18 countries refused to take part in the football tournament in Azerbaijan due to Russia's participation

18 European countries and the USA refused to take part in the U-15 football tournament in Azerbaijan, to which representatives of all 211 FIFA member associations were invited, including Russia. This is reported by "Champion" citing a response from the UAF.

The UAF explained that the tournament in Azerbaijan is not suitable for preparing the Ukrainian U-15 national team, as teams there will play in an unusual format - 8 vs 8. Meanwhile, Ukrainian footballers already play in the 11 vs 11 format and take part in other international competitions.

In particular, the Ukraine U-15 national team will play in a tournament in Turkey, where it will face the teams of Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries.

Information about the Russian national team's participation in the festival became known only after Ukraine decided not to go to the competition.

After this, the UAF contacted European football associations, including those that are members of UEFA, and informed them of Russia's invitation. In response, some federations stated that they would not take part in the tournament, while others said they were ready to come but would not play against the Russian team.

The UAF thanked the European football community for its support and common position on isolating Russia.

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18 UEFA representatives refused to take part in the competition: Ukraine, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Finland, Iceland, Armenia, Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein and San Marino. The United States of America also joined them.

The tournament in Azerbaijan will be the first international competition under FIFA auspices in which the Russian national team will take part since its suspension from official tournaments amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Dates of the tournament: October 22–31, 2026 in the city of Baku (Azerbaijan).

Recall that on Sunday, October 25, in the center of Lviv will take place the second charity run Running Rave 2.0, which will unite urban sports communities. Participation in the event is free, but during the event funds will be collected to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the charitable foundation "1991".