 Hi guys, this is Leslie Saver from the Newsclick studio in New Delhi. The World Cup is on, a rousing start and there have been some amazing goals on the ground and there have been some interesting stuff happening, upsets, good victories. And we have our guy in Russia covering the tournament for us for Newsclick, Siddhant Anis on Ground Zero so to speak and we will be connecting with him now to talk about the initial beats that have been happening in the tournament and how things have been shaping up there. So Siddhant, how are things being the first week in Russia when a big festival is happening? It's been interesting like you said Leslie obviously everyone the whole world is following what's happening on the field in terms of the surprise results that we've seen yesterday's when the Mexico had over Germany was a big one, Iceland getting a point of Argentina all of these things so I mean of course everyone's following what's happening on the field. Russia as a country I suppose I haven't been all over and it's very difficult to speak kind of generically about the country because it's so huge and I mean from Kaliningrad on one end to Ekaterinburg on the other it's like several thousands of kilometers so it's extremely difficult to speak generically but maybe it's taking a while for the country to also kind of warm up to the atmosphere to do football as such but slowly we can see more and more fans are coming to the various Russian cities where their teams are playing so it's a good international flavor to it. Yeah it started off pretty well I'd say and in terms of organization and things like that of course I think the Russians are pretty good at putting mega events together especially something like this which the government right from the top has treated as a major PR kind of exercise to put this face of new Russia forward as it were the infrastructure is in place the cities are very very capable of handling the kinds of crowds that are coming in that are expected for World Cup so overall it's a pretty relaxed vibe here in terms of the football the Portuguese Spain game was fantastic I mean it was billed as one of the big games of the first stage and it lived up to the expectations in every way. Cristiano Ronaldo's staking claim once again I guess in the big debate about who the best player in the world is so I guess starting with a hat trick isn't the worst thing that can happen so he's one nail up as far as that little battle with Messi is concerned. So there like you mentioned Russia the new Russia has a very big stake some very big thing at stake in this tournament because they haven't organized any major event as such in the recent past so but how are the people looking at it I mean do they understand what's at stake what is at stake for them for I mean in other words the normal Russian. It's a complicated question but this is again from my very limited understanding and from what I have gathered from the people that I've met here most Russians don't really care about what's happening outside. Their country is big enough they have enough wealth enough resources enough work enough whatever they need to continue to live their lives in whatever manner they choose to. So as far as what is its stake for Russians is concerned I don't think they think very much is at stake. Some people are pissed off because their money is being spent to host this tournament when they feel that it could be much better utilized for other things for example Russians common Russians working class Russians guys who are like helping me to set up interviews meet people etc acting as my translators here for example. They don't know why the price of diesel keeps going up it's very similar to the conversations that are happening in India if this country is so rich and has such a wealth of national resources etc why do common people have to spend more and more on items that they require as necessities why are salaries of teachers for example much lower than salaries for government employees working in public sector gas companies. So these are the kind of conversations that Russians are interested in having not not so much about about the World Cup. Yeah they do feel that having so many foreign journalists and foreign tourists coming to their country is a good thing because it's an opportunity to maybe get rid of some of the stereotypical constructs of Russian society that that exists in sort of popular discourse based on what we read from largely a western media perspective so that is something that Russians are interested in changing they don't really care I mean they are happy for you to continue to believe that you know they are bears all over the country and everyone just sits around drinking vodka all day but if any positive is to be taken out of this entire carnival it is that people really get a chance to meet real Russians and have some real conversations and get to know the country a little bit more holistically or more I don't know in more real terms. Talking about real Russians and talking about the action on the pitch opening there was quite a thing for Russia I'm sure a lot of real Russians turned I mean 11 real Russians turned up on the ground for them what was the reaction among fans after that great start to the tournament for their home team yeah I think they needed it they needed to announce what Russia has had a bad run of form in terms of the national team's results over the past well quite some time particularly even in the World Cup so they needed a sort of statement victory and they were lucky to get perhaps the weakest team in the entire tournament as their first opposition so things worked out that way it was also interesting to see that little photograph that I think by now everyone would have seen of Putin the Saudi made and Mr. Infantino in the middle as the Patrons of world football as but not so much in Riyadh I guess because there were news doing the rounds that Saudi players would be penalized they even in fact marked three four players in the in the mix saying that they would be penalized for the big loss but that's unfair when you look at it as sports