Russia’s sports minister Vitaly Mutko was elected head of the Russian Football Union on Wednesday, the union said, as the country gears up to host the World Cup in 2018.
Mutko, who was the only registered candidate, previously held the position from mid 2005 to late 2009, during which time CSKA Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg won the UEFA Cup.
Mutko has been the minister of sports, tourism and youth policy since mid 2008.
Russia plans to spend about 10 billion euros in total on the World Cup, including building or upgrading a dozen stadiums across 11 major cities.