A knowledge sharing meeting has been held in Moscow between the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee (LOC) and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) as the two countries continue their cooperation ahead of hosting the next two editions of the FIFA World Cup™.

With progress continuing the meeting discussed preparations to host the biggest football tournament in the world, and ways to enhance cooperation on specific topic areas including host country operations in the areas of infrastructure, security, hospitality and transportation. The visit by SC also included a tour of the stadium of Spartak Moscow, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. A number of aspects such as the legacy of the stadium, operational matters, spectator services operations, media operations and precinct operations were discussed during the stadium visit.

"The meetings held in Moscow were extremely useful in terms of knowledge exchange and setting the basis for future collaboration in our preparations, which are advancing rapidly for both of our countries," said Hassan Al Thawadi, SC Secretary General. "We have collaborated in the past with host countries through our observation programmes and knowledge exchange workshops, so this exchange with Russia is a valuable addition for our specific operational preparations."

The SC also invited their Russian counterparts as well as various host country entities to deliver a speech at the Josoor Institute in Doha, which is preparing human capacity to deliver the first tournament in the Middle East in 2022. The meetings held in the Russian capital also served to put in place the foundations for the tailor-made host country observation and secondment programmes for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup™.

Both sides agreed to continue the close cooperation in the near future on various country operation areas, specifically on security and infrastructure topics. Further meetings between the Russia 2018 and the SC have also been agreed to take place this year, as both countries continue with their preparations to take the FIFA World Cup™ to new regions for the first time.