On the Scene - Soccerex Diary: Day Two

(WFI) Russia 2018 bid CEO Alexey Sorokin tells World Football Insider that his country has by far the largest budget of the four European bids.

World Cup 2018 is widely expected to be awarded to Europe after a gap of 12 years, and the Russia team’s deep pockets are in contrast to England, where the government has refused to provide any direct funding for its £15.5 million ($25.75m) budget, or Spain-Portugal, which has a budget of just €7.8 million ($11.75m).

“The bid currently has a public budget of $20 million, or something in excess of that,” Sorokin told WFI in an interview at Russia’s ‘Red Square Café’ stand. “We expect a similar amount of money to come from private sources.”

But even Russia’s big budget pales into insignificance compared to that of the Qatar 2022 team, which has reportedly got a $180 million warchest.

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WFI also spent time with Russia’s World Cup bid ambassador, Alexei Smertin, the engaging former national team captain, who played in England for Chelsea, Charlton, Portsmouth and Fulham earlier this decade.

Smertin is a rare thing among professional footballers, a thinking man whose passion is literature – particularly the English variety. He recalled how when playing for Portsmouth, he visited one of his heroes, the late John Fowles, author of the French Lieutenant’s Woman, at his home in Dorset.

But Russia’s bid team will thank their stars that there are no Welsh members on FIFA’s 24-man executive when they send the effusive Smertin out lobbying. Learning that I am an Evertonian, he pointed out that he used to play alongside the former Everton midfielder Simon Davies at Fulham.

“Because he was from Wales,” cackled Smertin. “I used to call him sheepshagger!”


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Red faces among the Holland-Belgium bid team, who hosted a drinks reception late yesterday afternoon, where bid ambassadors Ruud Gullit and Ronald de Boer were scheduled to make appearances. Except de Boer was a no show.

Earlier in the day, the Qatar 2022 team stole Holland-Belgium’s thunder when it unveiled de Boer – a resident of six years in the country where he ended his playing career – as a bid ambassador for its own campaign. A harassed spokesman for the bid team said he was still finding out what had happened.


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De Boer’s seeming defection may quickly be overshadowed by the aid of an even more illustrious Dutchman to the Holland-Belgium team.

WFI understands that Johann Cruyff – who distanced himself from the bid team’s claims that he was an ambassador (despite his giving a message of support to their bid launch earlier this year) – will be taking a more active role in the campaign through 2010, and may even belatedly accept an official position.


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Former Arsenal vice chairman David Dein shared the podium with former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier for a debate on ‘The future of football’ – or at least some of the big issues facing the game. These included third-party ownership, transfer of minors and the use of video technology.

Both, unsurprisingly, came out against third-party ownership, but Houllier gave some examples where it may come in useful.

“The only advantage I can see, the fact that sometimes a club won’t let you have access to a player. Through the [third party] owner you have more direct access to a player,” he said.

“Suppose Liverpool wants to buy a player from Everton you don’t know why technology has disappeared. They never call back, they never give you permission for that. Sometimes this situation might be blocked and stopped and even stop the players going to a better club. So of course that’s one of the advantages of going to a [third party] owner.”

Houllier, of course, knows a thing or two about Everton refusing to let Liverpool buy their best players.

In June 2000, with contract talks well underway to make Nick Barmby the highest paid player in Everton’s history, Liverpool – then managed by Houllier – came calling. Of course there was no third party owner to go through, and when Everton refused Liverpool permission to talk to their star player, the club made their interest known through other channels.

Barmby eventually came out in the local media, pleading for a move to his “dream club”, making his position at Goodison untenable. Nearly a decade later, he is still a vilified figure among the blue half of Merseyside.


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And so to Cape Town, where the arrival of the World Cup by private jet preceded WFI’s own arrival in the city by a couple of hours. There is much excitement ahead of Friday’s draw at the waterfront convention center, despite the fact that the South African national team, the Bafana Bafana, are currently in a bad state.

But will FIFA lend them a helping hand?

In this morning’s Cape Times, Nazeer Camroodien, the South African Football Association's official travel representative, said he expected South Africa to be seeded – since confirmed – which, despite being the lowest ranked country in the competition, is a given for a host nation.

But Camroodien added, perhaps a little hopefully, that he expected the meetings of FIFA’s executive committee today and tomorrow to keep the most powerful teams out of Bafana's opening round group.

"What is almost an essential proviso for the tournament to come up to its highest expectations is for the currently frail Bafana to progress beyond the opening round" he said. "I'm sure a system will be devised whereby South Africa receive a favourable draw."


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Still no sign of the mysterious Indonesia bid team at the Leeuwenhof Estate, where preparations are well underway for Friday’s bidding expo. But suggestions that there will be a complete no show are possibly premature.

Yesterday FIFA published its list of confirmed bid representatives at Friday’s event and included Indonesia’s Asep Saputra and Yosef Tor Tulis, alongside such names as David Beckham and Luis Figo.

Indonesia bid CEO Nurdin Halid was, however, absent from the list.

Written by James Corbett (james@worldfootballinsider.com)

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