Russia 2018

[FYI]

Russia is the dark horse in this race, it can surprise in the end. I think too many people are dismissing it too easily.

[Faster]

Russia is the dark horse in this race, it can surprise in the end. I think too many people are dismissing it too easily.

Russia isn't the darkness, they are the most likely challenger to England.

[memorabilia]

Russia isn't the darkness, they are the most likely challenger to England.

I agree, 2018 will almost for sure come back to Europe and the 2 main possible host countries are : England & Russia

[gotosy]

Blatter visits Moscow again to boost Russia World Cup bid

January 22 - FIFA President Sepp Blatter is in Moscow for an update on the country’s bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.

Ostensibly Blatter is visiting the Russian capital to attend the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) Cup, introduced in 1993 as a competition for former independent states who were once part of the Soviet Union.

But his visit, the second in three months, is being trumpeted as a major step forward in Russia's World Cup bidding process.

Blatter is scheduled to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev when he will be updated on the investment being made by the Russian government and the financial guarantees needed for the bidding process.

Russia's bid, which was officially launched last October, has the full support of the Government, with a high-level steering committee established under First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

Although it will be the first meeting of Blatter with the Russian president, Blatter has already met Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, praising the country's possible role in hosting the world's most popular sporting event.

While Russia is officially bidding for either the 2018 or 2022 tournament, Europe is most likely to host the event four years after Brazil in 2014.

After recent setbacks on and off the field, Russia have considerable ground to make up on their rivals and Blatter's visit is seen as a critical stage in the lobbying process.

http://www.insideworldfootball.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7779:blatter-visits-moscow-again-to-boost-world-cup-bid&catid=70:russia&Itemid=83

[Keitho]

There is a simple solution to the isolation problem for Novosibrisk and Vladivostok, base a group in each. Fix the draw such that Russia, Brazil, England, Spain, Italy and Germany are based in the west but have 2 groups based exclusively in one of the remote cities. So Novosibrisk and Vladivostok would host the 5 matches and than two of the teams would be moved so that the games can still be simultaneously played and than each host the round of 16 cross overs.

So using Germany's group's G and H

In Novosibrisk have Togo, Switzerland, Korea and France

In Vladivostok have Spain, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia

Move the last game for G to Vladivostok and the last game of H to Novosibrisk and than the Spain-France game be played in Novosibrisk and the Ukraine-Switzerland in Vladivostok.

So that each will have 7 matches and the teams wouldn't have to travel excessively and once the round of 16 is over all the teams would be based in western Russia.

Thats a non starter, but good in theory. FIFA will not allow teams to have the very real advantage of playing three group games in the same city. This will allow teams to have a 'home' stadium in effect, and would eliminate the need to change hotels, travel to the next city etc and generally allow these teams to be more settled. No chance. Not even Sepp would go for this.

[Roux]

I would estimate V.Putin's influence as a half-a-dozen votes or so. Of course it was decisive given the closeness of the final result, but the statement above is definitely far from reality

Plus keep in mind he was clearly unable to save Moscow's 2012 bid, which had nothing going for it either and in the end finished dead last in the voting.

[baron-pierreIV]

I would estimate V.Putin's influence as a half-a-dozen votes or so. Of course it was decisive given the closeness of the final result, but the statement above is definitely far from reality

well, that's if FIFA does like the IOC and allow the heads of the bidding countries to show up at the confab and present their countries. FIFA may disallow it.

[!VamosSochi!]

Plus keep in mind he was clearly unable to save Moscow's 2012 bid, which had nothing going for it either and in the end finished dead last in the voting.

Let me please inform you of some facts you may not be aware of:

1. V.Putin never came to Singapore to save Moscow's bid, he just sent his video address and his prime-minister instead. That is a sharp contrast to London, Paris and Madrid, who brought their heads-of-state.

2. Moscow-2012 indeed finished last, but that round results were smth like:

London - 22,

Paris - 21,

Madrid - 20,

New York - 18,

Moscow - 15.

Not too bad considering the widely-accepted fact that it was the toughest bidding competition in the Olympic history.

[FYI]

I wouldn't put too much stake on that considering that the 1st round results are usually pretty close. Nonetheless, Moscow being 7 votes away from the actual winner & 3 away from New York, the 2nd city to be eliminated, is really not that great, considering the other top 3 bids were only 1 vote each away from one another in the 1st round.

[!VamosSochi!]

Excuse me for having to go a bit off-topic here...

is really not that great

Nobody said that it was great, just 'not too bad'.

the 1st round results are usually pretty close

This statement is not quite correct. Here is the statistics:

In the first round of the 1996 host election the worst result (Belgrade) was only 37% of the best (Atlanta).

In the first round of the 2000 host election the worst result (Istanbul) was only 22% of the best (Beijing).

In the first round of the 2004 host election the worst result (Buenos Aires) was 50% of the best (Athens).

In the first round of the 2008 host election the worst result (Osaka) was only 14% of the best (Beijing).

In the first round of the 2012 host election the worst result (Moscow) was 68% of the best (London).

In the first round of the 2016 host election the worst result (Chicago) was 64% of the best (Madrid).

