discussed. Immediately after the match with Iraq, the head of our football, Dyukov, stressed that such a possibility exists, and it is taken into account. At the 47th UEFA Congress, which will be held on April 5 in Lisbon, the results of the working group's activities are not going to be summed up. But negotiations on Asia will be conducted with all parties.
It is probably not worth linking such a decisive step with the opportunity to take part in the qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. First of all, because it will take place on the fields of the USA, Canada and Mexico. Even if the Russian team wins a ticket to the World Cup in a fair fight, the authorities of the first two countries may simply not issue visas. FIFA definitely will not go for a direct confrontation that will destroy the system of world football that has been built for years.
It is impossible to exclude the repetition of the scenario of the qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup. After all, the Russian team was expelled from the number of participants in the play-offs in the European zone after the categorical refusal of the teams of Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden to meet even on a neutral field and under the threat of exclusion from the following tournaments. There are plenty of countries in Asia that can do the same. Moreover, these are the leading football powers of the region: Australia, South Korea, Japan. And the rest, let's say, do not belong to the ardent supporters of the arrival of the RFU in Asia.
When this issue was on the agenda, he turned to his old acquaintance Alisher Nikimbaev for a comment. In the past, the journalist, who for many years headed the international department of the Football Federation of Uzbekistan, and then worked in the office of the AFC and the organizing committee of the 2022 World Cup, said that no one is waiting for the RFU in the Asian Football Confederation with open arms.
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“Far from all of Russia’s Asian allies have weight in the AFC. Iran, for example, will not be able to lobby for a Russian application if it comes in. China cannot be called a strong player in football politics,” – he stressed.The recent friendly matches of the Russian national team with rivals from Asia (and not from the republics of the former Soviet Union) can hardly be called a decisive step in the eastern direction either. Recall that the game with the Iranian team was originally planned for autumn, but the finalists of the 2022 World Cup did not take risks on the eve of the World Cup in Qatar. Moreover, for some time the leaders of the Iranian federation, who were negotiating with the RFU, disappeared from the radar. Reputation in the eyes of FIFA and AFC turned out to be more important for the Iranians.
It was agreed in principle with Iraq to hold a friendly match at home back in February, but the final agreement was signed three days before the match in St. Petersburg. There were only two to organize the sale of tickets. In such force majeure conditions, 23 thousand spectators in St. Petersburg is nothing more than an achievement of the RFU.
As Dyukov admitted, initially the Iraqis planned to hold a weekly training camp in Matsesta before the game in Sochi, but then the plans changed. Representatives of the RFU had to organize a flight to St. Petersburg. The Iraqis were also reimbursed for the costs of holding a friendly match.
It is understandable when they pay for agreeing to play with the top teams of Argentina, Brazil or France, but Iraq! Only in Europe and under such conditions, no one agrees to play with the Russian team. Remember the story of the canceled game against the team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was supposed to take place in St. Petersburg in the autumn.In throwing between UEFA and AFC, a comma can be put by the decision to include Crimean clubs in the Russian Championship, the need for which is being louder and louder every day by State Duma deputies and patriotic people. It is worth recalling that already in the summer of 2014, immediately after the Crimean Spring, teams from Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta entered the second division. Moreover, in the South zone the tournament did not start for a very long time. We weighed all the political risks, including the threat of holding the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
As a result, on August 12, when several rounds had already been played in the remaining zones of the second division, the tournament with the participation of three Crimean clubs started. Teams from the new region of Russia were completed in an emergency mode, and almost immediately they began to have financial problems. Nevertheless, they finished playing until the winter break, and in December, at a meeting of the UEFA executive committee, a decision was made to ban Crimean clubs from participating in competitions organized by the RFU.
As compensation, UEFA decided to hold its own championship in Crimea. They even adopted a program for the development of Crimean football, which was supervised by the former president of the Slovak Football Federation, Frantisek Laurinets. There was even a discussion about the fact that the Crimean clubs will have the opportunity to participate in European competitions. After all, this region of Russia has received the status of a special zone.
Naturally, now that all of Russia has been suspended from European competitions and international tournaments, no one remembers this. Although having a special status within China, Hong Kong and Macau are represented in the AFC club tournaments and participate in the qualifying matches of the World and Asian Championships. In the RFU, such a scenario is not considered in principle. It's not up to Crimea now, when you need to do a lot of work (and, mainly on the sidelines of the UEFA and AFC congresses) in order to make the only right decision.