The key facts

  • World Archery Europe lifts restrictions on Russian archers from January 1, 2027
  • In August, a similar decision was already made by the World Archery federation — with the flag and anthem
  • Participation remains dependent on the laws of host countries and visa restrictions

European federation opens the way for Russian archers

The European archery federation (World Archery Europe, WAE) has announced that from January 1, 2027, restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes in competitions under its auspices will be lifted. The decision was made by the organization's executive board and applies to all tournaments held by the European federation. This is reported on the organization's website; the decision was also covered by Gazeta.Ru and Life.ru.

What the federation stipulates

WAE emphasized that the restoration of rights does not override applicable legislation, the requirements of the host country, visa restrictions, or directives of government authorities. The federation stated that it will continue to assess the situation in the places where competitions are held in Europe and will comply with the national rules in force. In other words, formal eligibility for Russian archers does not yet guarantee their actual participation in specific tournaments — that will depend on the host country.

Context: the sequence of eligibility decisions

Russian archers were barred from international competitions in 2022; later, athletes were allowed to compete in certain events under a neutral status, but restrictions on team participation remained. In July 2026, the International Olympic Committee temporarily lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and recommended that federations remove the previous restrictions — after that, international federations began making their own decisions on eligibility. In August, the World Archery federation also lifted restrictions on Russians: athletes received the right to compete at world championships and World Cup stages under the national flag and with the anthem. The new WAE decision extends this eligibility to the European level.

Not all federations are following the same path

The lifting of restrictions in archery does not mean an overall change in attitude toward Russian athletes. According to Life.ru, some federations previously stated that their position regarding Russians would remain unchanged; the same outlet reported that the Austrian national hockey team refused to play against Russia at the 2027 World Championship in Germany — according to Austrian Ice Hockey Federation managing director Alexander Hellwig, the team opposes the participation of Russians in international tournaments while the conflict in Ukraine continues. Austria became, as Life.ru notes, the seventh European country with such a position, after Finland, Sweden, Czechia, Norway, Denmark, and Latvia.