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FA making plans to allay concerns of players' families heading to Russia

The FA are very mindful of the importance of keeping the players’ families safe

Jack Pitt-Brooke
Thursday 22 March 2018 16:11 GMT
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Players' families will be based in St Petersburg during the tournament
Players' families will be based in St Petersburg during the tournament

The Football Association are planning to station the families of England players in St Petersburg during this summer’s 2018 World Cup, as they try to allay their fears over safety and security.

The Independent has learned that the parents of one England player are now extremely reluctant to travel to see their son play at the World Cup, and growing tensions between Russia and the UK have made security a pressing issue for the England camp.

The FA are very mindful of the importance of keeping the players’ families safe and have been working with their travel agent, Gullivers Sports Travel, to find a secure solution. Their current plan is for the families of all England players and staff to stay in St Petersburg, which is 30 minutes by train or car from Repino, the spa town, near the Finnish border, where the England squad will be based from 12 June onwards.

When England players and staff have time off during the World Cup, the expectation is that they will travel to St Petersburg to spend time with their families. This is because England’s team hotel in Repino is an official Fifa venue which means that anyone attending it must have official Fifa World Cup accreditation. It would therefore be easier for the England squad to travel to St Petersburg rather than the families leaving St Petersburg to come to Repino.

But the FA will continue to listen to security advice and liaise with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as they finalise their plans before departing.

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