The total cost of holding the World Cup in Russia will be 883 billion rubles. (more than $ 14.2 billion), RBC calculated. In the federal state program for the preparation for the championship, the amount of 678 billion rubles is indicated. Such a budget makes the World Cup the most expensive football championship in history. The previous record belonged to the last championship in Brazil, where the authorities spent $ 11.6 billion.

First plans

By submitting an application for the World Championship in 2009, the Russian authorities planned to spend less than $ 10 billion for training. This figure was named by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a press conference in Zurich immediately after the Russian bid was won (he flew to Switzerland after the announcement of the voting results).

To spend money to prepare for the championship was also the business to "minimize government spending." "I do not exclude that Mr. Abramovich can take part in one of such projects. Let him fork out a little - nothing terrible, will not lose. He has a lot of money, "Putin said.



The basic parameters of the future World Cup were given in the Entry book for 1100 pages prepared by the organizing committee of the Russian application for FIFA. The main expenses of the host country concerned the construction of new stadiums and transport infrastructure. Not all the projects announced in this presentation were implemented.

Initially, it was planned that the World Cup matches will take 16 stadiums in 14 cities. However, in the final approved plan, their number was reduced to 12 in 11 cities. In particular, it was decided to abandon the construction of the arena in the Moscow region and the reconstruction of the stadium in Yaroslavl.

Many plans for the construction of transport infrastructure have also not been implemented. The application book mentioned the organization of a high-speed rail connection between Moscow and Sochi, the construction of a high-speed railway line intended for international trips to the EU countries, the creation of a straight line Moscow-Vienna with a wide gauge. It was also promised that all airports in cities hosting the World Cup will get rail links with the centers of these cities by the type of aeroexpress in Moscow. It was also declared a large-scale use for the transportation of fans of river transport in the Volzhsky sector of the World Cup (Volgograd, Kazan, Samara, Saransk).

In the Ministry of Transport told RBC that during the final planning of the transport program for the 2018 World Cup, priority was given to projects that will be in demand after the event. The largest terminals for transport infrastructure built for the World Championship are new terminals at the airports of St. Petersburg, Moscow (Sheremetyevo B), Samara, Volgograd and Nizhny Novgorod, as well as the modernization of Koltsovo airport terminal in Yekaterinburg and the new Platov airport in Rostov-on-Don.

To build some objects of the Moscow air hub-a new terminal in Domodedovo, a new runway to Sheremetyevo-was not reached in time, but the Transport Ministry is sure that "this will not affect the quality of the transport service of the championship."

How Russia got the World Cup

The application for participation in the competition for the right to host the World Cup was drawn up as an "initiative from below". On September 9, 2008, at a conference of the All-Russian Association of Fans (PSB), the All-Russian Association of Fans (PSB), established a year earlier, which included the leaders of fan groups of Russian clubs, the appeal was received to the Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko with a proposal to nominate Russia as host country of the 2018 World Cup.

Fans' wishes were met - on January 22, 2009 the Russian Football Union notified the FIFA that Russia will participate in the tender. Its rivals were England, as well as joint applications from Spain and Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium. On May 5 of the same year, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave an official order to Vitaly Mutko to prepare a Russian application, which will be considered by the FIFA Bid Committee.

According to Mutko, the final decision on the nomination of Russia was personally taken by Putin: "All these years and a half [with the proposal of the WBO 2008 before voting in FIFA in 2010] he personally led this project. Yes, and the decision to submit an application was accepted by Putin. " The ceremony of announcing the host country of the 2018 World Cup was held on December 2, 2010 at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich. The Russian delegation was headed by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov. Introducing the Russian application on the stage, Mutko read the famous speech, beginning with the words "Years of Mine Speech From May Hart", which became an Internet meme. As a result, Russia's candidacy won with a big advantage: in the second, decisive round, 13 out of 22 members of the bid committee voted for it.

How did the world championship estimate change

The main document describing the objects to be built or reconstructed for the World Cup is the RF Government Resolution No. 518 "On the Program for Preparing for the 2018 World Cup in the Russian Federation", adopted on June 20, 2013. It included the construction and reconstruction of 281 facilities and the implementation of nine events. It also identified the amount and sources of funding.

