Russia ready to welcome the world, says FIFA Chief Infantino

Reuters: Russia is “100% ready” to host the World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday as he addressed concerns about racism, human rights and security in the host country a week before the tournament begins.

Russia will host the tournament from 14 June to 15 July in 12 stadiums spread across cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sochi, and Infantino believes that supporters are in for a real treat.

“I think we can say that Russia is 100%  ready and the whole world will actually see it when we kickoff on 14 June  with Russia and Saudi Arabia in the Luzhniki Stadium,” Infantino said in a video interview.

“Everyone will be able to witness how beautiful the stadiums are, how welcoming the country is, how the organisation and the preparations will work out. It’ll be a great experience.”

Russia has faced scrutiny in the lead-up to the tournament over issues including fan and team security as well as racism at matches.

FIFA fined Russia SFr 30,000 ($30,422) last month for discriminatory chants by fans after racist abuse was directed at French players during a friendly in St. Petersburg in March.

“I wouldn’t say that I am concerned about discrimination, human rights or security but obviously, we take this very, very seriously and we’ve taken appropriate measures,” he added.

“For the first time we have been checking the construction of stadiums and the sites to make sure conditions for the workers are correct. Concrete progress has been made in terms of human rights and the way we deal with human rights questions.”

Infantino promised a “safe environment” for fans travelling to the event.

“The Russian authorities are aware of the security situation in such a big event,” he said. “They are working very hard to prepare in cooperation with police authorities of all governments in the world to be fully ready to tackle any potential issue. Every fan that is coming to Russia will be welcomed in a safe environment to celebrate. If anyone is thinking to come to Russia to create trouble, they better stay home.”

Russia drop to World Cup low in FIFA rankings

Reuters: Hosts Russia will begin next week’s World Cup as the lowest-ranked of the 32 teams participating in the tournament, according to FIFA’s latest world rankings announced yesterday.

Russia, who suffered a 1-0 loss to Austria in a friendly last month, slipped four places to 70th in the standings, behind Saudi Arabia at 67th.

The two lowest-ranked teams will kick off the World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 14 June.

World Cup holders Germany stay top after the latest round of international fixtures, while the rest of the top seven remained unchanged from May’s rankings.

Poland’s recent form has helped them climb into eighth position at the expense of Spain, who have dropped to 10th, while Uruguay have climbed to 14th. England and Denmark are joint 12th.

Syria (73), Lebanon (79), Kosovo (141) and Gibraltar (195) achieved their best ever positions in the rankings.

Top 10 rankings: (previous positions in brackets)

1. Germany (1)

2. Brazil (2)

3. Belgium (3)

4. Portugal (4)

5. Argentina (5)

6. Switzerland (6)

7. France (7)

8. Poland (10)

9. Chile (9)

10. Spain (8)