Why Are Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Israel Members of UEFA?

Hakan Karakoca
Onedio Member
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Source: https://onedio.com/haber/kazakistan-erme...

The success of Kairat Almaty in the Champions League has once again brought up the issue of the distance of Kazakh teams to Europe. Almaty, which is 3900 kilometers away from Istanbul, 6400 kilometers from Madrid, 5600 kilometers from London, and 5900 kilometers from Barcelona, has already started to become a nightmare for the teams that will come to away games.

So why is Kazakhstan, a country so far away and a Central Asian country, competing in UEFA? Or non-European countries like Azerbaijan, Armenia, Israel, and Georgia, like itself?

UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, hosts European country and club teams.

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In UEFA, there are a few exceptions alongside European teams. Each of these 5 countries, which we can call exceptions, faces European competitors due to a special situation.

Here are the reasons why Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Israel became members of UEFA...

Kazakhstan

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Kazakhstan is a Central Asian country, but part of its territory also extends to Eastern Europe. Their separation from the Soviet Union also resulted in them remaining in the world of football in Europe.

Real Madrid will travel 6400 kilometers to play against Kairat Almaty, but they will still be traveling to a country from the same continental football. The distance between Madrid and Washington is 6630 kilometers...

Kazakhstan once played in the Asian federation where it would compete with Asian teams. They even participated in the 2002 World Cup Qualifiers from Asia.

Azerbaijan

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Located in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan is situated at the intersection of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. However, when the USSR disbanded in 1991, the right to join UEFA was granted to the independent countries. Azerbaijan also chose to side with UEFA.

Armenia

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Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, some Armenian teams played matches representing the USSR in UEFA. Armenia, no stranger to UEFA, continued on their path in UEFA like a natural member after gaining independence.

Gürcistan

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Gürcistan da tıpkı Azerbaycan ve Ermenistan gibi SSCB'nin dağılışıyla bağımsız oldukları için UEFA'ya dahil edildiler.

İsrail

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En farklı gerekçe ise İsrail'in ve tamamen politik. 

İsrail, coğrafi olarak Avrupa ile hiçbir bağı bulunmayan tek ülkedir ancak Avrupa turnuvalarında oynar. Batı ülkeleriyle daha yakın ilişkileri olsa da, esas sebep güvenlik. İsrail, Asya Futbol Konfederasyonu’nda yer alan 15’ten fazla ülke tarafından devlet olarak tanınmadığı gibi, birkaç ülkeyle de kötü ya da hiç ilişkisi olmadığı için AFC’de yer almayı tercih etmedi. 

Hatta katıldıkları bazı turnuvalar komşu ülkeleri tarafından protesto ve boykot edildi.

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