Think Football 2018: "Russia is ready to welcome fans for the World Cup" (Fatma Samoura, FIFA)

"Russia is ready to welcome fans for the World Cup, just as (it did) with the 2017 Confederations Cup, which has served as a test that has proven that by March 2018, we will be totally ready," said Fatma Samoura, the FIFA secretary general, at Think Football 2018 at the University of Paris-Dauphine on 01/02/2018.

As the guest of honour at this second edition of Think Football, Fatma Samoura took part in a debate about the next World Cups (Russia 2018, the 2019 Women's World Cup in France) with Brigitte Henriques, deputy vice-president of the FFF, and Erwan Le Prévost, director of the local organising committee for the 2019 Women's World Cup in France, and moderated by Nathalie Iannetta (ex-UEFA).

"The Russian authorities and FIFA take security risks very seriously, and in 2017, at the Confederations Cup, the controls were effective and there were no incidents," said the FIFA secretary general.

"The concept of Fan ID (Fan Identity Card) that the Russians have put in place is a first for a World Cup: it is the equivalent of an accreditation, which exempts a visa. Without Fan ID, it…