Gianni Infantino about Kazan: “I'm happy that I discovered this beautiful city”

(KZN.RU, July 7, Ksenia Shvetsova). Today Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), unexpectedly personally came to the traditional staff meeting in the Executive Committee and thanked Kazan for the good organization of the World Cup matches. He noted that the capital of Tatarstan is a good example not only for Russia, but for the whole world in preserving the cultural heritage and in peaceful coexistence of various religions.

Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, started the meeting with the results of the victory of the Belgian team that happened yesterday in Kazan. He noted that the championship was not only a huge impetus for the development of the city, but it also glorified the capital of Tatarstan to the whole world.

“We said goodbye to the World Cup in our city. We held a world event that will enter the golden page not only in the thousand-year history of our Kazan, but also the republic and the whole country”, said Ilsur Metshin. “It was a big football festival that changed us. Each new event leaves a great mark, we learned a lot, saved a lot of good, positive emotions, found friends around the world”.

The head of the city noted that many football players appreciated the public art produced in Kazan for their arrival, and attracted the attention of millions to the city by telling about it in their social networks. “Thanks to Neimar that shared his impressions of Kazan with a single click, and 98 million subscribers in one second learned about our city. Now we hope to see many new tourists in the capital of Tatarstan after the football championship is over”, said the Mayor. He noted an interesting coincidence. After the creation of new graffiti in Kazan for the arrival of football stars, the national teams of these countries are not very lucky in the game. “Unfortunately, after the graffiti with Ronaldo the Portuguese team was not lucky, Argentina lost after the graffiti with Messi. No luck was for the Brazilian national team after the graffiti with Neimar. Therefore, today we want to win the victory of Russia, so we start drawing the captain of the national team of Croatia Luka Modric. We hope that this good tradition will continue, and our team will win”, joked I. Metshin.

Gianni Infantino suddenly appeared in the hall after the discussion of the planned business agenda began. Ilsur Metshin hospitably gave him his place, and, despite the availability of an interpreter, translated the words of the head of FIFA himself. G. Infantino thanked Kazan for the high level of organization of the championship. “You have done a great job, and you should be proud of what you did not only in the last two weeks, but also in recent years during the preparation for the championship. I am also proud of you, of your merits. I am happy that I discovered your wonderful city that I did not know before. I happened to work in one of the most beautiful cities in the world”, said the president of FIFA.

He noted that Kazan has a unique experience of preserving a rich historical heritage, and this experience can be broadcasted to the whole world. “It is a city with a rich history, a huge heritage, a cultural treasure. Thank the ancestors for all this wealth, and thank you for keeping it. But the most important is the unique culture of relations between people of different religions. And this is not only a good example for Russia. It is an example for the whole world. An example of how we all should live”.

Gianni Infantino also shared his experience that he gained thanks to football. “Football is a kind of school of life. All my life I am learning one important lesson. If you win the game, then you are incredibly happy, but only until the next match. And if you lose, then, of course, you are sad, but only a couple of days. Then you start preparing for the next game. You say to yourself: today I might have lost, but next season in the next match I will win. I ask you always to look to the future. I am sure that the great opportunities that the championship gave Kazan and the whole of Russia, will allow you to confidently go forward”, said the president of FIFA.

I. Metshin recalled that the work of the Fan Fest will continue until July 15. He noted that more than 700000 fans attended the festival even before the match between Belgium and Brazil. The head of the city also thanked the citizens of Kazan for the hospitality and great work done during the preparation and holding of the championship. “As Gianni Infantino said, people from five continents discovered a new Russia. The championship will end, and opportunities will remain with us”, concluded I. Metshin.

And once again breaking the rules of the meeting, its participants, heads of structural units of the Executive Committee, interrupted the meeting briefly for a collective photo together with Gianni Infantino.

The indirect confirmation of Gianni Infantino’s words about the high level of organization of the championship in the city are the data of local hotels. They show that many fans who came from other cities and countries decided to stay in the capital of Tatarstan before the end of the World Cup. Now the main attraction point for them will not be the stadium “Kazan Arena”, but the site of the Fan Festival, which will continue its work until the end of the championship.

Today two matches of the World Cup will be held: the most anticipated match between Russia and Croatia and the match between teams of Sweden and England.