Putting football into perspective is not difficult for Oleksandr Zinchenko.

“I’m saying, in my head and to my wife, I really want to be in Ukraine because this is my homeland,” he says. “Watching and following the news where almost every day people are dying for no reason, you’re just asking yourself: what are they (Russia) trying to achieve?”

It is approaching two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Visibility aids defiance and the national team’s Euro 2024 play-offs, in which Ukraine will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semi-final in March, are looming large on the horizon. But other geopolitical issues and conflicts — most notably the war in Israel and Gaza — have left the situation in Zinchenko’s homeland fighting for coverage.

“Maybe some people got fatigued about it, but all of us Ukrainians around the world… we can’t be tired from it because this is our lives, this is our country,” the Arsenal defender tells The Athletic. “It’s so hard to be far away from my country every single day. We need to speak about this more and that’s what we’re trying to do.

“Ukrainian people playing abroad in football, tennis, boxing — we need to represent our country. This is our duty. Everyone with a Ukrainian passport needs to do their…

FIFA has partially lifted its ban on Russia’s national teams by allowing them to compete in the men’s and women’s under-17 World Cups.

The decision, taken by the FIFA council, follows UEFA’s move in September to also permit Russia’s under-17 teams to participate in its competitions.

Russia’s national teams and clubs have been banned from UEFA and FIFA competitions since the end of February 2022 due to the invasion of Ukraine.

But world football’s governing body said on Wednesday that Russian under-17 sides would be allowed to compete under the condition they used the name “Football Union of Russia”. Matches will take place without the Russian flag, anthem, or kit.

A FIFA statement read: “Following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee on 26 September 2023 to once again allow the participation of Russian representative youth teams at U-17 girls and boys level, the FIFA Council approved an extension of this decision to the FIFA U-17 World Cup and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for which UEFA’s competitions serve as a qualification pathway, thus lifting the suspension on teams from Russia taking part in these tournaments.

“The FIFA Council reiterated its condemnation of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine and confirmed that the remaining terms of the…