UEFA has insisted youth development tournaments in Russia are "not played under the auspices of UEFA" ©Getty Images

UEFA has insisted any development tournaments held in Russia are not under its auspices, after Russian Football Union (RFU) secretary general Maxim Mitrofanov claimed the governing body is open to staging such events in the country despite the war in Ukraine.

The International Olympic Committee continues to recommend event organisers do not award competitions to Russia or its ally Belarus as a sanction for the war in Ukraine.

Russian national teams and clubs have been barred from UEFA and FIFA competitions since February last year because of the conflict, although football has proved an outlier in allowing Belarus to compete with their home matches at neutral venues behind closed doors.

Russian state-run news agency TASS reported Volgograd staged development tournaments for junior men's and women's teams last month in an event partially funded by UEFA, and Mitrofanov claimed "UEFA has promised support for further development tournaments".

However, UEFA has denied any involvement in such competitions.

"These friendly youth development tournaments are not played under the auspices of UEFA and therefore the current ban imposed on Russian teams does not apply," the body told insidethegames.

Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan participated alongside Russia in the men's event, while the women's tournament featured the host nation, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

A men's and women's development tournament was held in Volgograd last months, featuring teams from Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan ©RFU
A men's and women's development tournament was held in Volgograd last months, featuring teams from Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan ©RFU

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Russia's women's under-16 team won its three matches by an aggregate scoreline of 26-0 in Volgograd, while the men's under-16 team triumphed with a superior goal difference, after finishing with two victories and a defeat.

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin of Slovenia has previously said "my personal opinion is that until the war stops it will be very hard for us to change anything" with regards to Russian participation in European competitions.

Russia hosted the 2018 men's FIFA World Cup after a disputed bidding process, and Saint Petersburg was a host city for the delayed pan-continental men's 2020 UEFA European Championships.

However, its national teams were expelled from qualifying for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, Australia and New Zealand 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and the men's UEFA Euro 2024 because of the war in Ukraine.

The RFU wants to compete in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, although proposals to switch to the AFC appear to have been shelved in favour of ongoing discussions with UEFA.