The Zambia national team will face Russia next month in an international friendly match, the Russian Football Union has confirmed.

The match will be played in Moscow during the FIFA international window.

“The Russian Football Union has reached agreements with the football federations of Zambia, Nigeria, and Belarus to hold friendly matches in the coming FIFA windows. In March, Valery Karpin’s team will play against Zambia. The game will be held in Moscow, the exact time and place of the meeting will be announced later,” Russia’s Football Union said in a statement seen by BolaNews.

The agreement to face Russia comes after Zambia’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Congo Brazzaville was called into question due to FIFA’s suspension of the Congolese Football Association.

Congo’s suspension from international competitions was due to third-party interference in the country’s football affairs, which violated FIFA’s statutes.

According to reports, the Congolese government is involved in the management of football in the country. FIFA stated that the suspension would be lifted only if certain conditions were met, including FECOFOOT regaining full control of the federation’s headquarters and other facilities.

Congo was scheduled to play Zambia on March 22; however, the match is now uncertain unless FIFA’s ban is lifted.

Meanwhile, Russia, the 2018 FIFA World Cup hosts who are currently serving a FIFA ban since 2022 due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, played their last friendly match against Syria in November 2024, which ended 4-0 in their favour.

Zambia will face Russia for only the second time. The Copper Bullets lost 3-1 to the Soviet Union (now Russia) on July 31, 1980, during the Moscow Olympics. Godfrey Chitalu scored Zambia’s goal in that game.

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