Dmitry Medvedev: Friends,
I sincerely congratulate you on this outstanding victory. Russia has won the bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
I would like to congratulate all Russian fans; you make up an enormous army of millions. I congratulate those who were involved in organising our bid and those who advocated in favour of our interests. Now, all that remains is to prepare for the event.
We need to take preparations seriously (naturally, we will already have experience from hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics [in Sochi], but nevertheless, this is a grand and very serious competition). Everyone who will work on creating sports infrastructure will need to prepare, as will our football players, because as of now, we cannot brag about exceptional performances at past world cups. But since we have won the bid to host the World Cup, this puts a lot of responsibility on our national team.
I am certain that all of our football players will put in their utmost effort to achieve exceptional results in Moscow. This is a truly pleasant event, and I sincerely congratulate everyone. We will be rooting for our team and preparing for the World Cup!