UEFA boss Michel Platini and FIFA head Sepp Blatter have
arrived in St Petersburg to take part in the opening of the CIS Cup, and
to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Russian Football Union.
'First of all, I wish a happy birthday to the RFU,' Platini said. 'Secondly,
I wish you a successful performance and a Russian victory at Euro 2012
in Poland and Ukraine. Thirdly, I wish Zenit and CSKA a successful performance
in the playoffs of the Champions League.'
The duo also held a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Russia's
football and sporting officials.
'I'd like to note that we've decided to let the fans with match tickets
enter Russia without visas during the 2018 World Cup,' the PM stressed.
'Furthermore, we're now considering the possibility of allowing supporters
with tickets to travel across the country for free during the event.'
'We'd be very grateful to our Polish friends if they'll do the same for
our football lovers during the European Championship in 2012,' he added.
Putin also backed Russia's Minister of Sport, Vitaly Mutko, for a second
term on the Executive Committee of the world's football governing body,
FIFA.
'Mr Mutko is your colleague - a member of the FIFA executive committee,'
Putin told Blatter. 'His term soon expires, and I hope that you'll consider
the opinion of the Russian football fans. We'd like him to keep working
there as it'll do a lot of good for the World Cup, which Russia is preparing
to host.'
In his opening speech, which kicked off the celebrations, the Prime Minister
also touched upon the issue of the World Cup, which Russia will host in
2018.
'There haven't been any victories at the world championship
in the history of our national team,' he said. 'With the support of the
FIFA Executive Committee Russia has got the honor to host the 2018 World
Cup. Our country is capable of organizing such large-scale events, and
now we are busy with intensive preparatory work. This project would combine
the efforts of the government, business, social organizations and, of
course, football fans. Russia will host its first-ever World Cup [and]
I have no doubt that we'll cope with this task with dignity and come up
with one of the most memorable world championships in the history of this
wonderful sport.'
The Russian Football Union was created on January 19, 1912 and was admitted
to FIFA the same year.
The CIS Cup started in 1993 as an open tournament for champions of former
USSR countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. And since 2002, European sides can also
take part.
