Vladikavkaz is one of the cities bidding to to host the Euro-2012 qualifier between Russia and Armenia, the president of the Russian Football Union, Sergei Fursenko, stated. "Our task is to promote football in the regions. I think that the national team should play not only at the capital's stadiums. Moscow is satiated with big football, in the regions international games are more desired. It would be a real celebration for the fans. Ossetia is rich in talent, many Ossetians have played in the national team, I am sure that there will be only more of them".
So far apart from Moscow and St Petersburg only Tula has a hosted the national team. In 1999 Tula hosted a game between Russia and Belarus. In 2003 the game between Russia and Georgia was supposed to be held in the capital of Ossetia, but in the end it was also played in Moscow.
The game between Russia and Armenia will take place on the 4th of June, 2011. According to UEFA rules, Russia has to announce the venue 2 months earlier, in this case by the 4th of April. There is no doubt that Vladikavkaz is able to host games of any level. Some time ago European club matches were played in the capital of Ossetia. However the question of security is very important when talking about games in Vladikavkaz. Even if the Football Federation of Armenia agrees to play in Vladikavkaz, UEFA might not give permission. European football officers do not like taking risks. For example we can take the scrapping of the game between Anzhi Makhachkala and Glasgow Rangers. Commenting on the decision the executive director of the UEFA Gerhard Eigner said: "UEFA respects all teams and countries participating in our competitions. Our task is to keep to the rules. At the same time we have to ensure the security for the participants of the tournaments. During the process we consulted with independent sides, paid attention to the development of the situation, and contacted those who were worried. Our attitude was approved by the Sports court of arbitration. We have to do everything possible to prevent a precedent. In this case the balance changed during last day and we think that replacing the game suits interests of both teams and competitions in general". We should admit that in this case the Scottish team did everything possible not to go to Makhachkala, and the UEFA officers aided them.Georgy Saralidze. Exclusively for VK.
