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Earlier, the President of Russia presented the FIFA President with the Order of Friendship, a Russian state decoration.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President,

Allow me to welcome you to Russia again and congratulate you on receiving a Russian state decoration.

I would like to thank you for everything you did for the preparation of the FIFA World Cup Russia and the high assessments of our work that you made today.

I know that you also have much work ahead. We are always at your disposal, always ready to be by your side and join the implementation of the plans on developing world football which you described today.

I am sure that with your energy and talent as an organiser you will achieve everything.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino: (In Russian.) Spasibo.

Thank you very much, Mr President.

First of all, thank you again for this wonderful and prestigious award. As I said, I feel an emotion which I cannot express in words. It reminds me, of course, about the years of work towards the World Cup and the World Cup itself. The best World Cup ever. And it is not me saying this; it’s the world saying it. And the fact that this is the Order of Friendship is also very symbolic, because, I said it last year, I repeated it before the World Cup, during the World Cup and after the World Cup: the world has discovered a country of friends in Russia. This sort of friendship will last forever. So the work with the World Cup started some years ago; the World Cup has taken place, but it is just the beginning and not the end of our cooperation. So on behalf of the world of football – and it’s only four or five billion people – (In Russian.) spasibo bolshoye.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

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