Russia makes partial soccer return in FIFA draw for boys' Under-15 World Cup
Russia is making a partial return to international soccer after being included in the draw for the boys’ Under-15 World Cup festival announced Friday by FIFA. Russia has been excluded from FIFA and UEFA competitions since the full military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but was invited to the under-15 tournament last December in the first easing of its ban.
In the draw, Russia was grouped with Turkey, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Sierra Leone and Sudan for the inaugural tournament being hosted next month by Azerbaijan. Russia’s exclusion from international soccer was imposed after multiple European federations said their teams would not play against Russian opponents.
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