MOSCOW (AP) Vladimir Putins Russia was always going to be a controversial host, but few could have imagined the turbulent situation that greets the 2018 World Cup.
The annexation of Crimea, alleged U.S. election interference, the war in Syria and a poisoned spy in Britain are just a few of the storms surrounding the Kremlin before Putin officially declares the tournament open on June 14.
Russias disputes with the United States and many European countries have galvanized Putins support at home against a backdrop of economic problems. He won reelection in March with nearly 77 percent of the vote, though leading opponent Alexei Navalny was barred from running because of a fraud conviction widely seen as politically motivated.
Russias reputation as a sports power has been tarnished internationally by doping scandals but a successful World Cup could further boost Putins prestige in the eyes of a Russian audience.
Putin needed the World Cup mainly for domestic purposes, and I think it will serve him well in that sense, just like Sochi did, Moscow-based political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin told The Associated Press. The World Cup takes his approval rating up, because most people like watching football. Albeit a short-lived one, it will nonetheless be a distraction from the post-Soviet reality.
FOREIGN CONFLICTS
There have been controversial World Cup hosts before Argentina hosted the 1978 tournament two years after a military coup but its rare for the host nation to be under international sanctions.
Many leading Russian officials and companies find it hard, if not impossible, to do business internationally under United States and European Union measures imposed due to the 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and Russian backing for separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
In March the British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, even compared Russias World Cup to the 1936 Olympics in Hitlers Germany. That remark caused widespread outrage in Russia, a country which lost millions of people fighting Nazism during World War II. Britain has accused Russia of involvement in poisoning Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal in March.
The U.S. may not have qualified, but its a key market for FIFA and a likely host for 2026. Russias reputation there has been hit by allegations it tried to sway the 2016 presidential election in favor of the winner, Donald Trump.
All that will likely negate a popularity boost from the World Cup, argues opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov.
If the Russian government really wanted to strengthen their reputation around the world, he said, they shouldnt have gotten involved in military conflicts in Eastern Ukraine or Syria, nor should they have interfered in the US presidential election or let the Skripal case happen. All of this trumps any attempt of improving our image around the world.
DIPLOMATIC DILEMMA
Political leaders from the Western countries which have imposed sanctions on Russia could face a dilemma if their country does well at the World Cup.
While many European leaders have been reluctant to visit Putins Kremlin in recent years, and British officials and the royal family are staging a formal boycott, they could face pressure to travel and support a national team which reaches the semifinals or final.
