U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that Russia’s men’s national team being allowed into the qualification process for the 2026 World Cup could be an incentive for the country to end the war in Ukraine.
Since their illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia’s national teams and domestic clubs have been suspended by FIFA and UEFA, which respectively govern world and European soccer. Those suspensions were upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2023 after Russia appealed.
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Trump has held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in recent months in a bid to broker a peace deal.
The possibility of Russia’s three-year ban from soccer being lifted has been heightened recently with Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, saying last month he hoped the country’s return would come “soon”. Infantino has also spoken of his close relationship with Trump ahead of the 2026 men’s World Cup, which is organised by FIFA and will be held across the U.S., Canada and Mexico next summer.
A task force for the event has been set up, chaired by Trump, which will also oversee both this summer’s Club World Cup. Speaking at the task force’s first meeting on Tuesday, Trump said he was unaware Russia could not, under its current ban, qualify for next summer’s tournament.
“I didn’t know that. Is that right?” Trump asked, before Infantino confirmed it was. “They are banned for the time being from playing but we hope that something happens and peace will happen so that Russia can be readmitted,” Infantino added.
Trump then replied: “That’s possible. Hey, that could be a good incentive, right? We want to get them to stop. We want them to stop.”
Speaking at the 49th UEFA Congress in Belgrade, Serbia, Infantino discussed the peace talks being mediated by the U.S.“As talks are going on for peace in Ukraine, I hope that we can soon move to the next page, bring back, as well, Russia in the football landscape because this would mean that everything is solved,” he said.
The UEFA qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup have already been drawn and matches have already been played in some of them. The Athletic has contacted FIFA and UEFA for comment.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, would be the executive director of the World Cup task force with Carlos Cordeiro, a FIFA advisor and former United States Soccer Federation president, a senior advisor and U.S. Vice President JD Vance acting as vice chair.
(Top photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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