Russia 2018 LOC sets out vision

On 20 March 2012, the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee held a press conference focusing on the organisation’s work over the past year and its objectives for 2012. The event was addressed by the chairman of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Russia’s Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy, Vitaly Mutko; FIFA’s Director of Marketing, Thierry Weil, and the CEO of the Russia 2018 LOC, Alexey Sorokin. At the press conference, Vitaly Mutko delivered a report on the LOC’s work in 2011, saying: “The joy of victory for the Russian bid in December 2010 did not blind us to the need to begin work immediately on preparing for the World Cup. We want the LOC’s work to be transparent and accessible to the public. We will be trying to keep fans informed of everything we do, because this World Cup is first and foremost for them.” A key milestone in the work of the LOC was the development of a strategic vision for the FIFA World Cup, which will be at the heart of the LOC’s work throughout its preparations for the tournament. In order to develop this vision, the LOC conducted dozens of interviews with experts, journalists, supporters and other members of the football family. “The strategic vision is the ideological foundation which addresses the issues of where we are heading, what we want from a World Cup staged in Russia, how it will be unique and how it will differ from past tournaments," LOC CEO Alexey Sorokin explained. "On the one hand, the vision needs to set out values which are clear and familiar to the people of this country, and, on the other, it needs to be accessible to each and every football fan right around the world." A strategy session produced four main priorities which formed the basis for the subsequent draft of the Vision document. These were: The FIFA World Cup gives us an historic opportunity to achieve something groundbreaking in our country, so we would like to:     put all our heart into staging an unforgettable festival for the football community     project a positive image of a modern Russia and improve our relationship with one another through real achievements and the interplay between our cultures     use football’s inspirational power  to promote a healthy lifestyle     realise the potential of our regions by creating a sustainable world-class legacy. One of the key areas of work for the Russia 2018 LOC this year will be selecting the host cities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. To ensure this process is as objective as possible, the LOC has devised a selection procedure which makes use of a system of assessment criteria as well as inspection visits by LOC and FIFA experts to the candidate cities. “The decision on which cities are ready to host the World Cup will be made on the basis of five key criteria: the current standard of their infrastructure, their level of socioeconomic development, their investment programmes for the 2018 World Cup, their concepts for the 2018 World Cup, and how they will make effective use of the tournament’s legacy,” Alexey Sorokin explained. A final decision on which cities will be hosting the FIFA 2018 World Cup will be announced in September 2012.