Russian city of Kazan will host Australia at World Cup as Operation Socceroo is activated

THE Socceroos will be based in the Russian city of Kazan at the World Cup - a prosperous port city older than Moscow which harbours a thriving economy thanks to large oil reserves.

THE Socceroos will be based in the Russian city of Kazan at the World Cup, with months of planning to be activated in coming days now that Australia has confirmed its place at the World Cup.

Aware of the risks of waiting until qualification was assured before scouting training and hotel bases, Australian officials have been canvassing potential locations since before the confederations Cup in June.

Ange Postecoglou inspected facilities in Kazan, a port city on the River Volga, and contracts are expected to be confirmed over the next few days for a hotel and training base.

Kazan is a city that is older than Moscow, and seen as prosperous and safe thanks to the proceeds of oil reserves. It has a population of some 1.2m.

The Socceroos will take on the world from their base in Kazan.

It is one of the 10 host cities for the World Cup, so it’s conceivable Australia will be drawn to play there as well.

But its communication links with the rest of Russia, as well as its relative proximity to a number of the other host cities, attracted Australian interest.

“We took the opportunity at the Confederations Cup to look at possible bases, and Kazan proved itself to be a good, central location,” FFA CEO David Gallop said.

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“There is the possibility of playing there, depending on the draw, but even without that it’s a very suitable spot.

“Our operational people went there after the Confederations Cup and put in place plans for where we would stay and train, in the event of qualification.”

The immediate priority for Socceroos officials is the draw at which Australia will find out who is in its group.

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic torch rolled through Kazan.

The pots will be drawn on Friday, December 1 at the State Kremlin Palace inside the Kremlin in Moscow.

But beyond that a huge amount of logistical planning is underway, much of it already sketched out.

Negotiations will also begin with state governments over two possible home games in the March and May international windows, with FFA keen to maintain the national team’s visibility after a clutch of home qualifiers.

Gallop confirmed that FFA would be keen to investigate any interest Italy might have in playing here, after their sensational elimination from the World Cup, though he cautioned that such a concept was purely theoretical for now.

“We have been having discussions with our match agents but it’s obviously been very difficult to lock anything down until we had clarity over qualifying.

“We want to maximise the opportunities in terms of state government support with a view that the March and May windows could be important chances to showcase the Socceroos to the country.

“Potentially we’d love to talk to a country like Italy, there’s plenty to be attracted to in such a highly successful and well-supported team as possible opponents.”

Originally published as Russian city of Kazan will host Australia at World Cup as Operation Socceroo is activated