For well-known reasons, Russian clubs and national teams were banned from all competitions of the two organizations by UEFA and FIFA in February last year, unfortunately, Russia missed the Qatar World Cup, as of now, UEFA and FIFA have not re-admitted Russia, the ban still exists, that is, if the status quo cannot be changed, then Russia will most likely continue to be absent from the World Cup, and now the qualifiers for the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup have begun, the Russian Football Association is quite anxious, is there any solution?
From the perspective of the Russian Football Association, there are two ways, one is to try to get UEFA and FIFA to cancel the ban and restore the qualification of Russian clubs and national teams, and the other is to join the AFC and compete with Asian teams.
Everyone knows that Russia can join the AFC, just like Australia, so, will they do it?The answer is no, just today, according to Russian media reports, the Russian Football Federation mentioned the issue of joining the AFC at its last meeting in 2023 and finally decided to stay in UEFA. It is not difficult to see that the choice of the Russian Football Association is to refuse to join the AFC, continue to mix in Europe, and try to get UEFA and FIFA to lift the existing ban, so the question is, why should Russia refuse to join the AFC?
To be honest, it is beneficial for Russia to join the AFC, at least the qualification for the World Cup finals is in hand, and continue to compete with European teams for places, Russia is not completely sure at all, as for why Russia refuses to join the AFC, the reason has been released, Russian media said that all members of the Executive Committee of the Russian Football Association agree that there is no point in joining the AFC, because FIFA does not guarantee that Russia can participate normally in this case, that is, the Russian Football Federation can only continue to work hard to return to international competitions through European and UEFA channels。
The Russian Football Federation's choice is not wrong, their minds are clear, joining the AFC will not solve the fundamental problem, the bell must be tied to the bell, they must return to international competitions through European and UEFA channels. Of course, because of well-known events, it is difficult for the Russian Football Association to achieve its goals in a short period of time, after all, they cannot control the situation, but it is a pity that Russian athletes can only shine in one acre and three points of land at their doorstep, and it is difficult to compete in international competitions.