Putin thanks FIFA for right to host 2018 World Cup

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has thanked the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) for the decision to give Russia the right to host the World Cup in 2018. In comments during his speech about the preparations for the championship, Prime Minister Putin confirmed Russia's intention to hold a top notch event. According to Mr. Putin, holding the World Cup in Russia will contribute to the development of the sport in the country and promote the principles of fair play. Speaking of the difficult task of holding the most important event in football in the world, immediately after the announcement of the election results, Mr. Putin told a news conference in Zurich the following: "We assumed that the joint application of Portugal and Spain was Russia's major threat. However, and this is not a secret, we know that for FIFA, joint nominations are not looked at in the most positive way. Because of this we became set on winning. And this is how it turned out. Initially, and as everybody knows, Britain was the favourite, then other applicants began to fight for the lead," - said Mr. Putin.

According to Vladimir Putin, the Russian delegation knew who the main contender was, but no one could be certain as to the way the FIFA vote would finish up. The prime minister said: "The UK is a great football country, but it lost, and lost to a worthy opponent. We look forward to you visiting us at the World Championships in 2018 and will provide for the best conditions to showcase the talent of the British players. We respect our colleagues, who unfortunately had no luck this time. They certainly could hold the World Cup at the proper level. I do not doubt it. We will also support them in their quest to conduct these competitions in the future and they will support us in preparation for the 2018 World Cup."

According to the Russian prime minister, the whole point of holding the championship is the growing popularity of football. He said that even before receiving the right to host this event in Russia, a state program for the development and support of football was introduced. It involves the creation of 500 modern sporting grounds for playing football in nearly every region of Russia and in every major city. Putin expressed hope that after the championship the skills of Russian players would improve.

Russia won the right to host the World Cup in 2018 in the second round of voting, obtaining an absolute majority of votes from members of the Executive Committee of FIFA. Prime Minister Putin arrived in Zurich after the outcome of the vote became known.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Qatar’s Emir Hamad Al-Thani discussed on Friday by telephone various aspects of preparations for the World Cup in 2018 and 2022. The Prime Minister wished the Emir every success in preparations for the event. In turn, Hamad Al-Thani gave a high assessment of Russia’s plans for hosting the Soccer 2018 World Cup, presented in Zurich.

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