POSTED: Wednesday August 18th 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FIFA INSPECTION DELEGATION VISITS SOCHI, CONCLUDES PRESENTATIONS BEFORE RETURNING TO MOSCOW

Bid for the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup™ - Visit of the FIFA Inspection Group, 16 to 19 August 2010

Sochi, 18 August 2010 - The Black Sea resort of Sochi, which will host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, was the fourth and last Host City visited by the FIFA Inspection delegation during their tour to assess Russia's bid for the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup™. On 19 August the group will return to Moscow for a debriefing with the Bid Committee and a concluding media conference.

Arriving from Kazan, the FIFA Inspection Delegation started the visit of the fourth and last of the proposed Host Cities with a tour of the future Central Olympic Stadium site, location of the opening and final ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Games. Following the Games, the football-only stadium, which would have a gross capacity of 45,460 seats, would be hosting both group matches and either round of 16 or quarter-final matches should Russia be awarded the FIFA World Cup™.

The next stop of the visit was made at Metreveli Stadium, one of the team base camp training sites that the Bid Committee proposes to FIFA as part of the candidature. Metreveli is well known for boasting a large, state-of-the-art medical rehabilitation complex.

The day concluded with a presentation on the Host City of Sochi and a comprehensive overview on the development work undertaken by the Russian Football Union as well as the legacy potential the FIFA World Cup™ would unlock in Russia until 2018 and beyond.

Sergei Fursenko, President of the Russian Football Union, informed the FIFA experts on the development work undertaken by his association, while Alexey Smertin, former captain of the Russian national team and now ambassador as well as Sporting Director of the Bid Committee, took the youth academy he has set up in his native Altay region in Siberia to demonstrate the power and positive influence football exercises.

Sochi has some 400,000 permanent inhabitants. The number triples during the holiday season when Russian and foreign tourists flock to the resort on the shores of the Black Sea.

In Sochi, the Bid Committee hosted the farewell dinner for the FIFA Inspection Delegation. The FIFA experts will return to Moscow Thursday, 19 August, for a debriefing with the Bid Committee as well as a concluding media briefing at Domodedovo airport from 12.20 - 12.35 (cf. media information of 12 August) before departing for Zurich.

For more information:
Russia Bid Committee for the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup™
Julia Cooper, Communications Manager
Phone:  +7 495 660 49 80 /Mail: mail@russia2018-2022.com

Andreas Herren, International Media Coordinator
Mobile:  +41 (79) 799 0046 / Mail: media@russia2018-2022.com

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Keywords · Russia 2018 2022 · Alexey Sorokin · FIFA World Cup · Sochi · Sergei Fursenko · Harold Mayne-Nicholls · Alexey Smertin

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Name: Julia Cooper
Organization: Russia Bid Committee for the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup™
Email:
Phone: +7 495 660 49 80
URL: http://www.russia2018-2022.com

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