By Andrew Warshaw
October 22 – The head of Russia’s 2018 World Cup organizing committee insists that football in his country is not institutionally racist but admits that widely publicised episodes of abuse by fans, combined with instances of hooliganism, were doing nothing to enhance the country’s image.
October 22 – FIFA inspectors say they are happy with Russia’s early preparations for the 2018 World Cup – in contrast to the concerns over delays that enveloped Brazil ahead of last summer’s tournament.
October 15 – A joint delegation of 40 experts will tomorrow begin a seven-day inspection tour of the Russia 2018 World Cup stadiums. Made up of FIFA, Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Arena-2018 representatives, the party will visit five stadiums and take a virtual tour of the remaining eight.
October 13 – The march towards the 2018 World Cup is relentless, despite the calls (generally hysterical) off-stage from various US senators for the event to be moved. FIFA and the local Russian organisers have announced the venue and date for the Preliminary Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
October 10 – The International Olympic Committee has poured cold water on a proposal by one of Europe’s leading club representatives that the 2022 winter Games be moved from their traditional slot to accommodate switching the Qatar World Cup to that time of year from summer.
By Paul Nicholson in Paris
October 8 – The Aspire Zone Foundation has released outline detail of a development plan that will more than double the size of its current 250-acre Aspire Zone geographical footprint.
October 7 – The Italian Super Cup final between last winners Serie A champions Juventus and Coppa Italia winners Naples will be played later this year in Qatar, it was announced yesterday at the Aspire Global Summit in Paris.
By Paul Nicholson
October 2 – With the world watching out for the safety and welfare of the migrant labour, construction of stadia for the Qatar 2022 World Cup has begun in earnest with the Supreme Committee for delivery and Legacy revealing that it is at different stages of build on five stadiums.
September 30 – Russia’s Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko, has said that while the plans for infrastructure build in 11 cities the 2018 World Cup are unchanged, costs of construction are mounting.
September 25 – Russia is building more than stadia and infrastructure for the 2018 World Cup. Next week the Russian Football Union’s (RFU) working group tasked with preparing a competitive team for the championship will meet to discuss a raft of suggestions to improve the competitiveness of the national team.
September 24 – The City of Moscow’s Chief Architect, Sergey Kuznetsov (pictured) will share his experience of working in the Russian market and the major sporting projects he has been involved in at the World Football Forum, November 13.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 23 – A senior FIFA executive committee member has broken ranks to predict that the 2022 World Cup will be switched from Qatar, incurring a strong and immediate reaction from the organisers who insist there is no chance of the Gulf state being stripped of host status.
September 22 – Chris Rehner, CEO of Helios Partners, has confirmed he will speaking the session ‘Russia’s Host Cities: Development and Priorities’ at the World Football Forum in Moscow, November 13.
By Paul Nicholson
September 19 – Russia’s minister of sports Vitaly Mutko (pictured) has responded to European politicians’ calls for sports sanctions saying that nothing can be ruled out but that sports and politics should be kept separate.
September 18 – Nizhny Novgorod has received the go-ahead to build a new stadium for the 2018 World Cup, according to the city’s governor Valery Shantsev. Russia’s Ministry of Sports is expected to sign a contract for the build with construction firm Stroitransgaz before the end of October.