Only a couple of days remain before the start of the 2018 Fifa World Cup. And Moscow is putting the finishing touch to its preparation.
Some construction works were still going on in Red Square and Luzhinki Arena when this report was filed. Apart from the centre, the city is still quite free. Fans have started coming and the place will be crowded very soon.
This is a big city but transportation is well managed. There is one more stadium in Moscow – the Spartak arena - and a few matches will also be played there.
Guess who is there with me in #Moscow ? @FIFAWorldCup ?? pic.twitter.com/rhewXKJ64A
— Marcel Desailly (@marceldesailly) June 10, 2018
Fifa Fan Fest kicked off its festival of football in Russia Monday. And according to local organisers, around 25,000 fans visited Moscow’s Fifa Fan Fest on its opening day. Fans were thrilled by the vibrant music line-up and the presence of French Fifa World Cup champion Marcel Desailly and Russia’s all-time top-scorer Aleksandr Kerzhakov.
“It’s amazing to see so many people here, having fun and celebrating the World Cup in such a nice venue for free,” said Desailly. “The excitement is already immense and will only increase over the next few days ahead of the opening match. Having seen this, however, we can already say Russia has got off on the right foot.”
“I am very proud that our country will host the 2018 Fifa World Cup,” said Kerzhakov while leaving the stage yesterday. “Now, with just four days to go, you can already feel the football atmosphere, and [Monday's] event demonstrated our fans’ tremendous interest in the tournament once more. I am sure the stadiums will be full and Russians will celebrate at the Fifa Fan Fests with fans from all over the world.”
These posters at Argentina’s training base in Russia though ?? pic.twitter.com/ks8wfMAEqS
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 10, 2018
Apart from that, chaos prevailed in the Argentina training session in Bronnitsy, 70-odd km away from Moscow. The Fifa accredited journalists were stopped from entering the ground, despite having confirmation mail from Fifa.
The Argentina media manager said due to the presence of hundreds of people inside the facility, one requires a ticket to get inside. He came around a few times with 5-10 tickets in hand, and distributed them randomly, especially to Spanish-speaking people. There were 100-plus media personnel standing at the gate. On a few occasions, they argued with the security and volunteers. But no one responsible was found there.
The journalists became angry, but only in vain, and all were very disappointed after missing out on the chance to see the great Lionel Messi in flesh.