The Fall of Russian Football: Effects of International Sanctions

Back in February 2022, the IOC recommended that all Russian athletes, clubs and national teams be suspended from international competitions. More than six months have passed since then, and today we'll look at how this has affected Russia's most popular sport, football. Or soccer, for my American friends. Football is not just millions of fans who feel frustrated with the disappearance of international competitions - the Champions League and the World Cup. It's also a huge business - millions of dollars paid for players and their contracts. Many predicted that after FIFA allowed footballers playing in Russia to suspend their contracts, they would all run to other leagues. But... it turned out that this did not happen.
Special thanks to my Patrons:
-Giovanni Zayas; Kirill Klimuk; Simon Böse; Steak221; Steven; Yelizaveta Zakharova; Adam Stakhanov; Bálint Hegyi; Devon Hodgson; Joseph; Max; Michael Cottow; Mike Pearce; nathan h.; Ravenghast; Sarah McMaster; Yuval Carmon; Bram van Houten; Brandon Lane; Daniel Ienculescu; juno; Qiku; Scapji; Taylor Hren; Vobbs; Zach Patti.
00:00 - Introduction
01:03 - Why football and not sports in general
01:57 - Russia's national team
05:43 - Russian Premier League and suspension of contracts
12:35 - Problems with financial transactions
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Links:
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Hey there. Somehow you found my video and decided to watch it. So let me introduce myself. I'm Sergei and I'm from Russia. My channel is about my native country. I want to tell English-speaking viewers about the real Russia, about its past and present. Unfortunately, you can find a lot of propaganda about Russia on the Internet, both from the Russian media and from the Western ones. I want to tell you about Russia, as it really is, the country in which I was born, grew up, and lived all my life.
Stock footage provided by Patramansky Oleg, downloaded from videvo.net

[@ger5956]

While I have absolutely no interest in football, I am interested in the effects the war has on ordinary people. I hope you’re doing okay and family is well❤

[@johnmurphy7442]

The quicker this nasty war is over, the better it will be for everyone

[@aleksapetrovic6519]

Some video ideas: 1. Gangsters of Odessa (like Gangsters of Chicago, but with Soviet element). 2. That time Britain tried to colonize Siberia 3. Dimitry Puchkov and birth of Russian internet meme culture 4. Soviet/Russian basketball (honestly I just want story of 1972 match) 5. MosGas serial killer.

[@chrisabruzzi2803]

It's interesting to see if they will let Russia play in the next World Cup 2026 if they qualify from the Asian qualifiers. Greetings from Greece and good luck Setarko, you have a nice channel.

[@tannerwilson4843]

I don’t think the AFC will let Russia in. They will become a major pariah state for quite some time and no one will want Russia to join them.

[@ayushkumarsingh5123]

fifa already bsnned it

[@magicalhikari5859]

@@ayushkumarsingh5123and it’s bold of them to assume FIFA’ll allow Russia to join the Asian confederation

[@Man-of-Steel674]

Idea:crazy soviet/russian science experiments. Wish the best of luck for you. Good video as always.

[@Setarko]

Yeah, I have it in my list for the longest time. The experiments of Vladimir Demikhov alone are already worthy of a separate video, definitely will do this one

[@Man-of-Steel674]

@@Setarko Thanks Comrade. Wish you the best of luck.

[@jakekaywell5972]

@@Setarko Didn't Demikhov develop the world's first artificial heart and actually installed it into a living thing?

[@emmanuelcunha8433]

As a brazilian trying to learn russian trhough RPL, the vídeo was SUCH a findi. Thanks a lot comrade. I really hope to see at least a game of kirilia sovetov. Береги себя сетарко❤

[@darthimperius8057]

I'm sad that Russia isn't part of upcoming world cup, you gave us a hard time in quarter finals back in 2018, I was losing my sh*t.