This tells us that the 2012 election was the toughest and closest in (recent) history.

[gotosy]

Putin signs guarantees for Russia's 2018 World Cup bid

Mon Apr 19, 2010 10:30pm IST

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has signed all government guarantees for Russia's bid for the 2018 World Cup, bid organisers said on Monday.

"Vladimir Putin has personally signed all governmental guarantees that are requested as per the FIFA Bidding Agreement, since the full cooperation of the government of the host country is indispensable for the successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup," the organisers said in a statement.

"The guarantees apply to a wide range of relevant issues such as security, tax and customs breaks, entry rules for athletes, referees and fans, intellectual property and its protection, and the construction of new stadiums... with the support of the Russian government 10 new World Cup-specific stadiums will be built."

Putin oversaw progress on the guarantees at last month's government meeting in Moscow.

The Russian delegation, headed by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, will submit the official bid book to FIFA President Sepp Blatter in Zurich on May 14.

http://in.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idINIndia-47820120100419

[Soaring]

Not to be nit-picky, but NYC had 19 votes in the first round for 2012.

Also, is building 10 new stadiums a good thing? Is there a need for all of that new stadia?

IMO, there is no way Russia will get 2018. At least 2022 would give them a bit more time to get their preparations done.

[Faster]

Korea built 10 stadiums from stratch and Japan built 9 in like 8 years. South Africa just built 6, Brazil is building at least a half dozen and Russia is currently building a winter games from stratch. 11 stadiums in 7 years is not that big of a deal for a country like Russia. Plus they have almost no world class stadiums to begin with and a rapidly developing football league that just won its first major European title 2 seasons ago.

[Soaring]

That is all well, and good, but I would just have to question the usability post Games on 10 brand new stadiums. Sure, the U.S. has built over 10 large stadiums in the last decade, but they were all done in need.

If Russia is in need of all of this new stadia regardless of the WC, then I say make the updates now.

[baron-pierreIV]

I think Russia's style is more go for broke...we want the newest today.

[Faster]

That is all well, and good, but I would just have to question the usability post Games on 10 brand new stadiums. Sure, the U.S. has built over 10 large stadiums in the last decade, but they were all done in need.

If Russia is in need of all of this new stadia regardless of the WC, then I say make the updates now.

You just need to look at Korea/Japan, South Africa and Brazil to see FIFA not caring about post world cup use. The Russian league is fairly new in its prominence so there was never a need before, there is a growing need and desire in Russia for modernization and beautification after the ugliness of the Soviet era.

[Aronious]

You just need to look at Korea/Japan, South Africa and Brazil to see FIFA not caring about post world cup use. The Russian league is fairly new in its prominence so there was never a need before, there is a growing need and desire in Russia for modernization and beautification after the ugliness of the Soviet era.

Most definitely.

Even the IOC is less worried about post Olympic use. I mean, we here very little about Athens' woes post Games and the lack of major tenant at the Beijing Olympic Stadium...or financial problems for Sydney's Olympic Park.

All venues find a use and some kind of financial support one way or another; be it by the state or the private sector.

[!VamosSochi!]

a rapidly developing football league that just won its first major European title 2 seasons ago.

To be quite correct, Russian clubs won three major European titles in the last five years: 1) 2005 UEFA Cup by CSKA, 2) 2008 UEFA Cup by Zenit, and 3) 2008 UEFA Super Cup by Zenit.

Russian League is ranked 6th by UEFA, but more importantly the top five are all in the Western part of Europe.

So Russia is the top league in this huge geography (Eastern Europe and Central/Northern Asia) that is a development priority for both UEFA and FIFA.

Each of the stadiums Russia proposes will have a tenant club, that is currently playing in either the Premier or the First (second highest) divison.

I am not saying that there won't be problems with several 40-thousand seaters while the average current attendance is around 20 thousand. My point is that post-WC they will not be classical 'white elephants' seen many times in recent sports events history.

[gotosy]

Blatter again...

Blatter calls Russia's 2018 World Cup bid "remarkable"

Blatter travelled to Russia in January to meet the country's president Dmitry Medvedev and was impressed by their plans.

"I was there recently and what they presented is remarkable," he told the London Evening Standard newspaper. "Russia is not a country but a continent and Russia has big plans to expand."

The FIFA president said England had the infrastructure in place to stage the tournament but gave a clear hint Russia would be a major contender to stage the finals.

"Listen, it (England's bid) is the easiest bid in the world. They have the football already organised. They have everything. England has no problem in delivering a World Cup.

"The other bidders must convince the executive. England does not have to convince us.

"We know England can stage the World Cup. But England winning (the right to stage it) -- I am not so sure.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE64358420100504

[aluz]

You just need to look at Korea/Japan, South Africa and Brazil to see FIFA not caring about post world cup use. The Russian league is fairly new in its prominence so there was never a need before, there is a growing need and desire in Russia for modernization and beautification after the ugliness of the Soviet era.

Put Brazil out of this. Football has enough attendance in Brazil to support the stadia. As a matter of fact, most of the stadia are being scaled down for the WC.

