The Ukrainian National Team to Participate in Euro 2024 Qualifiers

Moscow, April 24 – Andriy Pavelko, president of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF), said that the national team will continue to qualify for the 2024 European Championships, despite the participation of the Belarusian national team in the competition.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine earlier published on the official website an order according to which Ukrainian athletes are prohibited from participating in competitions with Russians and Belarusians. Later, Deputy Minister Matvey Bedny said that the national team would not withdraw from the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

“If the facts of possible face-to-face meetings between the Ukrainian and Belarusian football teams are revealed, the requirements of Paragraph 1 of the aforementioned order of the Ministry should be involved in resolving issues related to further participation in competitions,” the letter said.

The Ukrainian national team is playing in the European Championship qualifiers in Group C, where it will be competed by England, Italy, North Macedonia and Malta. The Belarusian national team plays in Group A with the national teams of Switzerland, Romania, Israel, Kosovo and Andorra. The Ukrainian and Belarusian national teams do not have a chance to meet each other in the European Championship qualifiers, including the play-offs.

The Russian national team was not allowed to draw in the European Championship qualifiers, as FIFA and UEFA in February 2022 suspended Russian national teams and clubs from international competitions for an indefinite period due to the situation in Ukraine. The Belarusian men’s team has been allowed to participate in UEFA competitions, but the team is obliged to play home matches outside the country and without spectators.