[@Setarko]

Haha everyone in Russia was rooting for Croatia after that quarter finals. "If we lost to someone, then let us only lose to the champions"

[@darthimperius8057]

@@Setarko us beating England was my highest expectation for the entire world cup, I never believed we'd beat French.

[@riad1902]

F them Don’t be sad

[@k0pera]

For me this was the match of the competition in WC. This was the most hard neutral match for me as a Bulgarian to watch.

[@DungeonNumber5]

@@riad1902 "F them" as in judging their government actions above sportsmanship? One of the greatest values of sports is battling such attitude. Winds of politics will change as they always do, but guys who kick the ball will have nothing to do about it.

[@DerianEspinoza]

Great video !!!

[@Westronaut]

I'd love your take on the current situation with the KHL and this *situation's* impact on that hockey league. It seems like it would have many parallels to the soccer leagues of your country.

[@mapoch9000]

боюсь, санкции для русского футбола что пощёчина для трупа

[@sodinc]

Надеюсь на это

[@justjordiano]

Until recently I lived in Moscow and I could see Spartak Moscow’s stadium from my apartment. Even before moving to Moscow I was interested in Russian football and dubbed ЦСКА my Russian team. I was probably one of the very few foreigners that in addition to my main team, I would watch the Russian teams when they played in UEFA competitions but mainly ЦСКА. I have fond memories of them beating Real Madrid. So it’s sad to see the demise of Russian football. The Russian World Cup was also my favourite World Cup by far and it peaked my interest in Russia even more. I celebrated that win over Spain massively. Intriguing maybe, I also watch Shakhtar Donetsk when they play in the Champions League. Hopefully one day they can return to their amazing stadium. This whole situation is just massively depressing in all aspects.

[@DjBydLo]

I love your channel mate, i know how difficult it must be to be there in this times of war. Keep on the good work, and I love your videos about soviet history.

[@user-eb7ex6ye4g]

keep up bro

[@jcxkzhgco3050]

War is bad for everyone😢

[@sisyphusvasilias3943]

Good video

[@feroshka]

I've watched a lot of russian national team matches. I watched all of the russian world cup matches till the one against croatia . It's a real pity for all of those very talented player in theirs late twenties to lose the chance of play in the world cup (well, to be fair enough russian team was expected to dispute that entrance against poland and sweden as you said, so that wasn't granted). But still it's a real shame for players like golovin, dzhikiya, cheryshev,zobnin, MIRANCHUK (for god's sake). on the other hand, for the youngests ones I was really looking forward to see safonov and zakharyan. well. i hope evth get better in the future and some of those players can be able to make it to the 2026 wc.

[@Mydrich]

Все еще ролик не про Жириновского(

[@johannesbrolinson5006]

Let's ask the real question, do you think Russia OUGHT to be sanctioned?

[@sisyphusvasilias3943]

only if USA and every NATO country is sanctioned multiple times more for all their illegal invasions and wars. .... It's the hypocrisy and double standards that make sanctions a joke oh and that nearlly all sanctions aren't sanctions, they are crimes of collective punishment against the UN Charter (Int Law). The only legal sanctions are one issued by UNSC/UNGA Resolutions.... but USA hands out sanctions like candies. USA doesnt give a shit about Int Law.

[@RobinKoenig1917]

This video was really interesting! It really showcases how global and important and, of course, political football is. Also, very interesting to learn that there is a Russian football team owned by the national railway company. I hope that Russian, and indeed Ukrainian football can both achieve the heights they once held.

[@Setarko]

Well, with that name that literally means "Locomotive" it would be weird not to be owned by some railway company. And in general, it's all echoes of Soviet times, when all football clubs were "assigned" to either a large enterprise or some law enforcement agency (like CSKA or Dynamo).

