Russia's soccer teams are reportedly considering switching to play in Asia after being booted out of European competitions

• Russia's soccer teams were banned from competing in Europe following the invasion of Ukraine.
• Now, the country's football union is considering moving its teams to Asia, reports journalist Nobel Arustamyan.

The Russian Football Union (RFS) is considering joining the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after being banned from European competitions by Europe's governing body, UEFA.

That's according to Russian sports journalist Nobel Arustamyan, who reports that the RFS is seriously considering the switch to "soften the situation around Russian football."

Russia's national team was banned from competing by FIFA following the invasion of Ukraine, while the country's domestic teams were also shunted from the Champions League and other European tournaments by UEFA.

FIFA is holding a congress in Doha, Qatar on Thursday where decisions over long-term sanctions against the RFS are expected to be made.

Writing on his Telegram channel, Arustamyan — who is widely respected and has over 300,000 followers across Instagram and Twitter — said FIFA is likely to hand the RFS either a two-year or an indefinite suspension.

Arustamyan said that Russia, which spans territory in both Europe and Asia, could look to switch allegiances from UEFA to the AFC following the end of its ban.

"It is unlikely that European teams and clubs will want to play with Russia in the coming years, and there is certainly not such pressure in Asia," he wrote.

The proposed switch would mean Russia's domestic teams would play in the Asian Champions League rather than the UEFA Champions League and the AFC Cup rather than the Europa League.

The national team would also switch to the Asian qualification tournament for the World Cup and compete in the Asian Cup as opposed to the European Championship.

The former Russia internationals Andrey Kanchelskis and Yuri Gavrilov are among those to back the idea of Russia's soccer teams switching from UEFA to the AFC.

"If Russia has a real option with the Asian Football Confederation, why not?" Kanchelskis, who won two English Premier League titles with Manchester United, told Championat. "I worked in Asia, played in Saudi Arabia. I would be interested in watching such matches."

Yuri Gavrilov told Championat: "If there is nowhere else, let them play in the Asian Champions League. What's the difference? Will this affect our level? Russian football is already weak. What level can it hit? No team plays in either the Champions League or the Europa League.

"I don't follow Asian teams, so I don't know what level they are now. But time will tell how our clubs will be able to prove themselves against rivals from China and other countries."

Vyacheslav Koloskov, the Honorary President of the RFS, however, called the idea of the proposed switch "nonsense."

"Now it makes no sense to talk about something, a possible transition to the Asian confederation is another fantasy," he told Championat.