By David Gold
May 18 – The delegation touring potential host cities for the Russia 2018 World Cup have visited Moscow, following stops in Yekaterinburg and Yaroslavl this week.
Members of Russia 2018, including chief executive Alexey Sorokin, and FIFA delegates were in the Russian capital to see where matches could be played during the World Cup.
Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium (pictured below), built for the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, is certain to host matches, including the final of the tournament and a semi-final.
The other two stadiums in the city in the running to host World Cup matches are new venues being built for Russian Premier League teams Spartak Moscow and Dynamo Moscow.
Spartak are building a 45,000-seat stadium which is set for completion next year.
Dynamo’s arena is being rebuilt and when work is completed in 2016, it will also have the capacity for 45,000 spectators.
Although, it is likely that only two stadiums in Moscow will be selected to host games during the tournament, Sorokin has not ruled out anything.
“We don’t know the final line-up yet, because we’re still in the middle of the process,” he said.
“We have selection criteria, and we have a commission which is travelling around all the cities and systematically studying the situation in each region.
“Previous tournaments used 10 or 12 stadiums.
“The final number will be within that range.
“But something unconventional could also happen.
“FIFA is ready to listen and enter into dialogue.”
Jürgen Müller, FIFA’s head of the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups, was unconcerned about logistical issues in Moscow such as transport, where traffic jams and delays on the city’s roads are commonplace.
“It’s not only candidate [cities] that are completely and utterly perfect that can win the right to host the World Cup,” Müller insisted.
“Everyone has to deal with problems like these.
“And I have no doubt that, by the 2018 World Cup, Moscow will come up with a solution.”
The visit to Moscow came a day after the delegation had been in Yaroslavl, part of the Volga River cluster of venues proposed for the World Cup.
After reconstruction for the World Cup, the city’s Shinnik stadium (pictured below) will also hold 45,000 fans.
Yaroslavl region’s deputy governor Viktor Kostin emphasised the city’s football history to the delegation.
“We were very serious in the way we went about choosing the location for the World Cup stadium,” he said.
“We carried out some sociological research, which showed that most local people favoured the stadium being in the centre of Yaroslavl.
“That will ensure maximum transport access and convenience.
“On top of that, Shinnik has a rich football history, and the people of Yaroslavl have been going there to support their team for more than 50 years.
“Most local people want Yaroslavl to be a Russia 2018 host city.
“And by working together and pooling our efforts, and with FIFA’s support, we’re ready to work hard to ensure that Yaroslavl is included in the list of host cities.
“What will be done ahead of the World Cup will take Yaroslavl to a new level, and will serve the city and the region for a long time to come.”
Yaroslavl is one of the 13 candidate cities vying for selection to stage games in 2018, and may be in direct competition with Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kazan, Volgograd and Samara – the other cities which form the Volga River cluster of proposed host city venues.
The next stage of the delegation’s tour of World Cup host city candidates will take place next month, when the other five Volga River venues, mentioned above, will be visited.
The host city tour is scheduled to conclude on June 22.
A re-arranged trip to Sochi, the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, is yet to be confirmed after that leg of the tour was postponed last month.
However, insideworldfootball understands that it may be scheduled for the end of this month or the start of June.
FIFA are due to name the Russia 2018 host cities in September.
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