journalists when we cover events we know what it takes for the players to perform at that high level and one team wins one team loses sometimes I was taken back to the big loss Brazil suffered by the hands of Germany in the last World Cup and imagine Brazilian government punishing five of its players for instance so any discussion on that that happened from the Saudi fans or someone you met or from the players or coaches it seemed that the Saudi fans that traveled to watch the game were of upper middle class or maybe rich sort of the economic strata they so they were staying in a lot of them was staying it was sort of organized to us they were staying in the bigger hotels in Moscow they went on dedicated buses from these hotels to the stadium and back so there were not I mean hundreds of Saudis out on the streets partying with the general population as well so I don't know what exactly they felt about it but the few that I did speak to at the stadium itself after the match didn't seem at all disappointed or kind of distraught at their teams performance they're just happy to be a part of the World Cup so what I this is a theory that I have mulled and spoken about with others as well that 2002 was an aberration in a way because it was hosted in what do you think about that and post that in the next 16 years or so things look backwards and forward for Asian teams anyways to the course of the tournament I guess that kind of discussion will we'll have how the Asian teams are faring and hopefully one of those teams might reach the quarters and may go forward as well hopefully yeah it stops being a footballing discussion very quickly because a lot of this has to do with sort of international labour laws and shit like that sorry stuff like that because unless Asian players have the opportunity to play in the best leagues in the world for example the Korean guy plays at Spurs or some players do manage to get out but unless large numbers of Asian players are able to play in these top leagues the standard of Asian football cannot go up all of us I mean we watched the UEFA Champions League I think even though we are I am a football journalist I pay very little attention to the Asian Champions League so almost no consequence to my life which is a bit I mean it's sort of a chicken egg cycle that perpetuates itself so maybe with the money that's coming into the game and like the Chinese league attracting all these players some players like even the Indians who believe for example is attracting slightly better more skilled more experienced or more talented foreign players over time maybe in 10 years 15 years 20 years by the time India qualifies for World Cup in 2030 or 2034 whenever it happens by then maybe Asian league competitions Asian club competitions will be better and and therefore the national teams will be better but given the current environment with the Europeans the job market being the way it is I don't see the progress being very rapid you mentioned about players making it to bigger leagues so that they do improve the standard and reach up there so Africa has benefited from that I believe so again you can immediate comparison should be made with Africa I feel rather than Europe or South America so what do you think about the African standards that have from the 90s I guess it has improved drastically and whereas Asia stand compared to Africa as of now anyway what I am trying to say is that the the leagues or the setup or the money flowing in in Asian football is much higher than what it is in Africa but still disparity is there true again in Africa I don't know so if you look at this tournament the majority of the African teams that are there are North African teams Tunisia Morocco Egypt these countries are economically well off their domestic leagues are strong the the infrastructure is strong Morocco was in the running for was among the final two bids for the 2026 World Cup which was decided a couple of days ago the day before the tournament started in fact and it's unfortunate that the direction in which international football is going is everything is getting bigger and bigger and it's it is impossible for a country like Morocco to perhaps host 48 international teams because it then means not just stadium where the matches happen but training bases for 48 teams now where is the country of the size of Morocco going to create world-class training facilities for 48 international teams to come and live and train and do all of the drama that goes with being a World Cup squad you know it's a there's a lot of like drama and nonsense that also happens in in these big situations so yeah I don't in terms of quality and and sort of Africa benefits in the sense that many European nations managed to swipe away a lot of their best talent because of historical colonial ties etc etc it's a little bit easier for our language even so it's for example maybe easier for an Algerian footballer to move to France and benefit from the club and training structure in France that it would be for someone from Korea maybe or India for example you mentioned earlier that Russia Russians are more keen on the PR that they are going to get out of this tournament that real Russia would be brought out that they are not a more country celebrating life as such but I'm sure they know how to celebrate life but then the predominant media in the world the English media have been going going around talking about hooliganism and how the English fans are staying away not not because the they're afraid that the side might do badly but because they're afraid of the Russian hooligans and they have a history of rivalry fights rather so being on on the ground there what do you perceive about the Russian fans and what do you feel the scene is as far as safety of the fans are concerned the visiting fans the away fans it's extremely safe the security measures that are in place for the world up and it's actually it's quite an interesting question because there's a lot of police that you can do whatever you want like we talk about freedom etc etc but unlike if you go to for example a public event in Delhi