FIFA inspection visit to Russia to carry on

By Andrew Warshaw

August 11 – Russian officials insisted today that next week’s FIFA inspection visit for their 2018 World Cup candidature would most likely still go ahead despite the drought crisis that has plunged Moscow into a choking heat cloud.

As smog and raging forest fires shrouded the Russian capital for the third straight week, the country’s Bid Committee said special arrangements could be put in place for the Moscow part of the August 16-19 trip.

Bid chief executive Alexey Sorokin said: “We are closely monitoring the developments together with the Government of the Russian Federation and are in contact with FIFA.

“The itinerary of the inspection is such that we expect to be able to go ahead with the visit of the FIFA team as planned, with special arrangements being put in place for the part of the visit in Moscow.”

Quite how any FIFA visit could go ahead without including the Russian capital remains unclear though theoretically individual members of the bid team could return at the end of their nine-nation itinerary.

The heat crisis could not have come at a worse time for the Russians in the race to stage the 2018 tournament.

With the FIFA team due to move on to England straight afterwards, Russian officials will be anxious not to lose ground by having to reschedule.

As well as Moscow, the upcoming FIFA itinerary foresees visits to three other proposed host cities, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi.

None are affected by the wildfire situation.

The FIFA inspection team is due to arrive in St. Petersburg on Monday (August 16).

The following day meetings are scheduled with the federal government in Moscow – pending a change of plan – after which the tour will continue to Kazan, where the airport is being upgraded, and Sochi, host of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

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