Russian Finance Minister Envisions No Cuts in 2018 FIFA World Cup Spending

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that Russia will not cut budget funds allocated for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

LIMA (Sputnik) – Russia will not cut budget funds allocated for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank summit in Peru.

"It’s a protected article," Siluanov said answering a question on whether or not in the period of 2016-2018 spending would be cut for preparation and holding of the championship in Russia.

From June 14 to July 15, 2018, Russia will host the FIFA World Cup for the first time in history. The championship will take place in 11 Russian cities: Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, St. Petersburg and Volgograd.

In mid-September, the Russian football committee launched a 1,000-day countdown to the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

There has been some speculation about the fate of the 2018 World Cup in the wake of a wide-ranging FIFA corruption scandal, resulting in the arrest of several high-ranking officials within the organization.

In June, FIFA said there were no legal grounds to revoke Russia's right to host the championship.