The Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Putin orders sports minister to prepare bid for 2018 World Cup
Published 05 May, 2009, 20:57
Edited 20 November, 2009, 21:12
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has ordered Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy Minister Vitaly Mutko to prepare the bid for Russia to host the 2018 football World Cup.
In order to stage such a massive event, Russia would need to prepare at least 10 cities – with each containing a stadium able to hold 40,000 spectators.
”Prepare the host bid for the 2018 football World Cup. Such participation will let us develop the infrastructure in cities like we’ve been doing in Sochi, and even if Russia fails to win the bid, all state programs, like building new stadiums and sport centers, should be accomplished anyway,” Putin said.
The 2018 World Cup is likely to be awarded to a European nation since the 2010 World Cup will be held in South Africa and the 2014 competition in Brazil.
According to a report previously submitted by Mutko, who is also the head of Russian football's governing body, the country is ready to spend some $10 billion on the World Cup.
Mutko has promised that five world-class stadiums will be completed by 2013 – two in Moscow and one each in St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi, which is scheduled to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Earlier, FIFA confirmed that 13 countries, including two with joint bids, submitted applications to hold either the 2018 or 2022 World Cups.
Australia, Belgium together with The Netherlands, England, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain and neighboring Portugal, and the United States have submitted bids for both competitions, while South Korea and Qatar have turned in bids for the 2022 World Cup, FIFA's official website says.
Russia's main rival for the 2018 competition is likely to be England, which has not hosted the World Cup since 1966. Russia's bid may have been damaged by problems encountered by Euro 2012 joint hosts Poland and Ukraine. Numerous problems have emerged during their preparations for the competition for Euro 2012, which is the first time a major soccer tournament has been awarded to Eastern European nations.
The 2010 World Cup will be held in South Africa, while Brazil will host the tournament four years later.
The countries approved for hosting the 2018 and 2022 competitions will be announced in December 2010.
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