Russia invited to participate in Central Asian soccer event

By JOHN DUERDEN
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russia has been invited to participate in the inaugural Central Asian Football Association Championships in June along with seven other national teams. Russian teams have been barred from European and FIFA competitions since the invasion of Ukraine in February of last year. But the Tajikistan Football Association has announced that a Russian team could join the new regional tournament along with former Soviet republics Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan. Afghanistan and Iran are also in the draw. The Russian Football Union has said it’s in “discussions about the possibility and conditions of the Russian national team’s participation in this tournament.”