[gotosy]

Russia’s bid for 2018-2022 World Cups to be submitted

Russian sports officials have prepared the country's bid to host either the 2018 or 2022 football World Cup. It will be presented to the football governing body FIFA in Zurich on Friday, May 14.

The three volume-strong bid – that weighs around seven kilograms altogether that took a year to make – has 20 chapters extensively describing every aspect of Russia’s intention to host a World Cup.

The whole country is divided into four football clusters including 13 cities, where the games of the World Cup are to be played. The Northern cluster includes Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg; the Central cluster – Moscow with Moscow region; the Volga cluster – Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Kazan, Saransk, Volgograd; the Southern cluster: Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Sochi; and Ekaterinburg.

http://rt.com/Sport/2010-05-13/russia-football-world-cup.html

[!VamosSochi!]

Do you think that election of France to host EURO 2016 damages the chances of three Western European (and therefore benefits Russia's) bids for FWC 2018?

[TheOtherRob]

Do you think that election of France to host EURO 2016 damages the chances of three Western European (and therefore benefits Russia's) bids for FWC 2018?

Nope.

Euro '96 England...World Cup '98 France.

Euro '16 France...World Cup '18 England.

[!VamosSochi!]

Nope.

Euro '96 England...World Cup '98 France.

Euro '16 France...World Cup '18 England.

I understand that it is not impossible, but is it less likely?

I mean France is located so that all the three Western European bids for FWC2018 are their neighbours

[!VamosSochi!]

published today by insideworldfootball.biz

FIFA's 2018/2022 inspection team has hit the road. With less than four months to go, the race to stage the next World Cup but one is finally steaming towards the top of the 24 FIFA Executive Committee members' in-trays.

At this point, with contenders jostling for position ahead of the final push, I thought it would be a good time to attempt to assess the state of play in this 2018 contest: Who would be likely to back whom if the all-important vote were tomorrow rather than in December?

The following stab at the first-round outcome is what I have come up with. In some cases, my score-sheet is based on no more than a hunch; in others, on something more substantial.

For now, I am assuming that Sepp Blatter, the FIFA President, however he might influence the result in other ways, confines himself to exercising a casting vote if and when required.

This leaves 23 votes to distribute between the five runners and this, in ascending order, is where I currently have them falling:

● Belgium/Holland - Two Votes: D’Hooghe and Chung

● United States - Three Votes: Blazer, Warner and Salguero

● England - Five Votes: Thompson, Adamu, Erzik, Bin Hammam and Ogura

● Spain/Portugal - Six Votes: Villar Llona, Leoz, Grondona, Teixeira, Hayatou and Abo Rida

● Russia - Seven Votes: Mutko, Lefkaritis, Anouma, Beckenbauer, Platini, Makudi and Temarii

If this were the first-round outcome, and assuming FIFA adopts an Olympic-style "devil-take-the-hindmost" voting system, I would expect Russia to win comfortably, probably on the second round, as supporters of other candidates realised the writing was on the wall and moved to endorse the concept of a World Cup in Eastern Europe.

For this reason, it is vital, I think, for other contenders to do everything they can to prevent Russia from establishing a first-round lead.

Happily for them, there is still plenty that can happen that might lead to a very different first-round result.

Firstly, it might not be a five-horse race.

The US could yet decide to focus solely on 2022.

However, since South Africa, I have twice heard rumours of a head of steam building up behind the US's 2018 bid.

If those stories turn out to have substance, you would have to regard US hopes for 2018 as still very much alive.

All the more so as European ExCo members whose countries are 2018 candidates have a built-in incentive to vote for the US should their own bid be eliminated first: a US victory in 2018 is the only way European candidates can remain in the race for 2022.

Also, while I would be surprised if England, Russia and Holland/Belgium folded their cards before the vote, I am still not utterly convinced that Spain/Portugal will remain in the race come what may.

If either or both the US and Spain/Portugal pulled out before decision day, I think it could put a very different complexion on the race.

Secondly, even if my assessment of those who might be inclined to vote for Russia now is spot on (and you can judge for yourselves the likelihood of that), there is plenty of scope for opinions to change before December.

England, I would think, must be hoping that Thailand's Worawi Makudi and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer will vote for them rather than Russia.

I would also expect them to be optimistic about landing the vote of Issa Hayatou, President of CAF, the African Football Confederation, partly because the English FA backed the Cameroonian in his unsuccessful challenge for the FIFA Presidency in 2002.

Shuffle those votes around accordingly and you get a very different first-round result.

Russian bid leaders must also be hoping for a change in the weather - which has seen the Moscow region hit by a record heatwave - before the FIFA inspection team arrives in Russia on August 16.

By the same token, however, I wonder about the depth of commitment of some of those whose votes I have allocated to England.

Both Mohamed Bin Hammam, a Qatari, and Japan's Junji Ogura will presumably be concerned to maximise the prospects of their respective countries in the simultaneous 2022 contest.

Logically, the best way to do that might well be to vote for two, or even three different candidates in different rounds of the 2018 race.

After all, each of the 2018 bidders has an ExCo member who might then be more favourably disposed towards the Japan/Qatar bids in the 2022 contest.