[@RobinKoenig1917]

@@Setarko I was reading up about that, very interesting. Not something we have in my country at all

[@GeorgeSemel]

I am not a fan of Football/ Soccer or American Football or any of the team sports. I like to fly fish. The Rainbow trout on Kamchatka is a bucket list trip for me. All this unpleasantness has to end at some point. I have not quit my Russian Language Study or my love of Russian films. I still want to come to over to see the sights and pay respects to a Marine in Volgograd see his rifle and wet a fly line a lot. Even eat in that fish restaurant in Peter where they take you out back to catch the fish they will cook for you. ( Yes I know he was Navy then when to the Army, in the US he would be a Marine, and in fact, he would have been happy to be a Marine since the Marines put marksmanship above all other things) It's always nice to see a post of yours. I don't like politics in sports, sports should be just that sports, and leave the other crap at home.

[@ANDREALEONE95]

You really think that Russian Football club are not linked in a way or another to Oligarchs?

[@newsunderfoot]

Hey, people! Perhaps from June 1, 2023, you will not need a visa to travel to Russia - they are going to cancel them. Even for tourists, artists and athletes of those countries that are in confrontation with Russia. Follow the news!

[@psh2003]

Next Video idea: Dmitry Kiselev or REN-TV channel

[@louielouie95]

Just You Wait And See HITC Sevens' Version Of The Video

[@ancientadrian514]

Nice video about the current state of Russian football. I have a question that hopefully you’ll be able to answer. Why isn’t Russia a power house in football? You would think after hosting the World Cup would have elevated Russian football to new heights but it hasn’t. Hell, Russia’s domestic league is in the UEFA competing against the Big 5 and they can’t challenge them. I’m curious to know why

[@Setarko]

Well, personally I think it is because of really bad infrastructure (kids have no football fields to play on for like 6-7 months a year), lack of attention to youth coaches and support for junior league football. Also 90% of Russian football teams are state-owned which makes the league somewhat toxic - they preferred to spend money on some old stars instead of promoting their own talented players. Still, Russian league is/was 6th-10th in Europe which in my opinion is totally fine. It could even challenge French league for a place in top 5 some 5 years ago.

[@annasolovyeva1013]

Can't train in the open all years round. Russians are good at mini football, but not in the big one, because you have to run on the stadium year-round to be able to do it. Also, it's not as popular in Russia as it is in Spain or England

[@user-axms3fj5ya]

Россия вкладывается во все виды спорта, вот поэтому мы недостаточно сильны в футболе.........

[@blainn7788]

i love your accent.

[@cynicalahole7131]

Nice video!

[@deadset15-hrvavik17]

Я люблю Россию. Love from Croatia.

[@chongqingcapybara1306]

How about KHL? I heard they are still doing OK with many foreign （NA & Scandinavian) players still playing normally.

[@Setarko]

Well, other than Jokerit leaving - no big changes for KHL. And also some really bizarre stories with Latvian players who wanted to continue playing there. But yes, still many players from Canada&Sweden decided to continue playing.

[@marw9541]

How many times do people need to say "I refuse to call it soccer" before they get it that Americans could not give a shit what you call it XD

[@whatsgoingon71]

Hush, not everything is about you.

[@ehgyes]

With regards to Europeans in Russia, Im surprised Spartaks Spanish coach hasn't had any issues over working in Russia

[@Setarko]

Yeah, as Spartak fan myself I was just as surprised when they managed to find him back in June. And I'm even more surprised that he is doing a brilliant job

[@ehgyes]

@@Setarko he's also quite young, I think Zenit will win the league again but next year it could be a genuine title race. Cause well Zenit is turning a bit into Bayern Munich

[@Luka-rt7jy]

@@Setarko what do you think, will spartak win the league?

[@Setarko]

@@Luka-rt7jy nah, Zenit is too strong. As long as they don't collapse completely - they will win.

[@Luka-rt7jy]

@@Setarko as a cska fan I agree, respect to spartak!

[@fernandostaejak3705]

The hipocrisy of FIFA is unbelievable, the USA it was not banned when they invaded Iraq, Afganisthan and Lybia.

[@dpt6849]

And before we forget: Uefa Mafia, Uefa Mafia!

