Putin to meet with outgoing FIFA head Blatter in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, July 22 (UPI) -- President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet with the outgoing head of FIFA, Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, on the sidelines of a preliminary draw of the 2018 World Cup on Saturday.

Russia is slated to host the 2018 World Cup, and representatives of 140 football associations are expected to attend this weekend's event.

Blatter, the 79-year-old Swiss football administrator, has served as the eighth president of FIFA since June 1998, but his reign was persistently dogged by claims of corruption and financial mismanagement.

On June 2, six days after the U.S. government indicted several current and former FIFA officials and sports marketing companies for bribery and money laundering charges, Blatter announced that he would call for elections to choose a new president. He said he would remain in his position until a FIFA Congress could be held for his successor to be elected.

FIFA will vote on Blatter's replacement in February.

Before the U.S. Department of Justice's indictment, the Council of Europe published a report in April 2012, which stated it would be "difficult to imagine" that Blatter would have been unaware of "significant sums" paid to unnamed FIFA officials in connection to with lucrative contracts for World Cup television, reported The Guardian. Saturday's draw is expected to be Blatter's first public appearance outside Switzerland since the officials were arrested.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in January that Russia "fought in an honest manner [for the tournament] and we won. We do not think the decision should be questioned," Putin told journalists on the sidelines of an investment forum in Saint Petersburg, "If anyone has evidence, let them present it. We won in a fair fight and are going to host the World Cup."

The preliminary draw will be held at the Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg.