Blatter gives Russia World Cup thumbs-up

FIFA chief Sepp Blatter has expressed satisfaction with the progress made by Russia in its preparations for hosting the 2018 World Cup, according to the country's sports minister Vitaly Mutko.
"We met Friday to discuss the wide variety of questions and the progress of Russia's preparations for the World Cup in particular," ITAR-TASS news agency quoted Mutko as saying.
"Mr Blatter expressed his confidence that our country will host the event at the highest level. He's pleased with the way we prepare for the tournament."
Blatter was in Saint Petersburg to attend the opening ceremony of the annual Community of Independent Countries (CIS) Cup, the tournament of the former Soviet republics' under-21 teams.
"He (Blatter) has assured me that FIFA has no intention of making any changes concerning the staging of the 2018 World Cup. They (FIFA) trust us completely," Mutko added.
Russia will host the 2018 World Cup at 12 venues in 11 cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.
Source: AFP