Putin looks for legacy as World Cup journey begins

THE World Cup - the globe's largest sporting event alongside the Summer Olympics - kicks off in Russia on Thursday night in Moscow.

Recently re-elected President Vladimir Putin is determined that the tournament will enhance the nation's international reputation and be part of his eventual political legacy, but key controversies and risks surround the month-long tournament.

As with the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, Mr Putin has overseen massive investment in infrastructure for the World Cup with an estimated US$11 billion spent on stadiums, and upgrades to airports and transit in 11 Russian cities, from the Baltic Sea port of Kaliningrad to Yekaterinburg, east of the Ural Mountains.

This underlines that infrastructure spending is a key priority for Mr Putin's new term of presidential office, and the US$11 billion adds to the estimated US$51 billion spent in Sochi that easily made those Winter Olympics the most expensive winter games in history. As a comparison, that event cost more than three times what London spent on the 2012 Summe…