National football squads of Russia, Kazakhstan may play friendly match — Kazakh ambassador
MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. The national football team of Kazakhstan is ready to play a friendly against Russia’s national squad should the international calendar clear the way for this, Kazakh Ambassador to Russia Dauren Abayev told TASS on Tuesday.
"A friendly football match [between Kazakhstan and Russia] is certainly possible," Abayev, who previously served as the sports minister of Kazakhstan, said.
"An exhibition match was recently played between our [football club] Kairat and [Russia’s] Zenit FC," he continued. "The most important thing is to settle all issues regarding the international calendar and then anything is possible."
Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg FC played an away friendly match against Kazakhstan’s Kairat FC on November 14. The exhibition ended in a 2-2 draw.
On November 20, the Russian national football team played a friendly against Cuba at home in the country’s city of Volgograd, annihilating their guests 8-0.
The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) announced on February 28, 2022 that the Russian national team and all professional clubs representing the country were barred from taking part in FIFA-sanctioned events.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made the same decision with regard to the Russian national football team’s participation in UEFA tournaments.
Both FIFA and UEFA cited Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine as being the reason for their decisions.
Since sanctions were introduced, the Russian national football squad has played a host of friendlies against other countries, namely against Kyrgyzstan (2-1), Tajikistan (0-0), Uzbekistan (0-0), Iran (1-1), Iraq (2-0), Cameroon (1-0), Kenya (2-2) and Cuba (8-0).
