The Russian Football Union (RFU) will hold an executive committee meeting on Friday to discuss resigning from UEFA — European football’s governing body — in order to move to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), sources have told ESPN.

All Russian clubs and national teams were suspended from competitive football by FIFA and UEFA in February following the invasion of Ukraine and, with the conflict ongoing, the suspension remains in place.

But despite the global ban on its teams competing on both the club and international stage, sources have said the RFU believes that a move to Asia would enable Russian teams to return to action in a more welcoming environment if, or when, FIFA ends its ban on Russia participating in the sport at a competitive level.