The harbinger of 2018 will visit Kazan in November
Stars of world football will visit the capital of Tatarstan this year
In 500 days Kazan will host the preamble of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. We are speaking about Confederations Cup that traditionally precedes all World Football Mundials. A press conference dedicated to it took place in Kazan. It was told about what responsibilities has the host country, the heritage of the coming WC and expensive tickets. Realnoe Vremya goes into details.
It should be noted that the Confederations Cup will be from 17 June to 2 July 2017 on four stadiums out of twelve arenas of the World Cup 2018: in Kazan, Sochi, St. Petersburg and in Moscow Otkrytiye Arena.
In Kazan – without problems
It is clear that in this context we are interested in Kazan. The director general of the Executive Directorate for Sports Projects Autonomous Non-Profit Organization Azat Kadyrov jumped to dispel all doubts. He noted that Kazan's preparation for Confederations Cup was in order, and the organizers did not have any special problems. During the visits of FIFA delegation, inspectors had some questions concerning IT, organization of TV transmissions and FIFA partners and guests' sojourn. However, according to Kadyrov, all these problems are routinely solved. 'All these problems will be solved,' he stated.
Azat Kadyrov separately mentioned the preparation of the field on Kazan-Arena stadium. Work will begin in 1,5 month.
Choosing grass…
'As for the field of Kazan-Arena, we have a programme that includes corresponding events. In the programme, it is said about the preparation of the football pitch too. Now we are elaborating the project documentation. According to FIFA recommendations, turf grass is to be sown, not laid down. This is why we solve this problem taking into account weather conditions and the terms of the cultivation of the grass. I think that we will come to an agreement and start the preparation on the stadium in a 1-1,5 month. This year we also will begin to prepare our training fields and training grounds.'
Journalists, as well as ordinary Russians, including people of Kazan, were interested, first of all, in the prices for tickets both for Confederations Cup and for World Cup in 2018. But we were reminded that we were barking up the wrong tree. It was said that price matters are within FIFA province.
No cheap tickets
'The International Football Federation insists on that tickets for Confederations Cup in 2017 are to cost equally for all people regardless of what country they come from,' stated Nataliya Parshikova, the State Secretary/Deputy Minister of Sport of Russia. 'Any host country has a bit more tickets than other countries. FIFA is to make a profit that it planned. Pricing policy is set by FIFA, not by the organizing committee of the 2018World Cup.
Meanwhile, ticket sales for Confederations Cup will start by the end of 2016. It should be said that the easiest way to buy a ticket is via the official page of FIFA. It is an organizational gimmick of the International Football Federation.
What should the organizers care about then? Undoubtedly, about safety
We are glad to know that we also have work to do. Russia is responsible for construction and preparation of football arenas as well as safety. Khalil Shaikhutdinov, the first Deputy Minister of Sport of Tatarstan, sees bight prospects here. According to him, there will be reconstructed three sports venues of Kazan during the preparation for Confederations Cup and World Cup. These venues will become training grounds for teams during the tournament, which will be used when the competitions are over.
We are speaking about the Central Stadium, on which Rubin became a champion of Russia, the stadium Electron whose grass still remembers the inspired game of Knyazev and Patnyushenko in Rubin in the second division, and the stadium Rubin where the training centre of the capital of Tatarstan is situated.
'Confederations Cup is a big football event, a kind of rehearsal before the World Cup. There were validation visits during the preparation of our city. The FIFA representatives confirmed the high level of readiness,' Shaikhutdinov stated.
Stars of world football will come in November
The draw for Confederations Cup will be a harbinger of big football in the capital of Tatarstan on 26 November. It will take place in Kazan Academy of Tennis. The event is expected to be important because representatives of the administration of FIFA, Russian sports and football functionaries, and, above all, stars of word football and representatives of all participant teams will visit the event.
In conclusion, we would like to note that Kazan-Arena will be hosting four matches of Confederations Cup. And the national team of Russia will play in one of these matches, which will be on 27 June 2017.