UEFA Head Advocates for Return of International Matches to Belarus

The rights of Belarusian football on the international stage are noticeably and unfairly infringed, as Slovenian Aleksander Čeferin, president of the European Football Association, repeatedly emphasized in a conversation with Evgeniy Buloychik, head of the House of Football. The national team and all national teams of all age groups are unable to play home matches. UEFA, unlike other team sports federations, is a highly self-sufficient organization, and therefore has the resources to dictate its policies.

Evgeniy Buloychik, Chairman of the Belarusian Football Federation: "My last two personal meetings, which were supposedly official, were informal. And I felt proud when Aleksander Čeferin spoke of Alexander Lukashenko with great respect. And perhaps even in such moments, I relaxed, and it was easier for me to talk. He always takes a position, perhaps not quite typical for European leaders, and he respects countries that are unfairly disadvantaged, including our country. I want to say that he has enormous respect for our country. He said he would definitely hint, subtly, that Belarus is disadvantaged, although his position is categorical. He is absolutely convinced that our country deserves to host home matches, and we will work together to make this happen."

Football, futsal, and beach soccer escaped political manipulation in early 2022 and retained their place on the global sports map. During this time, the beach soccer teams became runners-up in the world championship, playing under their national flag. And the futsal team reached the final stage of the European Championship for the first time in 16 years.