[@duartepires1515]

0:00 YOOO RONALDO BEAR SIIIUUUUUUUUU

[@marsco1758]

Thank you for Abildgaard and Haksabanovič

[@Setarko]

Abildgaard was amazing for Rubin in his first season, but I think so far he hasn't found himself in Celtic.

[@bohemiansusan2897]

I don't know much about Soccer. If South Korea is on the TV, then I will watch and cheer. Last game I saw was at work four years ago when South Korea played Mexico and saw most of the game at work. I cheered Korea naturally and my co-workers got upset that I wasn't cheering Mexico. I think Korea won....

[@bohemiansusan2897]

I watch the little kids play too. Russia is mostly in Asia, so it would make sense to do that. I'm not competitive by nature and just like games. It upsets folks that I go to minor league or small college sports games. I'm poor and live on $417 a month and my low income apartment rent is $1,025 a mont. My grown sons keep me from the streets. If you had posted about ballet or music, I would have understood how sanctions effect Russia. Is Gorky Park banned by other countries from performing? I'm a child of the 80s.

[@Setarko]

Well, Russia is mostly in Asia in terms of land, but in terms of population 90% are still in the European part. Even more so in football - in top division rn there are 15 teams from European part and only one from Asian (Ural Ekaterinburg). And also this is probably not my last video about the effect of sanctions on various areas of life in Russia. I dislike the usual generic narrative "everything is awful, Russia is going to collapse tomorrow because of the sanctions" but I'm really interested in making videos on the effect of sanctions on different industries in Russia (auto industry, tourism industry, live music industry etc)

[@bohemiansusan2897]

@@Setarko I await to see what you come up with. Over here we live with major inflation but about 65% is artificial price gouging. So many people drive SUVs that use up a lot of gas. People here will even drive two blocks to buy a soda at the corner store or people drive for half an hour to go walking. Not sure what that mind set is. Most here tell me I'm poisoned by Korea, Ireland and Communist Sweden. Hard to not laugh. I try to walk everywhere and don't mind if it takes half an hour. I'm just starting to walk again after surgery almost three months ago. I would be interested in knowing how music and ballet are affected. I wish that it was on TV but that stopped ages ago. In the 70s & 80s, ballet would be a special TV when Baryshnikov was in the production. Thanks for replying to my comments.

[@fgjjdgb3949]

Отпразднуют поражение, как победу, и довольные.

[@ulaalu4356]

I like it but my local national league is really awfull. At least, there are a lot of nice stadiums in Russia. By the way, e-sport (videogames) is the place that I've seen where nobody care too much about sanctions but there are problems with visas in some cases for tournaments ( cof... europe..... cof ).

[@Setarko]

Well, not everywhere. Riot Games suspended the whole season for CIS region in 2022 and I doubt it will be restored in 2023 tbh.

[@ulaalu4356]

@@Setarko Probably extra pressure of not being a "free company" because Riot games is owned by Tencent ( Chinese company). By the way, I'd be interesting to know if all chinese companies have left Russia because I usually hear that China is backing Russsia but it seems they don't want any problems. : /

[@annasolovyeva1013]

@@ulaalu4356 not all. Only 10% of the Europeans left. Even when they declare to live, they likely rebrand and restructure

[@caim3465]

You make the th sound by touching your upper teeth with your tongue. Btw, many Russian speaking people replace the th sound with z\s. Wouldn't it make more sense to replace it with d\t or f\v?

[@zersky495]

Th should be replaced if an F

[@Brick-Life]

Awesome chance for domestic improvements in Russia!

[@AngelGonzalez-yb6gu]

One of the best, if not THE BEST, signings in the European football this summer was Kvicha Kravatskhelia, who joined Napoli nearly cost free and now it must be worth over 100 million dollars/euros. That Georgian kid is really an unbelievable talent and the Russian league lost it because of this insane and horrible war the Russian government started.

[@Setarko]

Funnily enough, Khvicha was not that good in his last season at Rubin. Sure, everyone still saw that the kid was talented, but he was nowhere near the level of his first seasons. Good for him that he apparently found a perfect team for himself in Napoli.

