NIZHNY NOVGOROD, August 13./ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Emergencies Ministry announced on Wednesday the launch of its preparation works for the 2018 World Cup, which will be held in 11 cities across Russia.

“We are beginning the work today in order to have a full picture of possible problems and risks, of what we have in terms of equipment and gear and of what would be the material and technical basis,” Yury Kovalyov, the director of the ministry’s department for territorial policies, said at a session devoted to the global football tournament’s preparations.

“This is all important for the solution of problems and issues concerning the safety provision in the area of the Russian Emergency Ministry’s responsibility in 11 cities, where the world football championship’s matches will be held,” he said.

Kovalyov said specialists from the ministry conducted identical work before the 2013 Summer Universiade in Russia’s Kazan and 2014 Winter Olympic Games in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

“Preparation work in Kazan and Sochi was time-consuming and scrupulous, but yielded certain experience,” he said adding that such work eventually provided for the 2013 Universiade and the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held at a high level in terms of the Emergencies Ministry’s responsibility.

Russia won the bid to host the 2018 World Cup over three years ago in a tight race against the joint bid from England, Portugal and Spain and the joint bid on behalf of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Shortly before Brazil’s fabulous city of Rio de Janeiro dropped the curtains on the 2014 World Cup with the final Germany-Argentina clash on July 13, the baton of the global football tournament’s hosting nations was passed on to Russia.

The symbolic hand-over ceremony of the right to host the World Cup tournament was held at the iconic over 74,700-seat capacity Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro and was attended by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Blatter said earlier that he intended to pay a visit to Russia in September to monitor the preparation work for the championship in 2018.

Following an official ceremony held in September 2012 and attended by Blatter, Russia eventually selected 11 out of the earlier proposed 13 cities, excluding Krasnodar and Yaroslavl. The final list of the 2018 World Cup host cities includes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.