Exclusive - Russia World Cup Bid Wary of South Africa Backlash

(WFI) Russia’s World Cup bid team have acknowledged that their legacy-based pitch for the 2018 finals could work against them if this summer’s tournament in South Africa is not a success.

Some FIFA ex-co members are understood to be concerned by poor ticket sales and delays in infrastructure and, after the 'gambles' of South Africa and Brazil, favour a ‘safe’ finals from a developed footballing country in 2018.

Russia’s director of bid planning and operations Alexander Djordjadze told World Football Insider that his team were alert to the possibility of FIFA looking to host an “easy” World Cup.

“If someone in the ex-co thinks like that we will not be surprised,” he said.

“In that sense, of course our bid is not exactly in that sort of paradigm and our competitors bids are more fitting to that.”

But he insisted that Russia’s bid was never about second-guessing the minds of FIFA’s 24 ex-co members.

“We’re bidding not because of someone’s intentions or thoughts, we’re bidding because we think it’s the right time for Russia to bid for the World Cup,” he said.

“It has never been staged in Russia. It has never been staged in eastern Europe. Russia is a transcontinental power, which is neighboured by more than 20 states. It will be such a huge football festival not just for Russian football fans, but everyone who lives in neighbouring states.”

Djordjadze said that despite any potential backlash, legacy was still the “keyword” of the Russian bid.

“We think our bid is about legacy, about the future of Russian football and the future of world football in general,” he said.

“We think that if it’s staged in Russia in 2018 it is a completely new frontier for FIFA. Football is the number one sport in Russia, but it cannot be compared [in terms of] the level of development and scope in Great Britain, for example.

“We need something to boost professional and grassroots football. The new infrastructure will certainly contribute much to the breeding of a whole new generation of players. We think legacy is our kind of keyword.”

Djordjadze called on FIFA to continue the way that it has boldly globalized the game in recent decades. Pointing to the decisions to award finals to South Africa and Brazil he said that the World Cup had come to assume more than just a tournament and said that it was a way to change the social landscape of a country.

“I think every ex-co member has his own opinion and vision,” he said. “But we feel that if FIFA continues to see itself as a global institution… then we fit in well with this whole concept that football as a sport can form the social and economic landscape of countries.

“The role of FIFA should not only be to flawlessly stage a competition. If that was a goal FIFA can stick to England, Germany and the US and just keep rotating between perfectly organized World Cups. But I think FIFA sees beyond that.

“But it’s 24 men. Each of them has their own vision, perceptions, likes or dislikes.”

Approaching bid book milestone
Djordjadze, a former diplomat who has worked closely with bid CEO Alexey Sorokin on other major sporting projects including the 2008 Champions League final, is overseeing Russia’s bid book, which is currently in its final stages of preparation.

“The May 15 delivery date is quite demanding as I’m sure it is for all bidders,” he admitted.

“But it’s not just the bid book, but all the guarantees, which is separate, very difficult work. All the contracts with the hotels, stadiums, training grounds – it’s quite a big chunk of work.

He said there would “no big surprises” in the final draft but confirmed the addition of a third Moscow stadium since Russia first unveiled its plans. In tota, 10 of Russia’s 16 stadia will be new builds.

Nevertheless there are hints that the financial crisis battering the Russian Premier League, whose 2010 season kicks off this weekend without FC Moscow who withdrew after their millionaire patron ended his funding, may have impacted the bid strategy.

In December, Sorokin told WFI that funding of new stadiums would represent a “joint effort - federal, municipal, private” with some being built “exclusively [with] private resources, with the region only providing a plot of land for free.”

But Djordjadze said that the new stadia will now “most likely be funded by federal money".

“Of course there will be a contribution from local government and local businesses, but I’m sure that most of the funds will be provided by the government,” he said.

“At the same time there are stadiums in Moscow and St Petersburg which are funded by big organizations, such as Gazprom and Lukoil. These deals are a long way set – there’s no way back. If we’re talking about specific World Cup stadiums I’m sure it will be mostly state money.”

This apparent reluctance of Russia’s oligarchs to back football, also seems to have hit the bid budget, which is still almost exclusively funded by the government.

Sorokin previously spoke of a bid budget of $40 million, hoping that half would come from private sources – but Djordjadze confirmed that fundraising was still ongoing.

“At the moment we are operating to a budget of $20 million,” he said. “The fundraising is still going on. Our key priority now is our bid book, which is covered. Then we still have six months to go with other activities. For that we expect some fundraising.”

He insisted that Russia “can still live” with a $20 million budget. Asked if the additional funding would be like bringing in the tanks for the final advance, he cracked a smile and replied “Absolutely.”

Djordjadze’s principal regret is seemingly Russia’s failure to qualify for South Africa, which he described as a “very big emotional setback".

While South Africa will still provide his bid team with a “serious platform for networking”, he said that they had had to downscale their plans for the tournament. Initially something along the lines of Russia House – the pavilion it hosts at an Olympics – had been envisaged, but those plans have now been scrapped.

With reporting from James Corbett (james@worldfootballinsider.com)
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