[@iszotic]

I don't like football but you refusing to call it soccer makes me want to watch your video.

[@crowhaze1]

why fifa WHYYYYYYYYY

[@dpt6849]

Gazprom made Russian clubs succesfull. Zenith St Petersburg for instance. Ukrainian club Sjachter Donetsk also big due to oil/gas sales. Also to hell. Abramovitsj saw it coming, that's why he said Chelsea should invest in youth academy and talent development. That was years ago. What do you think when the Arabs stop with Man City and PSG? 🤡

[@Luka-rt7jy]

CSKA MOSCOW ❤️💙

[@KLETwave]

As a big football fan, I thank you for this informative video. Hats off to all players who regardless of their origin or personal views unlike corrupt FIFA or UEFA mafia are being able to differ between human beings/sportsmen and politicians. As a non-Russian I can only thank anyone who doesn't participate in this agenda of racism. At the end of the day, we are all human and as I always tend to say: You will always find good and bad people in every race, religion or nationality. 😉

[@1carlosmmc]

Cesar Montes, a Mexican defender of Monterrey was close to joining Moscow Dynamo but the same trouble of money transfer cancelled the signing I really hope that the unjustified isolation of Russian football ends soon, it's ridiculous that Israel can play normally

[@raptor_boquita]

ankara messi ankara messi

[@yulusleonard985]

woo 1 view

[@louielouie95]

You Sound A Little Indian In This Video

[@dxminichere]

First

[@datbo1]

you are a slav with a slavic audience, of course you arent the only football fan

[@olobolo1155]

Polska górą!

[@maikotter9945]

Legia Warsaw ultras have written on posters: "hang Putin"! The German Basic Law forbids cruelty toward humans! King Charles III. [UK] is a descendent of Vlad the Impaler [= "Dracula"]!

[@789know]

i like how all these nations are so righteous against Russia over its action when they willingly support an invasion by its allies in Yemen. All of gulf states never get the same treatment. That war even cause famine and disease outbreak due to lack of medicines from naval blocade.

[@baronvonjo1929]

Your can probably just pick nations at random and see the hypocrisy they all have. Many countries won't do anything if it's across the world but will have a strong stance if it's a nearby nation.

[@AleksanteriR]

What about this and what about that. Russian invasion in Ukraine is causing famines as well, like most wars do to a certain extent.

[@veduci22]

How can Yemen government invade their own country?

[@nifunifa6231]

I support Ukraine in the current conflict (although I dont like their governmet who is part-guilty in this conflict and horrible loss of life) but I agree with you, when a western country starts a war they just look away and be like "keep politics out of sport".

[@avus-kw2f213]

ITS NOT FOOD BALL ITS SOCCER ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

[@Azz156]

feels like setarko thinks the rest of the world are being dicks for sanctioning russia, well atleast by his tone. when russia leaves all of Ukraine forever (including Crimea) then and only then will the sanctions be lifted. Slava Ukraini, also g'day from Australia.

[@Setarko]

Well, yes. I personally do think the rest of the world are being dicks. Not for the fact of sanctions but for the way they are implemented. When countries gladly buy Russian oil and gas (and therefore directly sponsor the production of Russian weapons) and at the same time these very countries ban people who want to run away from Russian goverment from entering - they are being dicks. For 20 years Europe was happy with that sweet sweet money coming from Russian oligarchs (the money that was basically stolen from Russia). And now they are upset with Russia - but they decided to punish ordinary people and not the government itself. Do you really want to isolate Russia and show your disagreement with Putin's policies? No problem, you have every right to do so. Full ban on imports from Russia would be a big hit. But do you really think that turning off Visa and MasterCard for ordinary Russians is the way to hit Russia's military budget? Or maybe the Russians football clubs will be outraged because they were banned from playing football in the European Cups and overthrow Putin? Ridiculous.