In the original version of the document, the total construction budget was fixed at 664.11 billion rubles, which on the day of its adoption was $ 20.68 billion at the rate of the Central Bank. Of these, slightly more than half - 336.2 billion rubles ($ 10.47 billion) - accounted for by the federal budget. Since then, various changes have been made to the resolution 35 times, and the amount of funding has been adjusted 12 times. The reduction in funding was due to the removal of previously planned objects from the text; increase - by allocating additional funds aimed at the construction and reconstruction of the originally provided facilities.

As the analysis of changes shows, up to April 2016, there was a reduction in the total cost of the project. Most of all, it was possible to save on reducing the number of hotels that had to be built for the championship at the expense of private investors. Refusal to build new hotels has reduced the volume of the program by 26 billion rubles.



Another major article, on which the organizing committee managed to save, was the refusal to build an international broadcasting center for 6 billion rubles. (it was to be financed from the Moscow budget): it was decided to place it in the existing complex of the Crocus Expo.

At the lowest point, the draft budget for the World Cup was 617.17 billion rubles. And given the double devaluation of the ruble, in terms of dollars, the budget fell to $ 9.4 billion.

After that, the budget of the championship only increased, the main growth was associated with an increase in funding for the final part of the construction of sports facilities - stadiums and bases for the preparation of participating teams, transport infrastructure and expenses under the heading "Other activities related to preparations for the World Cup." This article provides for funding from the federal budget of events held by the organizing committee of the World Cup - presentations, draws, etc., as well as the development of the concept of preserving the heritage of the World Cup. Initially, it was planned to spend 3 billion rubles for these purposes, but as a result, financing under this item was increased to 11.8 billion rubles.

The final figure, which is contained in the current version of the government resolution, is 678.06 billion rubles. The last time it was adjusted in October 2017. The share of federal budget funds is 390.29 billion rubles. (57.6%). In terms of dollars, the program of preparation of Russia for the World Cup was $ 11.7 billion, which is close to the amount called by Vladimir Putin almost ten years ago, and comparable to the costs of Brazil for the preparation for the World Cup in 2014 ($ 11.6 billion).

Commenting on the adjustment of the budget, the press service of the Ministry of Transport specified that the number of events included in the program for five years decreased to 261, which resulted in some reduction in the amount of financing. In addition, in 2015-2016, "the resource provision of the program was formed taking into account the reduction in the appropriations of the federal budget".

In the final version of the program fell by 2.2 billion rubles. Expenses of the federal budget under the item "Infrastructure of energy supply" (reconstruction of substations and laying of new cable lines); to 3.4 billion rubles. the expenditures of the federal budget for the construction and reconstruction of sewage collectors, pumping stations and storm sewage facilities in cities hosting the World Cup have decreased.

The growth of expenses in the last two years has been associated with the adjustment of project documentation for new facilities and the increasing requirements for security and anti-terrorist protection of World Championship facilities, the ministry's press service explained.



Aras Agalarov, the owner of Crocus Group, a contractor for the construction of arenas in Kaliningrad and Rostov, said about the rise in construction of stadiums in the final segment. According to him, the cost of construction in Kaliningrad increased by 500 million rubles. due to poor preparation of the site by a subcontractor. Another 350 million rubles. The cost of stadiums has increased due to additional security requirements. "According to the requirements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service, more than 1 thousand for the Rostov stadium and more than 800 for the Kaliningrad stadium have been added to the originally planned 300-400 cameras. And it's not just cameras, but high-resolution technology with software for identifying criminals, "said RBC Agalarov. "We also need access systems, very high-speed Wi-Fi, so that 45,000 people can use at the highest speed." According to him, these additional requirements added 2% to the cost of arenas.

What money was spent on

Within the framework of the government program for the preparation for the World Cup, 81.4% (551.93 billion rubles) of the envisaged expenses were spent on the construction and reconstruction of sports facilities, as well as the construction of transport infrastructure.

