FIFA Inspection Team Take In Sochi

© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Astapkovitch / Go to the mediabankJurgen Mueller
Jurgen Mueller - Sputnik International
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The head of the FIFA delegation charged with culling two of Russia’s 13 candidate cities for the 2018 World Cup praised the hospitality of the Olympic resort town of Sochi on Friday.

The head of the FIFA delegation charged with culling two of Russia’s 13 candidate cities for the 2018 World Cup praised the hospitality of the Olympic resort town of Sochi on Friday.

Jurgen Mueller refused to reveal any of the seven-person group’s impressions or findings about any of the candidate cities, even when asked about Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium, which is certain to host the final.

"I like the climate and the people here. But it wouldn't be fair to other cities if I would describe what I like most in Sochi," he said. "So thank you very much for your hospitality."

The delegation visited the site in the Sochi Olympic Park where the Fisht Olympic Stadium is being built to serve the 2014 Winter Games, and is considered among the favorites to host matches in 2018.

The trip to Sochi was originally supposed to take place in April, but poor visibility meant the delegation’s plane diverted to nearby Rostov-on-Don, another potential host city.

The FIFA delegation has already visited the cities of Krasnodar, Rostov, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and Yekaterinburg and is yet to see Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Samara and Volgograd, which are all included in a planned five-day whistle-stop tour in late June.

In Samara, a fans’ event to impress the delegation is being organized by local Russian Premier League club Krylya Sovetov, which will inherit the World Cup stadium once the tournament is over, if Samara is picked as a host city.

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