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Russian deputy PM commends organization of 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

Vitaly Mutko noted that the guests of the tournament, including former football stars Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Cafu and Marco van Basten, were very satisfied with what they saw

© Peter Kovalev/TASS

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/. The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup has set a high level of organization, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Local Organizing Committee Chairman Vitaly Mutko told TASS.

The Confederations Cup took place between June 17 and July 2 in four Russian cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi and Kazan. Germany won the tournament defeating Chile 1:0 in the final match.

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Russian deputy PM says Confederations Cup proves successful

Apart from 2014 FIFA World Cup Champions Germany and 2015 Copa America Champions Chile, participants in the 2017 Confederations Cup were hosts Russia, 2015 AFC Asian Cup Champion Australia, 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners Mexico, 2016 UEFA Euro Cup champs Portugal, OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) Nations Cup victors New Zealand and 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations Champion Cameroon.

"From the standpoint of organization, a high level has been set, I would commend the organization of the tournament," said Mutko, who is also the president of the Russian Football Union. "At the same time, I would point out that it was only a prelude to the World Cup, we have a far bigger tournament ahead of us. I would wait a couple of days [before summing up the results - TASS], let the participant teams and fans leave, as we are responsible for them. Today, I will chair the final meeting of the operational groups and thank everyone. But on the whole, the teams, the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) and the guests have been commending the tournament," Mutko said.

He also pointed out that FIFA was going to assess the results of the Confederations Cup at the next meeting of its Executive Committee. "Yesterday, the FIFA president [Gianni Infantino - TASS] was at the stadium, we thanked the volunteers and stewards. We have received praise from every one. He [Infantino - TASS] thanked Russia for the organization of the tournament," the Russian deputy prime minister added.

'Maradona loves Russia'

The president of the Russian Football Union noted that the guests of the tournament, including former football stars Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Cafu and Marco van Basten, were very satisfied with what they saw. "We have talked much about Russia with Maradona, he loves our country and believes that the tournament went very well," Mutko said. "He spoke highly of our president and commended the stadium in St. Petersburg. The same goes for Ronaldo, who liked everything. Everyone said that Russia did a great job organizing the tournament," the Russian deputy prime minister added.

Read also

FIFA’s president thanks Russia for organization of Confederations Cup

"I received commendations not only from great football players who attended the tournament, but also from the heads of national federations, members of the FIFA Executive Committee and presidents of confederations," he added.

In 2018, Russia will host the FIFA World Cup, which will be held between June 14 and July 15, 2018, in 11 Russian cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.

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