The U.S. Soccer Federation has refuted claims that it is engaged in discussions with its Russian counterpart regarding potential football matches involving the national teams of both countries.
In December, Alexander Dyukov, president of the Russian Football Union, informed Russian journalists that his organization had “some initial contacts” with the American Soccer Federation concerning matches between youth and women’s teams, although he asserted that it was “too early to discuss any agreements.”
These comments followed remarks made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who had previously stated that conversations were in progress about organizing a football game between the Russian and U.S. national teams, coinciding with meetings in Washington and Moscow aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
In a statement provided to The Moscow Times, U.S. Soccer Federation spokesperson Brian Katzowitz dismissed the notion that such discussions were occurring. He did not specify whether the Russian Football Union had attempted to reach out to the Federation regarding this matter.
Since taking office again last year, U.S. President Donald Trump has aimed to mediate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Along with the negotiations to conclude the conflict, he and other American officials have expressed a desire to restore diplomatic relations with Moscow, although tangible progress has been lacking to date.
In April, the Kremlin indicated that Trump supported President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to arrange hockey matches between the two nations. The White House did not confirm this information, while the NHL stated it was not part of the claimed conversations.
The last encounter between the Russian and U.S. national football teams occurred in November 2012 in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia, as reported by the state-run news agency TASS.
Since 2022, Russian national teams and clubs have been barred from participating in international competitions and are only allowed to play friendly matches on an international level.
Mack Tubridy contributed to this report.
