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.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer in this topic
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
38 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Coco Gauff is disappointed by her Wimbledon loss but doesn't want to dwell on it
LONDON (AP) — Before Wimbledon began, Coco Gauff reflected on the significance of her breakthrough performance at the place six years ago — a run to the fourth round at age 15 — and what aspirations she harbored as she prepared to return. 'Even when I see videos of me during that time, it just doesn't feel like it's me. It felt like a dream. I'll always have special memories from that run and, I guess, it definitely fueled the belief that I can be on tour and live out my dream,' she told The Associated Press. 'It's something that always holds a special place in my heart. Obviously, I would love to win this tournament just for it to be like a full-circle moment,' she continued. 'I feel like it would be like the start of the dream, and — I don't want to say 'the finish,' because I obviously have a lot of career left, but — a full-circle type of situation.' A week after that conversation, the No. 2-ranked Gauff was out of the bracket at the All England Club in the first round with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 loss to unseeded Dayana Yastremska at No. 1 Court on Tuesday night. Gauff was undone by serving troubles, including nine double-faults, and more than two dozen unforced errors in all, not to mention Yastremska's hard, flat groundstrokes. It was an abrupt, and mistake-filled, exit for Gauff, who so recently earned her second Grand Slam title — at the French Open via a three-set victory over No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final. After Tuesday's defeat, Gauff said, 'I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don't like losing. The main thing I'm sure my team and everyone is going to tell me (is): 'You did well at Roland-Garros. Don't be so upset.' Things like that.' But as much as she'll want to move on and focus on what's to come, the 21-year-old American acknowledged as she dabbed away the tears welling in her eyes during her news conference that she felt 'a little bit disappointed in how I showed up today.' It's instructive to remember — setting aside that captivating 2019 debut, which featured a victory over Venus Williams — that Wimbledon's grass courts actually have produced Gauff's least successful Grand Slam results. Yastremska's take? She said she considers Gauff 'much better on clay court and hard court than on grass.' This was the second time in the past three years that she was sent home in the opening round. She's never been past the fourth round at the All England Club, whereas at every other major tournament, including the hard-court Australian Open, she's at least reached the semifinals. Her first Slam trophy arrived on the hard courts of the U.S. Open in 2023 when she was 19. She already was the 2022 runner-up on the red clay at the French Open before going one step better this time. Sabalenka's self-described 'unprofessional' comments after last month's title match in Paris became a real topic of conversation and, perhaps, a distraction. Gauff and Sabalenka sought to put it behind them — and tell fans they should, too — by filming TikTok videos together once they got to Wimbledon. 'I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards,' Gauff said, 'so I didn't feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it.' It's not easy to manage the tricky transition from the Roland-Garros clay to the Wimbledon grass. There's a reason it's been a decade since a woman won both in the same season — and a reason that woman was Serena Williams. By the end of the night, Gauff was eager to look ahead to the upcoming North American hard-court circuit, culminating with a trip to New York in late August. 'I mean, obviously I'm not going to dwell on this too long, because I want to do well at the U.S. Open. Maybe losing here (in the) first round isn't the worst thing in the world,' she said, 'because I have time to reset.'
San Francisco Chronicle
38 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Leverkusen signs England Under-21 defender Jarell Quansah from Liverpool
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen has replaced former captain Jonathan Tah with Jarell Quansah from Liverpool in a club-record signing for a defender. The 22-year-old Quansah signed a contract through June 2030 and will wear Tah's former No. 4 shirt, the Bundesliga club said Wednesday. The reported fee of more than 30 million euros ($35.3 million) rising to 40 million ($47 million) with bonuses corresponds roughly with what Liverpool agreed to pay Leverkusen for Netherlands right back Jeremie Frimpong in May. Liverpool reportedly secured a buy-back option for Quansah for more than 60 million euros ($70.6 million) after he has spent two seasons at Leverkusen. Leverkusen also sold star player Florian Wirtz to Liverpool last month for a Bundesliga-record fee. Tah switched to league rival Bayern Munich once the season concluded after declining to extend his contract. He had spent a decade at Leverkusen and was a key part of the team which won the Bundesliga and German Cup unbeaten in 2023-24. Quansah won the Under-21 European Championship with England last week. But he was unable to establish himself as a regular starter at Liverpool ahead of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté. 'One of the most promising English central defenders. He's fast, agile, a good footballer,' Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said of Quansah. 'He has already made an impressive impact in a Liverpool defense dominated by world-class players. With Jarell, our defense gains significant dynamism, pace and toughness in tackling, and he's another very important building block." Rolfes is overseeing huge changes at Leverkusen following coach Xabi Alonso's departure for Real Madrid. Wirtz, Tah and Frimpong have all left, and Rolfes has been signing promising young players to make up for their departures. Leverkusen last week signed Abdoulaye Faye for a reported fee of 3 million euros ($3.5 million) from Swedish team BK Häcken, with the 20-year-old Senegalese defender expected to go on loan for the upcoming season. Previously, Leverkusen announced the signings of France youth international Axel Tape on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain's under-19 team, 19-year-old Ibrahim Maza from Hertha Berlin, and 21-year-old defender Tim Oermann from relegated Bochum. Oermann was promptly loaned to Austrian champion Sturm Graz for the season. ___
San Francisco Chronicle
38 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
French side Metz to honor fans by featuring them on away jersey
METZ, France (AP) — Fans are an integral part of soccer clubs and French Ligue 1 side Metz has reinforced the bond by featuring them on the away jersey this season. As a mark of recognition to its supporters, the white away jersey has watermark images of fans raising their arms or scarves aloft and features the names of two Metz ultras groups printed on flags. 'By our side everywhere, designed to pay vibrant homage to supporters,' the club wrote alongside the jersey. Metz won a relegation-promotion playoff against Reims at the end of last season to return to the top flight, having been relegated the previous season in the same playoff.
