The Russian government said on Wednesday that locusts could ruin football pitches in FIFA World Cup 2018 stadiums this summer.
This is the first time that Russia has ever hosted a World Cup, and all eyes will be on the country to ensure they get things right but on and off the pitch.
Matches will be played in 12 stadiums in 11 cities. Pyotr Chekmarev, head of the agriculture ministry’s crop farming department, said the pitches could be targeted by locusts during the summer months.
“One way or another, we have learnt how to deal with locusts, but how do we not fall into a global scandal with locusts this year?” he said at an agricultural event in Moscow.
Chekmarev said around a million hectares of land in southern Russia was infested with locusts, including around the World Cup host city of Volgograd.
“The whole world is coming here. Football fields are green. Locusts love it where there is lots of green. How would they not come to the place where football is being played?”
President Vladimir Putin is hoping to use the the World Cup from 14 June to 15 July to showcase his country as a superpower at a time of frayed relations with the west over Syria and Ukraine.
The system has come under scrutiny this season, with delays in decision-making in particular causing frustration.>Juthy Saha
>Juthy Saha
Russia Fears Locusts could Destroy World Cup Stadiums
