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2018 FIFA WORLD CUP IN RUSSIA

Russia’s Kazan in full-mode readiness for 2017, 2018 FIFA Cups

Kazan is flawlessly approaching in its preparations for hosting matches of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko

© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

KAZAN, April 13. /TASS/. The Russian city of Kazan is flawlessly approaching in its preparations for hosting matches of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Thursday.

"Kazan will not let us down and its preparations never raised any concerns on behalf of our colleagues from FIFA and they had no questions whatsoever," Mutko, who is also the head of Russia-2018 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and the president of the Russian Football Union (RFU), said.

2018 FIFA WORLD CUP IN RUSSIA

"Everything is in the extremely high level of preparedness," Mutko said. "There are still minor improvements are left to be made in order to form a favorable background of services and complete the installment of a system for football fans identification."

"More work will be done and it concerns the deployment of permanent installations such as the system of fans identification, centers for volunteers and stewards," Mutko said. "I hope that we will be able to test everything during matches of the Russian football championship."

The Kazan Arena was built especially for hosting the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2013 Summer Universiade. Following the prestigious games of university students the arena was reconstructed into the 44,800-seat football stadium, which became the home arena for local Rubin football club.

The sports arena in Kazan was designed by the same firm of architects as Wembley Stadium and Emirates Stadium in London. It has a unique design, which blends seamlessly into Kazan's urban landscape. Viewed from above, the arena, which stands on the banks of the Kazanka River, resembles a water-lily.

Russia is currently in full-swing preparations for hosting the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

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