Russia’s 2018 World Cup Budget Doubles To Nearly $20 Billion
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The Russian government is set to spend up to 600 billion roubles ($19.23 billion) on hosting the 2018 Football Cup, predicted the country’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko on Sunday, with the sum being almost twice the amount projected by then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin when Russia won the rights to host the tournament in December 2010.
These are not the final numbers,” Mutko said, during a joint conference with the president of the global football governing body (FIFA), Sepp Blatter, on Sunday.
The Russian government is set to spend up to 600 billion roubles ($19.23 billion) on hosting the 2018 Football Cup, predicted the country’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko on Sunday, with the sum being almost twice the amount projected by then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin when Russia won the rights to host the tournament in December 2010.
These are not the final numbers,” Mutko said, during a joint conference with the president of the global football governing body (FIFA), Sepp Blatter, on Sunday.
“You can call the figures a rough estimate,” Mutko added.
According to the Moscow Times, the federal government is expected to pay up to one-third of the total costs, while regional governments will cover another 100 billion rubles and private investments the remaining costs.
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About 40 percent of the total amount will go into constructing and renovating sporting facilities such as stadiums and training grounds, while the rest will go toward building and improving airports, hotels and roads and providing adequate medical and communications services and security.
Eleven Russian cities will host the World Cup, namely: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd and Kaliningrad.
At the press conference, FIFA president Sepp Blatter told the audience that he had never seen a country so prepared to host the tournament in his entire tenure; and hailed the organisers for setting a new benchmark in scheduling.
“We are in a very comfortable situation when it comes to the organization of the World Cup 2018,” said Blatter, as cited by AFP.
[quote]”We are one year ahead of our schedule and this is a new approach to organising World Cups…With this approach we have already come so far, six years before the start,” he said.[/quote]Mutko on the other hand chose to downplay Russia’s achievements, instead focusing on the “serious and tough work ahead.”
[quote]”Not one city is ready today,” said Mutko. “Not even Moscow.”[/quote]“We may speak about corrections and readdressing programs to the host regions. But we are facing serious and tough work ahead,” he added.
Russia beat a bid from England and two other joint bids from Portugal-Spain and Belgium-Netherlands in order to host the 2018 World Cup. The next FIFA World Cup in 2014 will be hosted in fellow BRICS nation, Brazil (after it was hosted in 2010 by South Africa), while the 2022 edition will be hosted in Qatar.
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