I. Metshin: "Conducting Russian Cup final is a great honor for Kazan"

(Kazan City KZN.RU, 8 April). Meeting on preparations for the Football Cup of Russia was held in Kazan. Readiness of Tatarstan capital for the event and plans for the sports festival organization led by Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin were discussed by representatives of the Russian Football Union, the Russian Premier League, the ministries and departments of Tatarstan.

I. Metshin noted that the holding of the finals of the Russian Cup is a great honor for Kazan. "This is a great celebration of football and a good reason to check the readiness of our services and cooperation structures in the run-up to prepare for the Confederations Cup in football", - Mayor said.

The head of the department of professional football of Russian Football Union Sergey Kulikov said about how a preparation for the event is going. He said that finalists of the Cup will be announced on April 20 after the semi-final matches. The St. Petersburg "Zenith", Perm "Amkar", Krasnodar "Krasnodar" and Moscow "CSKA" are now claimed on reaching the final. According to the representative of the RFU, this year's Cup final may be the last held outside Moscow, which is due to the commissioning of the Russian capital "Luzhniki" stadium. Therefore, the organizers pay special attention to the preparation of the opening and rewarding ceremonies, planning to make innovations in a well-established scenario.

During the discussion, participants of the meeting also touched upon the issue of attracting fans to the match. As the adviser to the president of FC "Rubin" Ivan Meshkov said, the event will attract the attention not only of the avid fans, but also of ordinary tourists. "Cup of Russia is a status event, which can be visited by people who never went to football before" - I.Meshkov said.

"We are faced with two problems: to present the city and country football festival and ensure order," - the Mayor said. Mayor of Kazan said that one of the most important moments is co-operation with the fans of the playing clubs. The Mayor instructed to hold a meeting with leaders of fan organizations to find common language with them and minimize the risks.

Also at the meeting the organization of parking of vehicles, including buses with the fans, during the match, the advertising program and other organizational matters were discussed. At the end of the meeting the Mayor of Kazan said that it is important to consider all the details in preparing to the Cup final.

Recall, Russian Cup football will be held on May 2 at the stadium "Kazan Arena". The decision was taken at a meeting of the Bureau of the Executive Committee of the Russian Football Union.