Russia Raises FIFA 2018 World Cup Budget By $325 Million

Russia has increased government spending on the 2018 FIFA World Cup by 19.1 billion rubles ($325 million) without explanation.

RUSSIA’S FIFA SPENDING

This puts total spending on the world tournament at 638.8 billion rubles ($10.8 billion), with all of the increase coming from federal budget funds, which now comprise nearly 55 percent of total spending.

The additional spending reduces previous attempts to trim costs by lowering the number of hotels to be built and cutting expenses on other infrastructure.

There was no immediate statement by the World Cup organizing committee on the reason behind the increase, which was announced when an updated budget document was published on the government’s legal database.

According to the document, the additional money would mostly go to construction or refits of World Cup-related facilities, although it did not specify which exact projects.

In other 2018 World Cup news, England could be expelled from the tournament as Members of Parliament (MP_ exercised a Commons debate which could likely lead to FIFA rules being violated.

The debate will take place this week, and it’s expected that critics of the English Football Association will seek to find new legislation that would lead to a reformation of the FA.

According to The Sun, the MPs on the Culture Media & Sport Committee have stressed the move for change.

Nevertheless, FIFA rules state that countries who are run by their respective member associations are to have no political interference whatsoever. Those who do interfere risk being kicked out of upcoming tournaments.

FIFA have remained relatively silent on the issue, and have not released a statement. However, Articles 19 & 14 from its Statutes confirm the following: “Each member association shall manage their affairs independently and without undue influence from third parties.

“Violations may also lead to sanctions, even if the third-party influence was not the fault of the member association concerned.”

It wouldn’t mark the first time FIFA has ejected a nation from a major competition. Kuwait were removed from the third round of Asian qualifying for next year’s World Cup, although heavily influenced political involvement meant they were suspended immediately.

An FA spokesman stated: “We are aware of the discussions next week around governance.

“The Government announced a code for governance for sports governing bodies last year and we are working to their timeline for implementation later in the year.

“Football like all sports is following due process and we remain committed to working with the Government towards compliance with the code.”

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – OCTOBER 14: FIFA President Gianni Infantino poses for a photo after part II of the FIFA Council Meeting 2016 at the FIFA headquarters on October 14, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Photo by Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena