The Russians are Coming...

The night prior to the CONCACAF Executive Committee meeting in New York, I had the pleasure of being the guest to dinner by the delegation of Russia's Bidding Committee for the World Cups 2018/2022. Their choice was outstanding, the top shelf restaurant L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Four Season's Hotel. Simply superb.

A pleasant surprise was the addition to the original delegation, led by Alexei Sorokin, of the newly elected President of the Russian Football Union, Sergey Fursenko (pictured below the following day during the CONCACAF meeting). The former Gasprom director brings a wealth of corporate management experience to the new Russian Federation. He was also the President of Zenit, St. Petersburg.