Coming home – players who were in Russia and Ukraine can sign with clubs in Brazil

Discover the identities of the 43 Brazilian athletes who competed in Eastern European nations.

Kolade Daniel

2022-04-01 20:38:33

Image Credits: © (Twitter @Pele)

The situation between Russia and Ukraine may now officially inspire multiple players to join Brazil’s best clubs, after a series of political and athletic upheavals. This is because the International Football Federation (FIFA), football’s highest regulating body, would allow international athletes who were playing in attrition-affected eastern European countries to terminate their contracts and join other clubs.

On March 7, Aleksandr Zotov, the director of the Russian Players Association, confirmed the information. In the Russian Championship, 129 foreigners (13 Brazilians) participate, whereas 95 compete in the Ukrainian Championship (30 Brazilians).

It’s important to stress that no contracts will be terminated; rather, they will be paused until at least June 2022. Players on loan from Eastern European clubs will wear other jerseys.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, FIFA and UEFA joined forces to sanction the country’s national team and clubs: the Russian national team and clubs were barred from qualifying for the World Cup at the end of the year, and clubs were barred from competing in European competitions (such as the Champions League), while the Ukrainian national team and clubs were unable to compete.

It’s important to emphasize that the players who were in Russia are safely leaving the country. That was not the case for those who were in the invaded country, Ukraine, since they had to take trains that crossed the borders with Romania and Moldova – in the case of the Brazilians at Shakhtar – in order to catch a flight back to Brazil later.

In this report, Sambafoot will identify which Brazilians were playing in Russia and Ukraine’s top divisions, so you can discover who could be able to aid your club in the coming weeks.