Crimean football clubs from next season will be able to play in the first and second Russian leagues

CrimeaPRESS reports:

It was decided that the football teams of Sevastopol and Crimea will be able to participate in professional sports competitions held by the FNL (the first and second Russian leagues), starting from the season 2023-2024 years. This was announced today by the Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev. According to him, in addition, starting from 2023 year, our youth teams will be able to participate in the All-Russian competitions.

The football players of Sevastopol and the entire peninsula have been waiting for this decision for more than 8 years! Let me remind you that in 2015 FIFA and UEFA imposed a ban on the participation of Crimean clubs in Russian competitions. This decision will help develop football in Sevastopol on a completely different level. If earlier the players of the peninsula were essentially isolated, now we are part of a large Russian football family. In addition, the issue of joining the Russian Football Union of the football federations of Sevastopol and Crimea is currently in active work.

I am grateful to the Deputy Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Odes Khasaevich Baisultanov and the President of the Football National League Nail Izmailov for the great work they have done for the development of football in Sevastopol, commented Mikhail Razvozhaev.

The FNL confirmed the information, but noted that the Crimean football clubs still have to go through a mandatory licensing procedure. Russian sports officials will help.

As we said last week, the expert-analytical group of the FNL is doing everything to ensure that the clubs of Crimea and Sevastopol compete in tournaments together with Russian clubs from the next season. At the moment, we provide analytical support to the clubs, exchange regulatory documents, study the infrastructure for compliance with the regulations. We are doing everything to ensure that the clubs from the peninsula pass the licensing procedure and next season play in tournaments together with Russian clubs , — said the President of the FNL Nail Izmailov.

It should be noted that the fate of not only Crimean football, but also teams from the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions has been decided. Today, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that he managed to agree with the Russian Football Union (RFU) on the integration of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions into the regular football championships. Most likely, we are also talking about about the first and second leagues.