Open Joint Statement of Ministers responsible for sport regarding the inadmissibility of allowing the team of the Republic of Belarus to participate in the final stage of the UEFA European Futsal Championship 2026 under national status

At the beginning of 2026, the UEFA European Futsal Championship will take place in Riga, Kaunas, and Ljubljana.

First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the UEFA Executive Committee for its initial decision to grant Latvia and Lithuania the right to host this tournament for the first time in history. This decision reflected recognition of both countries’ strong commitment to the principles of fair play, tolerance, respect for human rights, and democratic values. However, at a later stage, a larger part of the tournament was moved from Latvia and Lithuania to Slovenia due to existing legislative restrictions in both countries concerning the possible entry of the Belarusian team.

In this regard, we are deeply concerned about the lack of clarity regarding the potential participation of the national team of Belarus in the Championship.

It is an undeniable fact that since the very beginning of the unlawful armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Belarus has served as its instrument and active ally, that has been officially recognized by the United Nations and European political bodies. Based on this fact, a wide range of restrictive and isolation measures have been imposed on the aggressor state and its accomplice – from EU sanctions to, for instance, the decision of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian and Belarusian teams from participating in the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris under their national status.

In view of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games 2026 in Milan and Cortina, the International Olympic Committee has confirmed that athletes from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus will not be permitted to compete under their national flags or officially represent their countries. This decision is aimed at ensuring the integrity of the Olympic Games, preventing the politicization of sport, and upholding the principles of the Olympic Charter.

Among these measures there are also legislative restrictions. In particular, the legislation of the Republic of Latvia explicitly prohibits hosting sporting events on its territory with the participation of Russian or Belarusian athletes. In 2023, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania adopted a resolution banning the participation of Russians and Belarusians in sporting events, including the Olympic Games. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted an Appeal to the heads of state, parliaments, and governments of democratic countries, as well as to the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, the International World Games Association, and international sports federations, calling for the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international sporting events and for the strengthening sanctions against the sports organizations of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

The Russian aggression against Ukraine, fully supported by Belarus, continues to claim the lives and health of civilians, including members of the sports community. Recently, the territory of Belarus was used to launch drones toward Poland, a member state of the European Union.

It is impossible to ignore the fact that the sports associations of Russian and Belarusian athletes – including the Belarusian Football Federation – openly support their governments and the political regimes in Russia and Belarus. The participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions is regularly exploited by their states as part of official propaganda aimed at glorifying aggression and promoting mobilization.

In light of the above, we consider any political presence of Belarus in official UEFA competitions unacceptable. Therefore, we call on UEFA, as one of the largest and most influential sports organizations in Europe and the world, to take a firm decision declaring the participation of the Belarusian team under its national flag and with the national anthem inadmissible.

Such a step would help uphold UEFA’s principle of using sport for the benefit of society and would clearly demonstrate a categorical rejection of the so-called “values” promoted through sport by the dictatorial regimes of Russia and Belarus. This must be done for the sake of the European sports community, athletes around the world, and future generations – those who deserve to live in a world where aggression as a political tool is fully discredited, and where sporting competitions serve solely as a platform for determining the best athletes and a source of joy for their supporters, rather than a means of promoting political ideology.

Signed by: