Putin: Construction of World Cup venues on track
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that some construction work on the venues for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the country remains behind schedule, but he insists the delays are not yet “critical”.
Next year’s edition of football’s quadrennial international tournament is due to take place from June 14 to July 15, using 12 venues spread across 11 cities.
Speaking at a meeting with Regional Governors, senior sports officials and prominent athletes to discuss preparations, Putin stated that while work was “entirely satisfactory” overall, “there are nevertheless some delays”.
“These delays are not critical, there is nothing terrible there, but as I have always said…it is the most difficult thing to resolve tasks at a final stage,” he was reported as saying by Reuters.
“If we relax, we will not fully accomplish the work.”
Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov claimed preparations to stage the 2018 World Cup were in full swing but they had not been without problems and setbacks.
Kolobkov said the 45,000-capacity Samara Arena, which will host several games, remains behind schedule and that the company building the venue had been fined.
“There are some delays at different stages of construction at the stadium in Samara,” he was reported as saying by Reuters.
“A timetable for making up for the delays and [a system] for the daily monitoring of the venue’s completion have been established.”
The contractor of the venue announced in August that the stadium had fallen 30 days behind its construction schedule.
Sergei Ponomaryov, the deputy head of general contractor PSO Kazan, insisted, however, that major construction work would be complete by the agreed deadline of later this year.
In June, Russia showcased four venues as it hosted the Confederations Cup in a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.
Most of the other venues, however, are still under construction and have yet to be tested.
In an attempt to make stadiums safer, Russia will issue special identity cards.
The country has also relaxed visa regulations for travelling fans.
Alexey Sorokin, the chief executive of the Russia 2018 Organising Committee, claimed at the meeting that FIFA has spoken highly of preparations for the World Cup.
“Inspection visits [to the host cities] are held regularly together with FIFA experts,” he was reported as saying by Russian news agency TASS.
“The sixth, last but one visit, is being held now.
“FIFA experts assess the level of preparedness of stadiums and major World Cup facilities.
“The inspectors have already visited Yekaterinburg, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk and Rostov-on-Don.”
Sorokin added: “To date, FIFA, as a whole, has had a favourable view of the degree of the host cities’ readiness for the tournament.”
A stand has bizarrely been added outside the Yekaterinburg Arena, which, with a capacity of 27,000, was deemed too small to meet FIFA standards.
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