They may be banned from meaningful competition and pariahs across much of the world, but Russia are not struggling too much to find willing opponents. In the last year, they’ve played; , Belarus, Brunei, Grenada, Vietnam and in friendly matches. Iran, Qatar, Cuba and Iraq were among the opposition before that. They have won their last seven games in a row, scoring 31 goals and conceding none.
But apart from those with more obvious ties to the Kremlin, a number of African sides have started to play the 2018 World Cup hosts. An Egyptian under-23 side were the first in September 2023, six months after the ban was imposed, while Cameroon traveled to Moscow and Kenya played them in Turkey the following month. Nigeria are to make the trip to the Russian capital in June but next to do so is , on March 25.
“It’s just a friendly game. It has nothing to do with the official games,” Zambia FA communications director, Sydney Mungala, told DW. “Basically, this was a football decision from the Zambian perspective.”
Mungala said Zambia had been left without a fixture in the March international window after Eritrea withdrew from qualifying, reportedly over fears players would flee and seek asylum on trips abroad, and the Republic of Congo were banned by FIFA due to third-party interference in football affairs.
“When they came calling, I think for us, we were looking for an opportunity to keep our team engaged during this FIFA window, and we couldn’t pass the opportunity to play this game,” Mungala added.
“I think we also treat it as an act of solidarity with humanity from wherever they are. So for us, football is not discriminatory.”
Russia and Zambia’s long-term friendship
Mungala also said that the two countries have strong and enduring ties.
“Zambia and Russia have a relationship going back 60 years. I think one of the countries that rendered solidarity to Zambia a few days after gaining independence in 1964 was Russia, and Russia has had a strong presence in Zambia,” he said, before adding that the match did not mean Zambia are calling for Russia’s re-introduction to FIFA.
Those , forged in the days where Russia was part of the Soviet Union, seem to be a key reason why many African sides seem keener to play Russia than most of the rest of the world.
While Zambia trumpeted the scheduling of a fixture earlier this year with a social media post stating that the countries had “drawn on their long-term friendship to organize an international friendly match” Nigeria have been notably tight-lipped about their clash, scheduled for June 6 in a yet-to-be-confirmed venue.
There has been no announcement on the Nigerian FA (NFF) website despite Russia announcing the match and repeated requests for comment from DW came to nothing.
“Football is not war, football is away from ethnicity, away from issues concerning politics,” Nigerian sports producer and reporter Oluwaseun Idowu told DW, trying to assess the likely position of the country’s football association.
“I don’t think that this means that these countries have a different view on Russia to the rest of the world.”
Russia rely on soft power
Nigeria developed significant ties with the Soviet Union during the 1960s, when the USSR backed the Nigerian government in a civil war which began in 1967. Later, Russian President welcomed then-Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo soon after he assumed office in 2000. The countries also signed a military agreement in 2017 and Russia has plans to build a nuclear plant in Nigeria. But that isn’t the only form of influence.
“Russia and the Soviet Union have definitely used that soft power in the region, with African students being sent to study in Russia and cultural, sporting programs and things like that,” Michelle Sikes, an Associate Professor of Kinesiology and African Studies at Penn State university in the US, told DW. “That can leave a lasting legacy.”
Those sporting bonds appear to have been strengthened still further for some countries since the invasion. Representatives of the national Olympic committees of four African states –Namibia, Mali, Eswatini and Togo – attended . The vast majority of African countries sent representatives to the summit, including Nigeria and Zambia. Both countries have consistently voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly resolutions calling for an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, and many African nations are concerned about the economic effects of the conflict on their countries.
Differing priorities
“In difficult moments, friends are known not by words, but by deeds,” said Russian Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov at the summit.
“Now we can really see who our real partners are and those who only pretended or continue to pretend. Therefore, we have a very positive attitude towards our joint work and, of course, we want colleagues from other continents to follow the example of our African friends.”
Sikes also pointed to the Soviet Union appearing to take a stronger stance in the fight against apartheid in South Africa than many Western nations did during the Cold War era.
“It’s possible that the positive feelings that stemmed from that have carried over to make Russia appear more sympathetic to some African countries, apartheid was a huge issue.”
She also pointed out that the geographical distance to the war naturally means it is less front of mind for many in African countries.
Russia’s influence in Africa has grown in recent years, as noted in a European Parliament briefing from 2024.
“Russia’s current engagement on the continent seeks to break the diplomatic and economic isolation imposed by the West, to reassert its own relevance on the international stage as the champion of the new ‘polycentric world,’ and to advance its geo-strategic ambitions in mining, energy and military presence in key areas, such as the Red Sea and the Mediterranean,” it reads.
Mungala confirmed to DW that no Zambian fans will travel to Moscow for the match on March 25, citing travel costs and logistical difficulties. From a sporting perspective, the match carries little significance. But it is perhaps another small step towards breaking that isolation, in the eyes of some of the world’s football fans at least.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
The post Why are African teams playing football against Russia? appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
