Friday, May 6, 2022 at 5:40 PM• Dominic Mostert

The KNVB ends the boycott of Belarus. After the start of the war in Ukraine, the Football Association decided to withdraw from matches against Russia and its ally Belarus, as a result of which the the Dutch Women’s World Cup qualifier against Belarus was canceled on Tuesday, April 12. According to the KNVB, the boycott did not have the desired effect, because other countries did not follow.

It is not yet known how UEFA will judge last month’s suspended game. If the KNVB would stand firm, the next World Cup qualifier against Belarus would also not take place on June 28. Qualifying for the World Cup would become a lot more difficult for the the Dutch, especially because Iceland has collected one point more in six games. Only the group winner qualifies directly for the tournament in 2023; the runner-up must hope to be in the top three runners-up.

In order not to cut itself further, the KNVB is now changing its position. “Since the other countries will continue to play their planned international matches against Belarus, a long-term boycott by the Netherlands has no effect,” reports the association. “In fact, now that the the Dutch Lionesses do not play against Belarus and our direct competitors for World Cup qualifiers do play against Belarus, this makes it difficult for only the Netherlands to qualify for the World Cup in 2023. While participation in a World Cup naturally has a broad impact on Dutch women’s football as a whole. .”

The KNVB wanted to send an early signal with the boycott that the war had to end, but noticed that other countries and umbrella associations were not following. On June 28, the team of national coach Mark Parsons will therefore take office in and against Belarus. “The wish of the KNVB is to do this behind closed doors and without national anthems, because we still believe that the regime in Belarus should not look forward to international sports competitions and we therefore want minimal attention for this competition.” It is also conceivable that the previously suspended match, which would be played in The Hague, will still be made up.