The International Football Federation Associations (FIFA), entrusting Russia with the right to host the 2018 World Cup, relied on the assurances of the country's leader Vladimir Putin that the championships would be the biggest, the stadiums the newest, and the fields the best. Three years before the World Cup, the Russian government is reducing the pace - on Wednesday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decision trying to reduce the tournament's expenses. Due to the crisis within the country and the sanctions imposed on Russia for the annexation of Crimea and the war with Ukraine, the country is forced to cut back in preparing for the 2018 World Cup. Although there were opinions suggesting that the right to host the largest football event every four years should be taken away from Russia, due to its support for terrorists, Russians continue to build stadiums for the championships. However, not as large and not for billions of rubles. The lack of money is pressing on the tournament organizers. It was said that Russia had already reduced the championship budget by 10% in January. February continues to adjust the estimate. Today, Russian Prime Minister D. Medvedev signed the decision "On the amendment of the program for preparing for the 2018 World Cup." According to it, it is already planned that the stadiums being built in Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg will not be as large, and the number of training grounds available will decrease. As the official website of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers assures, "... this will allow the country to complete all the tasks qualitatively and on time, necessary to create all the conditions for hosting the World Cup." "The decision will change the number of spectators in the stadiums being built in Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg - instead of 45 thousand seats for fans, there will be 35 thousand. These changes are coordinated with the Russian Ministry of Sports and, of course, with FIFA," - states the Cabinet of Ministers' announcement.
15min.lt
