Russia’s World Cup: a Putin own goal?

Like most Russians, Vladimir Putin isn’t a football fan, but in 2009 he decided that Russia should bid to host the 2018 World Cup. This Friday, when the draw for next summer’s tournament is made in Moscow, he may be wishing he hadn’t. “The general feeling I get from the authorities is, ‘Let’s get this over with,’” says Sven Daniel Wolfe, expert on Russian sporting politics at Lausanne University.

When Russia began bidding for the tournament, it was a different country. In 2008 I flew to Moscow for the Chelsea versus Manchester United Champions League final. Anyone holding a match ticket could enter Russia without a visa, which was a first in modern history. I whizzed through customs at renovated Domodedovo airport in minutes; much smoother than entering the US Moscow’s restaurants were packed, and that week the Russian stock market hit a record high. The match was beautifully organised. The bloke in the hotel room opposite mine was Putin’s chum Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president.