Fursenko targets 2018 World Cup after being elected RFU President

By Duncan Mackay

February 3 – Former Zenit Saint Petersburg President Sergei Fursenko (pictured) was elected as the new president of the Russian Football Union (RFU) at a special conference today and immediately set his sights on ehlping the country win its bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Fursenko received 95 of the 106 votes to win the race ahead of the only other candidate, Alisher Aminov, who presided the Foundation of Football Development in Russia.

Another candidate, Sergei Kuzmin, the president of Volga Ulianovsk football club, decided to withdraw from the elections saying he had a similar programme to Fursenko’s.

Fursekno targetted beating England to win the right to host the 2018 World Cup.

He said: ”I’m absolutely sure that we will reach the victory.

“We will reach nothing if we don’t put forward such goals.”

The 55-year-old Fursenko was a manager with Russian energy giant Gazprom in Saint Petersburg before taking over as Zenit’s president, a post he occupied from 2005-2008.

In that period Zenit won the Russian title, in 2007, and the UEFA Cup, in 2008.

Fursenko replaces Vitaly Mutko, who resigned in November after four years in the position.

Mutko resigned following Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s order that all sports federations must be run by full-time professionals. He was appointed sports minister in 2008.

Fursenko said one of his top priorities was a reorganisation of Russian football that he hopes will lead to the extinction of match-fixing.

Another priority is clarifying the position of Guus Hiddink and whether he will stay on as nationa coach.

Under Hiddink, Russia reached the semi-finals at the 2008 European Championship – its best post-Soviet showing.

But it recently failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup.

Mutko has proposed Hiddink extend his contract, which expires in July.

But Fursenko, who is expected to meet Hiddink tomorrow, said he will not be in a hurry to make a decision.

He said: ”We have almost half a year and must work [with Hiddink] till the end of his contract.

“And in that time we will decide what to do next.”

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