Russia beginning to pick-up pace of World Cup bid

By Andrew Warsahw

July 29 – Russia has hauled in its big-hitters, including Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, to take part in a high-profile sports forum a fortnight before becoming the first European candidate for the 2018 World Cup to be scrutinised by FIFA’s six-man inspection team.

Mutko, Russian Football Union President Sergei Fursenko and Alexei Sorokin, the chief executive of Russia’s Bid Committee, are all among the participants of the country’s annual international sports forum that began today.

The three-day conference, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1980 Olympic Games, is being held at Moscow’s Luzhniki Olympic Stadium, which Russia will use for the World Cup opening game and final if they win the vote on December 2 in Switzerland.

Although bidding nations were not permitted to stage any overtly promotional activities at the recent World Cup in South Africa, all contenders are now using every opportunity to spread the message ahead of the vote in six months’ time.

The Moscow conference is attracting some 3,000 delegates including 21 heads of international sports federations, associations and public institutions, members of the International Olympic Committee as well as senior representatives of National Olympic Committees.

At the same time, Russian bid officials are attending the Soccerex conference in Singapore in a clear attempt to woo the four Asian votes.

Russia hosts FIFA’s inspection team on August 16 before the team moves on to the three other European candidates for 2018.

The FIFA delegation has just completed its survey of three of the four Asian contenders for 2022, with Qatar still to come in September following a visit to the United States, officially still in the running for either tournament.

With little or no media activity permitted during the FIFA visits, information has been restricted to official channels.

But Australia’s cause was hardly helped when Asian confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam told the Soccereex conference in Singapore he was throwing his weight fully behind Qatar’s bid.

The lavish praise heaped on Australia by FIFA delegation leader Harold Mayne-Nicholls of Chile will be seen as little more than polite window-dressing following bin Hammam’s address in which he made it clear he was campaigning to bring the World Cup to the Middle East for the first time.

“I have one vote and, frankly speaking, I will vote for Qatar, but if Qatar is not in the running I will vote for another Asian country,” said Bin Hammam, raising the political battle for ultimate recognition one further notch.

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