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June 16, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 2
Spotlight trained on Russia for World Cup dress rehearsal
17 when hosts Russia take on soccer minnows New Zealand.
President Vladimir Putin, who personally partici- pated in Russia’s bid to host the World Cup, will be hoping the two-week competition goes without a hiccup as the country struggles to emerge from political isolation over his interference in conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.
Deputy head of the FSB Alexei Lavrischev said se- curity measures are being tightened for the tour- nament, which will run until July 2 in St Peters- burg, Moscow, Sochi and Kazan. Some fans have declined to travel in the wake of a metro bomb in St Petersburg in April, which killed 14.
Construction and upgrading of many of the stadi- ums has been a massive financial headache for Russia, which is just emerging from a three-year recession. The building of the 68,000-seater St Petersburg stadium has been a farce, with the budget jumping seven-fold in its decade-long construction. There are still concerns about the state-of-the-art retractable pitch, which had to be re-laid just a month ago after cutting up during the first test game.
On June 14, Russian media reported that a signifi- cant fire had broken out at the Volgograd Arena. The stadium, which is earmarked for completion early next year, is supposed to be hosting eight World Cup games.
More damaging for Russia’s reputation has been allegations of “slave labour” and human rights abuses.
In a report released on June 14, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says it has documented cases in
which workers were not paid, worked in danger- ously cold conditions, and suffered reprisals for raising concerns. HRW claims at least 17 work- ers have died on World Cup construction sites in Russia, while other reports have emerged of 190 North Korean labourers being forced to work as slaves in the building of the St Petersburg venue.
In February, the government said it had boosted its spending on preparations for the event by RUB19.1bn (€300mn), bringing total spending on the event to around €10bn, including investments from the public and private sectors.
On a positive note, FIFA said it had reached a agreement for Russian broadcasters to show the Confederations Cup in a deal that came just days before the tournament starts.
Russian officials, which have yet to ink a deal for the World Cup, had said that FIFA was seeking
too much money for the contract. The tournament will broadcast by state-run Channel One television and the sports network Match TV.
Confederation Cup games can be lightly attended as countries, like the reigning champions Ger- many, tend to send second-string teams. How- ever, some fans have been deterred by the price of travelling and staying in Russia.
Since violent clashes between Russian and Eng- lish football hooligans in Marseilles tarnished the European championship in France last year, Putin has introduced legislation that toughens punish- ments for violence at sporting events.
The authorities say the Confederations Cup’s ticketing system, which requires ticket holders to apply for a personalised fan-ID, will ensure that fans are screened and hooligans are kept away.
Tom Daly, a football fan from Liverpool, was the only one of his gang of friends who is braving Rus- sia to attend the Confederation Cup. England fans have been warned in a BBC documentary that they are “100% guaranteed” to be the target for