At the end of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil, an official handover ceremony will be held to pass the right to hold the next championship to the next hosting country. The World Cup 2018 will be held in Russia. Russian President Putin and representatives of the cities that will host football matches will take part in the ceremony in Brazil.
"President Putin will take part in the ceremony along with the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff. Ceremonial details of the event are being developed with the Brazilian side. The ceremony will happen either in the box of Maracana stadium, immediately after the finals in Rio de Janeiro, or already in the Russian House, which is also located in Rio," a government source told Izvestia.
The final match of the World Football Championship 2014 will be held on July 12 in Rio de Janeiro at the legendary stadium Maracana. After the championship, the right to host the world championship will be passed over to Russia.
"In the Olympic Games, the Olympic flag is passed to the mayor of the city that will host the next Olympics, but matches of the football championship will take place in many cities of Russia, so it is the head of state, who is supposed to take the right to host the FIFA World Cup" the Izvestia newspaper wrote.
Some of the world leaders have visited matches held in Brazil championship. For instance, German Chancellor Angela Merkel eyewitnessed the convincing victory of Germany over Portugal (match ended with 4-0), and then even went into the locker room to congratulate the German players and take pictures with them. US Vice President Joseph Biden attended the game of the USA vs. Ghana.
Putin's visit to Brazil for the final game of the World Cup 2014 will also be timed to the summit of the BRICS states that is to take place in the middle of July in Fortaleza, Brazil. The bloc includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.