On Friday Vitaly Mutko, RFU President and Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy, lead a bid presentation at GUM Department Store on Red Square which unveiled Russia’s logo.
Russian football legends Nikita Simonyan and Rinat Dasayev and current national team player Denis Kolodin were appointed as the first ambassadors of the bid.
“This is an important initiative, not only for football, but for the entire nation,” said Mutko. “Hosting the World Cup will have a positive impact upon many millions of Russian youth and create a legacy of sporting, economic and personal growth through football.
“Russia opens up a historic choice to FIFA as it represents a host country from the former Soviet bloc to inspire Eastern Europe. It also gives the opportunity to place the 2018/2022 World Cup in a country blending the best of Europe and Asia, offering fans a compelling, exciting host country that is known for its traditional hospitality.”
Russia is planning to propose 14 cities and 15 stadiums in its bid, all grouped by regional clusters: Northern Cluster (St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad), Central Cluster (Moscow, Podolsk), Southern Cluster (Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi), Volga Cluster (Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Samara, Volgograd, Saransk) and East of Ural (Yekaterinburg).