right there will be some dilly police guy constantly fingering here the cops are there but they're there to observe and only interfere or get involved intervene when there's an issue when some problem happens right otherwise they are happy to stand around and watch and do their jobs and finish their shift and go back home so so the so it's that way and people are in general I think over the years whether it's because of how things were during communist times in Russia so great Russia or or just a general cultural thing people are quite there's a high level of self discipline so like people will not chuck things I mean even if you smoke a cigarette the guy will put it out and then find a bit to put the button you know that that kind of self motivation is existing here so so I think fans are again it's not a blanket statement because in England fans I cannot vouch for because they like you said who thinks who's the bigger dog in the fight that scene is there for sure but I find it extremely hard to imagine the kind of scenes that that I saw in Marseille for example two years ago I don't think anything like that is going to happen here it's just they'll shut it down way before it gets to to that stage and the other the other thing that has been talked about consistently is the safety of LGBT fans and for example they I think England gay fans traveling to support the English team have been told not to display their sexuality in public etc etc if you're traveling to Russia to watch the games you should take the same precautions that you would while you were traveling to when you if you were traveling to a big event anywhere in the world to find this discussion today I would like to get into another pertinent point that has been discussed I mean right before the tournament and now it's just started I believe we are so you were there at the stands when the first we are decision was made the World Cup so your take on that plus generally what what have you been hearing about the technology and how it's been implemented at the World Cup at the post-match press conference one of the French journalists asked the D.A. Deschamps the France coach is this question he said BAR and goal line technology right because the second goal was verified by the goal line technology so would he consider this a 21st century victory the coach didn't really answer the question but I but I think the question itself sums up the direction in which football is heading so you cannot deny I mean if every other sport is adopting technology in different ways there is no way that football can be outside of that conversation how it happened the first thing was a bit bizarre firstly they are showing it on the big screens at the stadium so when the process is going on fans are involved in it it's not that some guy goes to a room in the corner or is having a conversation on the microphone with some other guy at some other room but the ref goes to the side to look at the screen and at the same time they show it on the big screen so that people inside the stadium can see what's going on how it went down in this particular incident I thought was a bit strange because a decision was taken and then play was brought back so it brings into question all the subjective elements of the use of technology which is an unending debate with no answers so so there is this point that brings to the fore the entire debate you mentioned our referees look at it and referee at a moment of self-doubt in a way so does it dent the confidence of the referee because he knows that he would be under scrutiny and he would be I mean there would referee in tradition is the ultimate voice on the football page he decides and that's it right and now there is something which would supersede him so is he insecure no I don't think so I don't think so I think that most referees I mean the refs that I have spoken to at least looking at it as an essential part of their job going forward and the quicker they are to understand how this technology works and how it can be utilized and how it translates into real situations on the pitch the better they will do as referees so I don't think that that there is that but yeah I mean it's like if you compare it to cricket right then there was a time when these third umpire decisions were rare you know I would now everything is referred every runout every every wicket they check if there is overstepping I mean the natural tendency to maybe not maybe a ref can all over an umpire in in cricket can be like okay yeah the tv replay why do I need to be on the ball all the time so I believe that is happening and the quality of umpiring probably I mean they were legendary umpires in cricket and now not anymore I would say but yeah that brings us let's get back to football and what is the endearing image of week one of the World Cup I think because it's early in the tournament everything has not become so critical and so serious in terms of the football yet so we've had those of us who are here have had the time and I mean I'm not all of us but some of us have had the time to get to meet some Russian people and build some relationships and to me like the warmth and hospitality of the people here is the enduring image of not only week one but it's likely to be of the whole tournament unless my my team wins it uh merit is really hashtag but that that that's what I mean like it's really remarkable the kind of um like it's a European country but the people are very much eastern in their philosophy in their hospitality and in their general way of being it's early days in the World Cup it's just been not even a week almost a week so by the time we catch up with Siddhant who would be going to other cities catching up some great action there there would be a clarity on who would get out of the group who would have made it who would not have questions would be answered like will Germany after the disappointment will they make it and I will England fair so all these things would be answered by the time we catch up with Siddhan next time and so till then have fun Siddhan keep meeting people find out more about Russia for us