2018 World Cup host city Kaliningrad could be cut

25 November 2014 - 11:48
By Sapa-AP
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko (R) and Russian Football Union (RFU) chief executive director Alexei Sorokin. File photo
Image: AFP Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko (R) and Russian Football Union (RFU) chief executive director Alexei Sorokin. File photo

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko says the city of Kaliningrad could lose the right to host 2018 World Cup matches unless it resolves a dispute over the site of its stadium this week.

Kaliningrad, the capital of a Russian exclave on the border with Poland, was announced as one of 11 host cities in 2012 but has suffered repeated delays and is now "under threat," Mutko told Russian TV.

It is not clear where the 35,000-seat stadium in Kaliningrad will be built.

The local authorities' preferred site on an island has been criticized as too costly by Mutko, who told Russian TV that the city must resolve the issue this week and that there is "no time whatsoever" left.