Russia 2018 opened doors, eyes and opinion as it welcomed the world, says LOC

By Samindra Kunti in Moscow

July 14 – Local organisers followed in the footsteps of FIFA president Gianni Infantino to heap praise on their own World Cup organisation and the results it has delivered. They said that the month-long event has changed Russia’s image and shown the true character of the nation – both to the football and the wider world.

On Friday Infantino called the Russia World Cup the best ever and local organisers were not afraid to hail their own tournament. “The most important point is that Russians showed their true face,” said Alexey Sorokin, the CEO of the local organising committee.  “We are an open and welcoming country. We took this great responsibility for each guest who came and we hold up this responsibility and made everything possible and I believe that most of our guests were happy with what happened.”

Russia welcomed more than 700,000 foreign visitors and fans during the tournament, with a huge influx from Latin American as Mexican, Brazilian, Peruvian, Colombian and Argentinean fans flooded the eleven host cities and twelve stadiums. They far outnumbered their European counterparts, who travelled in small numbers to Russia.

“In the top ten in ticket buyers Europe is not overwhelmingly represented,” said Sorokin. “In terms of reason we can only think and speculate why there is not a huge number: why didn’t European nations come in huge numbers to support their teams? In England we had initially l8,000 Fan Ids and on the way there were another 12,000. That means people really escaped theses prejudices. Fans from all round the world were welcome, but, yes, the numbers are in favour of Latin American supporters.”

Sorokin, who is also a FIFA Council member, also expanded on the thorny issue of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup format. The Gulf nation was awarded the World Cup in a 32-team formation, but with the expansion to 48 teams in 2026 Conmebol pressed FIFA to consider the new format as early as 2022. In recent months FIFA president Gianni Infantino has warmed up to the idea and on Friday he left the door open for a 48-team World Cup in Qatar. The FIFA boss refused to clarify who’d have the final decision-making power over the format, the governing body or the 2022 hosts – but Sorokin was more outspoken, emphasising that Qatar first and foremost should have a say. He also contradicted the FIFA president in saying that the decision over the number of participants had little to do with rapprochement between neighbours.

“It is important to take into consideration that the country has bid and planned for 32 teams, because for somebody in the process of preparation that is a not a minor decision,” said Sorokin. ‘It has a domino effect. It is more team bases camps, more flights, more transport. It is a totally different load on transport. It has multiple secondary effects.”

“You can’t just take a decision in five minutes,” explained Sorokin. “There is very specific planning. What you see is the top of the iceberg. This is a very important decision that needs to be taken responsibly. For now the decisions has not been taken, it has been discusses. It is important to first of all listen to Qatar. They certainly applied and prepared for 32 teams and their infrastructure is now intended for 32 teams. It is an important decision, but it is not about them discussing with neighbours. It should be about them first.”

Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1711649345labto1711649345ofdlr1711649345owedi1711649345sni@i1711649345tnuk.1711649345ardni1711649345mas1711649345