Russia’s push for AFC inclusion sees its U-17 women’s team participate in SAFF Championship 2023

The association announced the news Monday on Instagram. Neither SAFF nor FIFA were immediately available for comment.

Representative Image: SAFF is part of the larger Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and consists of the countries India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The Russian Under-17 women’s team will participate in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship scheduled to take place in Dhaka, Bangladesh from March 20-28.

FIFA and UEFA banned Russian teams from all competitions after the invasion of Ukraine last February and, with those sanctions still in place, speculation has been mounting over the Russian Football Union (RFU)‘s next move.

SAFF is part of the larger Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and consists of the countries India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The association announced the news Monday on Instagram. Neither SAFF nor FIFA were immediately available for comment.

Switching from the European governing body UEFA to Asia’s 47-nation confederation has been touted by RFU chief Aleksander Dyukov as a possible option to allow the Russian national team and clubs continued international competition.