Putin hopes for demand of Russia’s 2018 FIFA World Cup football infrastructure

MOSCOW, June 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he hoped for a feasible approach regarding the use of sports infrastructure facilities that should remain in the country after the 2018 FIFA World Cup this summer, and that all football facilities would be recoupable and operational. "We spent big money on the football infrastructure," Putin said during his annual Q&A conference. "This infrastructure must remain operable for the sake of mass sports development in the country." "We must see that all facilities will be recoupable and efficiently operable," he said. "All of this is possible if we take a feasible approach." "The stadium is not a (football) pitch alone and the facility houses other areas as well, such as trade malls, restaurants and cafes," Putin added. The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off next Thursday with the opening match in the Russian capital of Moscow between hosts Russia and the national team from Saudi Arabia. Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara. The matches of the 2018 World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums located in the 11 mentioned above cities across Russia. Two of the stadiums are located in the Russian capital. On December 1, 2017, the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow hosted the Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which determined the group breakdown for the FIFA flagship event this year. A total of 32 national football squads were divided into eight groups with four teams in each. Hosts Russia were placed in Group A with teams from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay. Read more