[@Azz156]

@@Setarko I just want to say first i enjoy your videos and have been a subscriber for the past 2 years, so thanks for the reply. But i think you have the wrong perspective with these sanctions, Putin knew exactly the cost of this war and what the sanctions would be and invaded Ukraine anyway. so if you want to point fingers at the dicks then there's no bigger dick then the one that calls himself the Russian president. so maybe start there first. Secondly just imagine life for all the hundreds of thousands people who have since died or will die because of this war and your only worried about things like Russian football teams and whether Russians can use their visas to buy a new iPhone?, over 100 000 Russians have so far died in Ukraine and probably the same number of Ukrainian soldiers have too. the problem isn't with the west no matter how much Russian propaganda tries to tell you that it is, Putin started this war not the west. The true cost of this war hasn't even started for Russia yet, prepare for years of stagnation and isolation only the likes of North Korea and Iran can relate to. edit: In regards to the west buying oil and gas Germany was stupid for allowing themselves to become completely reliant on Russian energy and will take time for it to find other suppliers, but as of now Russian oil is now banned in the EU and capped to $62 us dollars for everyone else (at the moment ural oil is around $55 a barrel). As for the gas well that is almost completely stopped with the exception of Bulgaria and Turkey. Russia lacks sufficient LNG facilities to sell to non European markets and can only ship i think around 10% of what it produces, so if enough of a backlog builds up gazprom and other suppliers will be forced to shut off the well's destroying them in the process. to top that off Russia lacks the expertise and western materials to build a sufficient LNG port facilities or repair the frozen/destroyed oil extraction facilities. So my point is these sanctions were designed originally to make this war as painful as possible, Putin agreed to its costs and ultimately the Russian people will bare the cost too.

[@Setarko]

Well, I never said that I am only worried about football teams and visas. Ofc wars are horrible, and this particular one is not an exception. And I know well enough who started it, thank you. The fact that one president is a dick doesn't negate the fact that on the other side are also dicks. And yes, Putin knew the price and agreed to it, guess why? Because he himself and his friends are not affected by these sanctions at all. All their palaces and fortunes remain with them and they live in exactly the same comfort as they did a year ago. You asked for my opinion about sanctions - I answered. And yes, I do think there is a major hypocrisy when it comes to Russian people. When people who literally went to jail for trying to protest in 2011, 2012, 2019 and in 2022 are not allowed to cross the EU borders or work in western companies because "muh sanctions" and "go overthrow Putin, and then we'll talk". Let's put it this way - either you think there is democracy in Russia and Putin really has the support of 70+% of the people in Russia. Okay then, it's fair - in that case all the citizens of the country are indeed to blame and deserve to be isolated. But then why don't all the international organizations recognize the results of the elections in Russia, say there is no freedom of speech and call Putin a tyrant and dictator? Huh? So then we agree that Russia is an authoritarian country where power is in the hands of a ruling class that has repressed any protest against it by the harshest measures, and where you can go to jail for any dissent? So if that's the case then why are you punishing common people? It's good that you said about North Korea and Iran. I'm sure all North Koreans are terrible maniacs who want to nuke everyone and they deserve to live in a concentration-camp country for 70 years. After all, they chose their government, right? edit: and yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm not asking for sympathy. If I wasn't Russian and didn't live in Russia, I wouldn't give a damn about ordinary Russians either. Everyone should have compassion for those people whose lives have been destroyed by war first and foremost. But yes, it's my opinion that as an instrument for stopping the war these sanctions are a joke. If it's an instrument to make Russia a big North Korea then sure, they are more successfull, but then you should stop pretending that you are punishing Putin and just say it outright.

