February 3 – Russian football’s anti-crisis committee meets for the first time this week as the federation battles against a budget deficit and a growing and crippling wage debt to its national team coach Fabio Capello.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 13- They may not be staging the World Cup for another four years but Russian organizers are coming under pressure from within their own ranks to speed up stadium construction.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 1 – The image of Russian football, already battered by highly publicised instances of racism, has been shamed again, this time by a damaging outbreak of hooliganism that resulted in 78 Spartak Moscow fans being detained and a cup game temporarily suspended. The incident at second tier club Shinnik Yaroslavl occurred on Wednesday, ironically just after Moscow rivals CSKA had part of their stadium ordered closed by UEFA as punishment for the racist abuse directed towards Manchester City’s Yaya Toure in a recent Champions League tie.
By Mark Baber
August 14 – Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill July 29, unanimously passed by the State Duma, banning “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors.” Although homosexuality has been legal in Russia since 1993, the new law has attracted widespread criticism and campaigners, including Stephen Fry, have been attempting to organise a boycott of the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 to protest the new law, comparing it to Nazi persecution of the Jews.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 9 – Russia’s growing commercial influence in European sport, and football in particular, has been underlined with the announcement that Manchester United have made state-controlled Aeroflot their airline partner.The five-year deal runs until 2018 when Russia stages the World Cup and marks the latest in a string of Russian ownership and sponsorship agreements.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 19 – Days after announcing that that its 2018 World Cup budget was likely to double to over $20bn, Russia has provided more details of how the money will actually be spent.
By Mark Baber
June 18 – The latest draft of the so-called Fans Bill, making its way through Russia’s State Duma, sees sanctions for violators of the rules of conduct, covering spectators and organisers and owners of sports facilities, significantly increased in an attempt by the 2018 World Cup hosts to ensure the tournament is hooligan-free even though it is still five years away.
By David Gold in Moscow
June 25 – Alexander Zorkov, the deputy general secretary of the Russian Football Union (RFU), described the incident this week when a banana was thrown at Anzhi Makhachkala’s legendary Brazilian full back Roberto Carlos as an “awful, terrible incident”.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 27 – Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has been appointed chairman of the organising committee for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
March 15 – Nine hotels will be opened by Hilton Worldwide in Russia ahead of the 2018 World Cup, taking its total number of hotels in the country to 16, as it looks to expand its presence there.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 23 – Russia’s first milestone on the road to the 2018 FIFA World Cup was reached today in Saint-Petersburg when the country was officially given host status.
January 20 – Russia look set to unveil details of their Organising Committee for the 2018 World Cup in St Petersburg on Sunday (January 23).
January 16 – Russian cities hosting 2018 World Cup matches should be linked by an €4 billion (£3 billion/$5 billion) integrated high-speed rail network, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said.
By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
December 11 – Sergei Fursenko, the President of the Russian Football Union (RFU), has claimed that nationalist organisations were behind violent clashes involving Spartak Moscow fans that today claimed the life of one fan and left another 29 injured.
December 7 – Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has claimed that he hopes the Republic’s capital Grozny will be chosen to host a match when Russia stages the World Cup in 2018.