• Fifa president to meet with Vladimir Putin • Blatter confirmed he will be attending to Russia’s sports minister

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, will attend the 2018 World Cup’s preliminary draw in St Petersburg on 25 July, Russia’s Sports Minister, Vitaly Mutko, was quoted as saying on Thursday.

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“Sepp will be coming. He confirmed this to me yesterday. He will also meet with the president of Russia,” Mutko said in an interview with the newspaper Sport Express.

Blatter, 79, said on 2 June he would step down from his post after American and Swiss authorities widened their investigations into bribery and corruption at world football’s governing body. Blatter has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Swiss authorities are also investigating the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.