Matildial matches will be held at 12 stadiums, but only six of them were built specifically for the World Cup - the arena in Rostov, Volgograd, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Saransk. The stadium in Yekaterinburg is declared in the program as a "reconstruction object", but in fact it is an absolutely new stadium built on the site of the pre-existing with the preservation of the "historical frontage of the entrance group". The cost of building these stadiums with a capacity of 35 thousand to 45 thousand spectators was from 13.1 billion to 19.8 billion rubles. The main funding was provided from the federal budget. Regions paid for themselves only survey work. Another four stadiums were commissioned in 2013-2017, and their construction was not connected with plans to host the World Cup in Russia. The Moscow stadium "Luzhniki", where the matches of the championship opening and the final will be held, was completely reconstructed to meet modern requirements. Reconstruction cost the budget of Moscow in 26.6 billion rubles.

Another 21 billion rubles. from the federal budget was spent on the construction and reconstruction of 92 training fields. In total, the construction of seven new stadiums and training grounds for the World Championships cost the budget 149 billion rubles.



The largest expenditure item in the training program was the construction of a transport infrastructure. The program envisages 352.5 billion rubles, of which 170.3 billion are federal budget funds. The largest sums were spent on the construction and reconstruction of airport complexes. So, in Rostov built a new airport Platov. The cost of construction amounted to 37 billion rubles, of which 19 billion was invested by the company Airports of the Regions Viktor Vekselberg. In other cities of the World Championship, new terminals of operating airports have appeared and the runways have been updated.

The only article of the government program, which was to be entirely financed from investors' funds - the construction of new hotels - was ultimately reduced. Of the 62 hotels planned for construction in 2013, only 19 were built, the rest were excluded from the program. Head of Rosturism, Oleg Safonov said at the same time that fans will have enough seats in existing hotels and hostels.

Contribution of regions

According to the government program, the contribution of regional budgets to financing the preparation for the World Cup is relatively small - 92 billion rubles. (13.5% of the total budget). However, regional governments for the World Cup have developed regional training programs, in which much larger amounts have been pledged.

The government program included only the largest projects related to the organization and organization of the championship - stadiums, airports, roads connecting the new stadiums with airports and city centers. Regional programs are focused mainly on improvement to the World Cup.

The largest regional programs are in Moscow and St. Petersburg (104.8 billion rubles and 103.8 billion rubles, respectively). They included expensive projects, such as the reconstruction of the Volokolamsk highway in the capital, or the construction of a section of the Makarov embankment with a bridge to Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg.



In other cities that will accept the mundial, spending from regional budgets is mainly related to the repair of facades, roads, pedestrian areas, sewage systems, the purchase of new buses, ambulances, etc. In addition, the funds will be used to "increase the tourist attractiveness of the region": this item carries expenses for placing English-language tablets in the city center, preparing entertaining programs for fans with local color.

In Sochi and Rostov, regional budgets will pay for additional security measures. The guards of the FSUE "Okhrana" of Rosgvardia, who will ensure the protection of World War II facilities, will receive reinforcement in the form of Cossacks' detachments in these cities: in Sochi, the private security organization of the Kuban Cossack Military Society "Plastuny" won a tender organized by the administration of the Krasnodar Territory for the protection of the "Fisht" stadium and training field in Adler and will receive 84.5 million rubles.

In Rostov to work during the World Cup will be attracted 200 Cossacks, including 30 equestrian. The administration of the Rostov region expects that the presence of Cossack combatants during the World Cup will not only enhance security, but will attract the attention of foreign fans. In the regional program for the services of Cossacks laid 42.8 million rubles.

The total volume of regional training programs for the World Cup is 297.4 billion rubles. (this amount includes the expenditures of regional budgets within the framework of the government program in the amount of 92 billion rubles). Taking into account the expenses stipulated in the government program, Russia's preparation for the World Cup was 883 billion rubles.

For comparison: the cost of preparation for the Olympics in Sochi was 324.9 billion rubles., Calculated the Chamber of Accounts. This amount included the costs of building sports facilities and organizational arrangements. Taking into account spending on city improvement, construction of roads and railways, bridges, tunnels, water pipes, to electrify the region, the total estimate of preparation for the Olympics in Sochi was 1.53 trillion rubles.