[@Azz156]

@@Setarko There's a reason why the borders are shut from what i under stand they just don't want any more Russians living in there country's, since Putin loves to use that as a pretext to invade like with Georgia and now Ukraine. There's some other smaller reasons like refugees cost the state money to care for and they would rather keep that money aside for real refugees from Ukraine. not draft dodging Z patriots who scrape the Z sticker off there car window so they can get across the border. What do you honestly expect from the west? some how exclusively sanction Putin and his war criminals but leave the 140 million Russians completely unscathed? don't be dumb you know as well as i do you cant sanction a country without sanctioning its people. the people are the economy of their respective country. also do i have to bring up Putins ratings? he illegally annexed Crimea boom 90% approval rating, pre war Putin ratings drop to 61% boom war starts and now its like 85% approval. from our perspective outside Russia it looks like the vast majority believe the rubbish on RT and fully support the war. its like your asking us to feel pity for the average German during ww2, "oh its so sad they cant go on holiday or buy coke from the shops" I'm like "they started the war what the fuck did they expect?". you should be grateful that you don't have to worry about Iranian drones buzzing over head or your grandmother being raped, all you got to worry about is saying "special military operation" instead of war and puting a z sticker on your car. but like i said before i do enjoy your videos and would hate for anything to happen to you, leave Russia now before the second draft starts. they will shut the borders this time.

[@Setarko]

Well, like I said - we have two different perspectives here and will probably never agree with each other. I believe that my fellow citizens, who were forced to leave their home for fear of going to jail or to the trenches, are indeed should be called very real refugees. You do not. I believe that all these "ratings" are bullshit, because I know how exactly they are collected, you believe that 90% of Russians support Putin. I don't see the point in arguing tbh.

[@thkiwi1]

I think Russia should try to join the CONMEBOL The nations and the clubs in South America have a similar level with Europe And Russia would play big competitions, such as Copa America and Copa Libertadores Plus, Russia has lots of good friends in South America, they even refused to sanction Russia and refused to let Zelensky make his "dramactic speeches" So I think Russia should forget UEFA, they will always be discriminated in there And AFC would be a bad idea So CONMEBOL would be the perfect solution for Russia 👍

[@PHXM]

As a Russian, I'd love that! Jet lag might be a disadvantage though.

[@FOLIPE]

I don't think South American clubs would be willing to play all the way in Russia. People have been talking about merging CONMEBOL and CONCACAF for years but nobody wants to have games at such wild distances

[@thkiwi1]

@@FOLIPE All the federations have to do is increase the participation prize, that will cover the travel expenses Snd the reason why CONMEBOL and CONCACAF will never join are two: First becsuse the only decent football in North America is Mexico, the others are rubbish who play football just to profit from that. And second because nobody wants to join with USA, as they always want to give the orders on everything Russian clubs are very rich, they can cover any extra expenses easily

[@aleksapetrovic6519]

I am not much of football fan, but wouldn't it be impractical because of distance and traveling cost? I hope I didn't say something extremely dumb.

[@janpol466]

Soccer is lame. Don't be lame, comrade.

[@RobleViejo]

Sure, thats why fútbol is the most played sport in the world, right?

[@alfrenep]

🤓🤓

[@janpol466]

@@RobleViejo If most of the world choose to eat shit, would u advocate for eating it too ? 90 minunets plus u watching multi-millionaires running on the grass kicking the ball. That is the lamest sport concept in the world.

[@RobleViejo]

@@janpol466 I actually dont like fútbol at all even tho Im Argentine. I used to play rugby. And I utterly despise how clubs monetize people like its slavery 2.0. Having said this, fútbol is still the most popular sport in history, your opinions or mine will not change that. You should try to practice a little bit of objective thinking instead of waging your opinions as banners of your identity.

[@janpol466]

@@RobleViejo That was an objective thinking, lameness is as objective as temperature and soccer lameness is at the sky high level. U would see it if u wouln't be lame yourself. Clear your mind, be cool and concerns for freedoms of multimillioner will be gone from your thoughts.

[@robertjarman4261]

Modern football a mockery. Full of women who are not naturally gifted in this sport anyway. Like having football teams made up of under 5 year-olds.However a far more serious issue is the ethical one. It's almost compulsory that you have to be homosexual.