Russia plays in FIFA’s first under-15 football World Cup
The event in Azerbaijan marks a youth-level return after Russia’s international ban, giving under-15 players access to a FIFA tournament.
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The event in Azerbaijan marks a youth-level return after Russia’s international ban, giving under-15 players access to a FIFA tournament.
Russia is participating in FIFA’s inaugural boys’ under-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan, giving its youth players access to an international tournament after the country’s exclusion from international football. DW reported on October 23 that the competition had begun earlier that week and involved 189 teams and nearly 1,000 matches.
Russia was banned from international football following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Its participation now establishes access to this youth competition, not, by itself, a formal lifting of the ban for the senior national team or comprehensive eligibility terms for other Russian teams.
Germany’s football association, the DFB, told DW it had deliberately declined its invitation. DW reported that Russia’s presence was not the reason: the association considered the competition inappropriate for players at this stage of their development.
At this age level, our identification and development process is still underway, and we therefore do not believe it is appropriate to nominate a fixed squad for an international tournament at this stage.
The DFB said it favoured long-term, age-appropriate development. It also warned against exposing young players too early to professional football’s pressures, including heightened expectations, public judgments of their performances and interest from agents and the football market.
The event, formally called the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival, uses eight-a-side teams, 20-minute halves and a smaller pitch. FIFA’s chief of global football development, Arsene Wenger, said it would give young players meaningful matches, different opponents and opportunities that are not equally available around the world.
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According to FIFA’s format information reported by DW, the opening round-robin stage—group play in which teams face each other—is followed by four or five more matches per team. Results determine placement into six tiers, each with its own winner; the top-tier winner becomes the overall champion.
FIFA says all teams will continue playing until the tournament ends on October 30. It also says the 2027 edition will be for girls’ teams only.
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