Concerns raised over distances between Russia 2018 venues

Yekaterinburg

By David Gold

April 4 – A train journey of 26 hours potentially lies in wait for supporters following any teams playing at the Russian city of Yekaterinburg during the 2018 World Cup, though officials insist that plans for a high speed rail network should cut travel time by more than two thirds.

Fears over the distance teams would have to travel due to the size of the country were allayed by the Russians during the bidding process for the right to host the tournament, whose proposed venues for World Cup games only cover a small area of what is the world’s largest country.

Yekaterinburg has yet to be confirmed as a host city for the tournament, but is one of 13 proposed host cities, which FIFA must approve, and lies 1,800 kilometres from Moscow at the foot of the Ural mountains.

The city is best known for being where, after the Russian Revolution in July 1981,, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, Alexandra, and their children Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Tsarevich Alexei were murdered by the Bolsheviks at the Ipatiev House in this city.

In 1977 the Ipatiev House was destroyed by order of Boris Yeltsin, then a Communist Party official in the region, to prevent it from being used as a rallying location for monarchists.

To avoid jetlag, fans and players may need to travel by train to the venue, which would take more than a day, but the city’s regional Governor Alexander Misharin sought to play down concerns over the distance.

“For the fans, we can offer something special, they can take an overnight train and enjoy sightseeing the country in addition to soccer,” he said.

“And the best thing for them, it would be free of charge.”

Russia has said that any fans travelling with World Cup tickets would be entitled to free travel on its trains, and is planning a high speed rail network by 2018 which could reduce the travel times to distant locations.

Misharin said that high speed trains could reduce the journey time to Yekaterinburg to seven or eight hours.

But experts claim that time differene as well as jetlag could affect performances during the tournament, with the easterly location two hours ahead of Moscow, meaning teams will often be travelling between time zones.

Vyacheslav Beresnev, a doctor for First Division side Ural, said: “We’ve always prepared ourselves if we had to travel to places like (Pacific Ocean port city) Vladivostok.

“Jetlag could be a negative factor in the team’s play unless you prepare yourself well in advance.

“Normally, players need at least five days to acclimatise themselves in a new environment.”

Yekaterinburg officials have countered by pointing out that the same problem existed in 1994, when teams had to travel across the breadth of the United States to play in locations as far apart as New York and Los Angeles.

Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1739570209labto1739570209ofdlr1739570209owedi1739570209sni@d1739570209log.d1739570209ivad1739570209

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