Russia's 2018 World Cup bid dealt blow by Fifa report
Fifa will decide on the location of the 2018 World Cup on 2 December
By David Bond
BBC sports editor in Zurich
Fifa's full evaluation report on the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids has dealt a blow to England's rivals Russia.
A leaked executive summary of the document graded the three main 2018 contenders - Russia, England as well as Spain and Portugal as low risk.
But the full report, seen by the BBC, also rates operational risk, with Russia rated as medium above England's and Spain and Portugal's low grading.
That mark is detailed in 15 categories, with Russia rated medium in four.
England and Spain and Portugal are graded medium in two of those sections.
Russia is considered a higher operational risk due to the high risk grading it receives for its airports and international connections.
WORLD CUP BID REPORTS
ENGLAND BID Good points: Transport, stadia, IT, security, marketing, legacy Bad points: Too few venue-specific training sites or venue-specific team hotels, too few training base camp hotels
SPAIN/PORTUGAL BID Good points: Stadia, transport, hotels, legacy Bad points: Lack of clear security plan, co-hosting "a challenge"
RUSSIA BID Good points: 13 planned new stadia, hotels, legacy Bad points: Huge transport challenge and major building programme needed
NETHERLANDS/BELGIUM BID Good points: Stadia, legacy Bad points: Too few hotel rooms, co-hosting "a challenge", lack of government guarantees
The full report is also a blow to 2022 bidder Qatar, which receives a high risk rating in the overall operational assessment. This is due to a high risk assessment on the country's team facilities and seven medium risk gradings in other operational areas.
The executive summary
, which was officially published by Fifa on Wednesday but leaked to the BBC on Tuesday, highlighted concerns over the heat in Qatar during June and July, when the tournament would be staged.
Fifa's decision not to release the full report has been criticised privately by some of the bidders who feel it has caused confusion and added to claims that the process is not sufficiently transparent.
But it is understood Fifa is now considering publishing the report in full following a meeting of the executive committee on Friday in Zurich.
England's bid leaders will take great heart from Fifa's full report which they hope will help persuade the world governing body's executive committee to back them in the vote on 2 December which will decide who will host the 2018 and 2022 competitions.
But the outcome of a Fifa ethics inquiry into claims that Spain and Portugal and Qatar were part of a voting alliance could have even more impact.
Even if no hard evidence of collusion is found by the ethics committee when it reports on Thursday, Fifa may decide to delay the vote for 2022 to avoid any lingering suspicions over the bid process.
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