FIFA picks cities for World Cup 2018

All the World Cup venues are in Russia's European territory, but the distances involved are still vast.

The final 11 range from Kaliningrad, located near Poland in Russia's western exclave, to Yekaterinburg, almost 3,000 kilometers due east in the Ural Mountains.

The others announced in a marathon TV presentation with Russia coach Fabio Capello and ex-Brazil star Roberto Carlos in attendance are the central cities of Kazan, Nizhny Novogorod, Samara and Saransk, as well as Rostov-on-Don in the south, Kazinform has learned from RIA Novosti.

Russia is ahead of schedule in planning the tournament, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in televised comments.

"We are far away from our program because you are much more advanced," Blatter said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the social effects of hosting the World Cup.

"More than anything, it's a very good way to get young people involved in sport," he said in televised comments, adding: "It's a good stimulator to boost the economy."

Beating England and the other bidders had been just a formality, Putin said.

"We never thought we wouldn't win when we submitted the bid."

The two cities to be dropped from the list of 13 submitted with Russia's bid were Krasnodar in the south, the only city outside Moscow with two top-flight football clubs, and Yaroslavl near Moscow, where a 45,000-seater stadium was planned.

Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko had earlier excluded Krasnodar, where a 50,000-seater arena would have been built, from a list of five cities he deemed at risk of not making the cut.

Putin said that the government would subsidies transport to matches for people in the cities cut from the final list.

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