Belarus qualifying for European soccer event forces UEFA to find third co-host nation

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA changed the hosting plan for its 2026 European Championship for indoor soccer on Friday because Russia’s military ally Belarus has qualified for the finals tournament.

Co-hosts Latvia and Lithuania “prohibit the organization of matches involving Belarusian teams on their domestic territories,” said UEFA, which added Slovenia as a third host for the 16-team futsal event.

Slovenia, the home nation of UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, will now organize more than half of the four-yearly tournament that opens on Jan. 20 and includes Ukraine.

UEFA said Belarus will be drawn to play in one of the two groups moved to Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana, which also will stage two quarterfinals, both semifinals and the final.

One group will be played in each of Riga, Latvia’s capital, and Kaunas in Lithuania.

“Each city will also host one quarterfinal, reaffirming their central roles in the tournament,” UEFA said, giving no details of how Ukraine will be separated from Belarus in the draw.

Russian teams have been banned from international competitions by UEFA and FIFA since the full military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. UEFA’s move in 2023 to reintegrate Russian under-17s teams was stopped by a backlash from Ukraine and other member federations.

National and club teams from Belarus have continued to play, though must host “home” games in neutral countries with no fans in the stadium.

Belarus will start qualifying for the men’s 2026 World Cup in September in a group with Denmark, Scotland and Greece. Belarus is playing home games in Hungary.

The previous futsal Euros played in the Netherlands saw one of the last soccer matches between teams from Russia and Ukraine, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 4, 2022. Russia won 3-2.

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