PICS: Fifa opulence at World Cup draw

Published Jul 26, 2015

Share

St Petersburg - When it boils down to it, making a draw for a major soccer tournament involves little more than pulling balls out of plastic pots.

But, around that apparently simple act, Fifa has managed to build a two-day event featuring a banquet in a palace, a high-level security operation and a glitzy extravaganza.

Saturday's draw in St Petersburg, two hours long and featuring various musical interludes, was typical of the opulence that soccer's governing body and its leaders have been increasingly criticised for.

Delegations from around 150 national football associations attended the draw, Fifa officials said, although each federation had to pay their own way.

After being fast-tracked through immigration they were accommodated in some of St Petersburg's most lavish hotels.

On the eve of the draw they were treated to a banquet at the Mikhailovsky Palace, the spectacular Neoclassical main building of the Russian museum in the city centre.

The nearby square was cordoned off to traffic and guests entered through airport-style security.

Saturday's draw took place in similarly impressive surroundings at the Konstantin Palace set in stunning grounds on the Gulf of Finland.

President Vladimir Putin, whose presence necessitated another security operation, gave the opening address to the 2,000 guests and a global television audience that Fifa estimates put at 94 million in around 170 countries.

Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova co-hosted the show and illustrious figures such as former Soviet Union goalkeeper Rinat Dasayev, former Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o and former World Player of the Year Ronaldo helped pluck the balls from the pots.

Until the late 1980s Fifa draw ceremonies were relatively low-key affairs.

The draw for the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, modelled on the domestic lottery at the time, became notorious for a series of mix-ups.

Fifa officials, including current president Sepp Blatter, apparently forget the procedure. Teams were placed in the wrong groups and had to be put back and drawn out again, the tombolas containing the balls broke and the balls themselves jammed.

But the trend changed with the 1994 World Cup qualifying draw in Las Vegas. When Fifa realised the potential income that could be generated by beaming the ceremonies around the globe there was no turning back.

Reuters

Related Topics: