Ukraine and several of its European allies have insisted they will refuse to play a Russian team under any banner while the war is ongoing, after UEFA last month surprisingly allowed its men's and women's under-17 teams to compete in qualifying for their respective European Championship.

Next year's UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship hosts Sweden have promised they will not allow Russia to compete in the tournament if they qualify.

UEFA said its decision would not affect an ongoing ban on teams in higher age brackets, and argued "children should not be punished for actions whose responsibility lies exclusively with adults".

FIFA has framed its Council decision in relation to the UEFA ruling, describing it as "an extension of this decision to the FIFA U-17 World Cup and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for which UEFA’s competitions serve as a qualification pathway".

Russia's teams must compete as the Football Union of Russia, without their national flag and anthem and in neutral kit colours.

FIFA added it condemns "Russia's illegal war in Ukraine", and other measures taken would remain in place.

Russia's national teams have been banned from FIFA competitions including the men's and Women's World Cups since the end of February last year because of the war in Ukraine.

That came after FIFA faced a backlash for initially clearing Russia to play a qualifying playoff for the Qatar 2022 World Cup against Poland, which their opponents refused.

Football has proved an outlier in sport by distinguishing between Russia and Belarus in its response to the war in Ukraine, with the latter permitted to continuing playing European and international matches with home fixtures at neutral venues and behind closed doors, despite its role in facilitating the invasion.

FIFA's decision to allow Russia's under-17 teams to compete is also contrary to International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommendations, which suggested all Russian and Belarusian teams should not be included for participation in sport.

The IOC has itself faced criticism for recommending individual neutrals from Russia and Belarus compete in international sport where they do not support the war in Ukraine, with sceptics suggesting its stance should not have eased from an outright ban while the war is ongoing and questioning how strictly its measures are being implemented by International Federations.

Most sports have implemented its measures, but athletics and equestrian led by IOC members are among those to have maintained their initial stances.

Russia claims the IOC's conditions are discriminatory.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino of Switzerland was elected as an IOC member in 2020.

The 2018 World Cup, held in Russia after the controversial double award in 2010 with Qatar for 2022 under Infantino's disgraced predecessor Sepp Blatter, was his first as FIFA President, and the following year he was awarded the Order of Friendship by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At last year's FIFA Congress, Infantino claimed it was a "great World Cup" but "did not solve the problems of the world".

Before the World Cup in Qatar, Infantino called for a "temporary ceasefire" in the war in Ukraine for the duration of the tournament.