Tatarstan’s minister for sport, Vladimir Leonov has allayed fears of fans who intend to attend the world cup holding next year by insisting that the tournament will not be affected by hooliganism or organisational problems.
Disgraceful incidents of violence played out during last year’s Euro’s in France notably between Russia and England fans in Marseille.
Leonov, who is directly responsible for sporting affairs in host city Kazan and the Tatarstan region, believes Russia’s effective policing and the implementation of FIFA fan ID cards means there is little to be concerned about.
“Logistically we have got a very convenient city for tourists, for the fans, so we are open to anyone who wants to visit for the Confederations Cup or a World Cup, Leonov told Omnisport
“As for cancelling or boycotting, it’s hard to comment on this. We are focused on organisation and we have done a lot to host the World Cup, so I don’t think anything will change as we are ready.
“No bans were imposed ahead of this competition. As you know, as part of the tournament, the new system has been applied, the fan IDs, so even at the stage of issuing that document we can filter out people with any negative background.
“As far as I know, there were only isolated incidents out of an army of thousands football fans. We can identify anyone in case of a critical situation, we can locate his seat, et cetera. So everything is done to provide full safety.”
Commenting on whether British fans should have any anxiety about travelling for the World Cup, he added: “Let’s wait for the arrival of British fans in the next year and then we’ll talk about it. I don’t know what will happen in a year. I don’t have psychic abilities of that kind.”
“The Confederations Cup is a test tournament ahead of the World Cup so we could see what works and what does not. If it works fine, why do you need changes?”
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