Russia has been invited to participate in the inaugural Central Asian Football Association Championships in June along with seven other national teams. Russian teams have been barred from European and FIFA competitions since the invasion of Ukraine in February of last year. But the Tajik Football Association announced on March 13 that a Russian team could join the new regional tournament along with former Soviet republics Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Afghanistan, Iran and another country, yet to be confirmed, will complete the lineup for the games expected to be hosted in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and Tashkent, Uzbekistan. To read the original story by AP, click here.