Monitoring Desk
RIYADH: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Minister for Sports said that it would not raise an objection to Moscow joining the Asian Football Confederation.
Officials of Russia dangled the option of a move to Asia in December, after Russia’s ban from international competition by UEFA over the attack on Ukraine. Though the Russian Football Union later called for a working group on resuming relations with UEFA, Chief of Russian Football Union Alexander Dyukov did not rule out seeking ASF membership at a later stage.
Asian Football Confederation
Speaking at the Asian Football Confederation Congress in Bahrain, KSA’s Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said that he didn’t see any issue with Moscow shifting allegiances to Asia. “If AFC and FIFA allow it and there’s a benefit for Asia then I don’t think there’s an issue with that,” he told media.
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Joining the ASF would mean that Moscow would play World Cup qualifiers against Asian football teams and that its club sides would take part in Asian matches. Last week, Belarusian and Russian athletes sidelined from most Olympic sports since the war in Ukraine.
The International Olympic Committee stated that permitting Belarusians and Russians to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics should be “further explored”, overlooking a Ukrainian threat to boycott.
