Russia put domestic tragedies behind them

By Andrew Warshaw

December 14 – Russia have re-iterated their determination to stage the 2018 World Cup by stressing again that the country has all the necessary tools to meet FIFA requirements.

Along with other bidding nations, the Russians went through the formality of confirming by December 11 their formal intention to bid – and insist they are pressing ahead despite recent setbacks.

The recent train crash and nightclub disaster have rocked Russian society but Alexey Sorokin, chief executive of the Bid Committee and the Russian Football Union (RFU), said the country was now moving towards submitting the all-important bid book by the May 14 deadline.

This is the extensive bid plan documentation compiled by the bidders, detailing host cities, stadiums, infrastructure, road, train and airline networks, safety and security, accommodation, IT and telecommunications, broadcasting, environment, sustainability as well as legacy aspects.

“Russia is a passionate sporting country with a strong sporting culture and a wealth of experience in hosting major sports events in the past and now also in the future, most notably the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi and dozens of international championships over the past ten years,” Sorokin said.

“However, so far, we have never been given the opportunity to also prove our strength with respect to hosting a football event of the magnitude of a FIFA World Cup.

“We feel that we are capable of hosting such an event and would love to be awarded this honour and challenge.”

FIFA will award the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups at a special meeting of its Executive Committee on December 2, 2010.

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