FIFA winds up 2018 World Cup inspection tour of Russia

By Andrew Warshaw

August 19 – FIFA’s 2018 World Cup inspection team completed its fact-finding tour of Russia today after repeated assurances the country would be ready to host football’s flagship tournament in eight years’ time.

As the FIFA delegation prepared to move on to England for its penultimate European leg, Russian Bid Committee chairman Vitaly Mutko said his only regret was that his country, hoping to become the first from Eastern Europe to stage the World Cup, did not have more time to prove the strength of legacy that would be left behind.

The FIFA team have only four days to visit each of the nine contenders for 2018 and 2022 and Russian officials were frustrated that because of the vast size of the country, they were not able to showcase everything they to offer for a longer period.

With Ukraine causing so many problems for UEFA in terms of Euro 2012, Russia, far stronger economically, is keen to disassociate itself from its former Soviet Bloc colleague.

“We would like to thank you for being with us to review our bid and regret that we only had a short time to familiarise you further with its various elements,” Mutko, who is also Minister of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy, told the FIFA team.

“You have seen the enthusiasm of the people and how the various regions you have visited and the people in charge are behind our bid.

“A great deal of work is already in progress and more is still being needed; however, as we have said at the outset, we are fully determined in all our efforts to fulfil and excel the FIFA requirements and thus earn the right and privilege to host the FIFA World Cup.”

Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the Chilean head of the FIFA delegation, as usual said all the right things as the team headed out of Moscow.

But while it is hard to judge the order in which the inspection team will privately place contenders – there is no longer any official ranking system – he hinted he was especially impressed by the passion and commitment the group encountered.

“The amount of time the Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy, Vitaly Mutko (pictured), as well as the President of the Russian Football Union, Sergey Fursenko, dedicated for us was remarkable,” Mayne-Nicholls said.

The inspection team visited St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan and Sochi and left under no illusions about the financial position of the Russians who are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to providing funds.

“In the meeting we held with the Russian Prime Minister, Mr. [Vladimir] Putin made very clear that the Government is willing to grant us all needed state guarantees,” said Mayne-Nicholls.

“The funds will be coming from Federal and Regional Government budgets as well as from private sources.”

Significantly or not, Mayne-Nicholls made a point of lauding the fact that Putin had interrupted his vacation to meet the FIFA team.

British Prime Minister David Cameron will be conspicuous by his absence when the team arrives in England on Monday and has already let FIFA President Sepp Blatter know.

“We really appreciated that Mr. Putin had interrupted his summer vacations in order to be able to meet us,” said Mayne-Nicholls.

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