Infantino ‘not moved’ by threat of hooliganism at W’Cup 2018

FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday has said he is “not concerned” by the threat of hooliganism at next year’s World Cup in Russia, following reports of threats against foreign fans.

At Euro 2016, there were violent clashes between Russian and English supporters in Marseille; and a Russian fan, speaking as part of a BBC documentary to be broadcast on Thursday, said trouble is “100% guaranteed” at the 2018 World Cup.

But the FIFA boss, talking to a small group of reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Doha, played down any possibility of violence as he believes the Russian authorities have it covered.

“I am not concerned about trouble in 2018, I have full confidence in the Russian authorities,” Infantino said.

Read Also: Breaking… FIFA World Cup to be contested by 48 Teams

Recall that the World football governing body agreed in January on a 48-team World Cup in 2026.

The bidding process has not begun yet for the tournament; but speaking also, during the visit to Qatar on Thursday, Infantino said the 2026 event could be hosted by multiple countries that are “ideally” close to one another for “the ease of travel”.

“It is perfectly in line with our sustainability and legacy to maybe bring together two, three, four countries who can jointly present a project with three, four, five stadiums each, ” said Infantino.

However, Qatar is hosting the 2020 World Cup and is spending almost $500m (£400m) a week on major infrastructure projects in preparation.

And Infantino said he is confident the stadiums and infrastructure will be ready in time, but added “a lot remains to be done”.

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