Putin welcomes soccer world to Kremlin for World Cup draw

Vladimir Putin welcomes soccer luminaries to the Kremlin on Friday for a World Cup draw that provides a global audience for the Russian president to attempt to burnish the image of a country scandalized by sports corruption.

By staging the ceremony for the 32 World Cup finalists at the seat of Russian power and draping the Kremlin in FIFA branding, soccer's governing body is undercutting its pretense that sports and politics should not mix — and in a country where the association has proved so damaging.

A girl poses for a photo in front of a clock counting down to the first match of the 2018 World Cup, which is installed on Manezh Square, outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. The Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will take place on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. (AP Photo/Denis Tyrin)

FIFA is on the final countdown to the first World Cup in Russia as it continues to assess the extent the 2014 World Cup squad was embroiled in the country's state-sponsored doping scheme. FIFA President Gianni Infantino still plans to share a stage Friday with Vitaly Mutko, the Russian deputy prime minister accused of overseeing the elaborate scheme that saw positive samples across Russian sports destroyed or hidden.

Infantino, though, is still trying to rebuild FIFA's image after far-reaching bribery scandals threatened the future of the organization. The draw comes one day short of the seventh anniversary of the World Cup vote from which so many of FIFA's legal travails stemmed.

Russian authorities deny government involvement in doping and the country has weathered FIFA corruption investigations, concerns about hooliganism, racism around games, deaths on World Cup construction sites and a sponsor shortfall to stay on track to host soccer's biggest tournament for the first time.

The view of the Troitskaya Tower and the Troitsky Bridge - the shortest way to the State Kremlin Palace, right, where the Final Draw for the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia will take place on December 1, Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

The draw is the moment fans can start to plan their journeys across Russia, with 11 host cities spread from Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea in the west to Yekaterinburg in the Ural mountains which separate Europe and Asia.

Germany will discover the path to defending the title won in Brazil, while Iceland and Panama will be in the draw for the finals for the first time. Two teams are returning after long absences: Peru hasn't contested the World Cup since 1982 and Egypt is returning for the first time since 1990. But there is no space for four-time champion Italy, two-time reigning Copa America champion Chile, while the United States is missing for the first time since 1986.

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Russian police officers patrol the Manezh Square at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. The Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia will take place on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. (AP Photo/Denis Tyrin)

HOW DOES THE DRAW WORK?

The draw ceremony starts at 1500 GMT on Friday at the State Kremlin Palace and is set to last for an hour. The 32 finalists will be split into eight groups featuring a team from each pot. Only Europe can have two teams in the same group.

The draw will be presided over by former England striker Gary Lineker, who has previously called for FIFA to be disbanded over bribery scandals and questioned Russia's legitimacy to host the World Cup over the doping across sports.

Greats from the eight World Cup-winning nations will serve as draw assistants: Diego Maradona (Argentina), Gordon Banks (England), Laurent Blanc (France), Cafu (Brazil), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Carles Puyol (Spain), and Nikita Simonyan for host Russia.

Russian sports journalist Maria Komandnaya is the co-presenter.

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Children pass signs with the logo of the 2018 FIFA World Cup near the Kremlin where the Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will take place on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Denis Tyrin)

WHO IS IN EACH POT?

FIFA changed how it allocates teams in the draw and now uses rankings alone for all four pots. At previous World Cups, only Pot 1 was for seeded teams, and the other three pots were decided by a geographical spread.

October FIFA ranking in brackets:

Pot 1: Russia (65), Germany (1), Brazil (2), Portugal (3), Argentina (4), Belgium (5), Poland (6), France (7).

Pot 2: Spain (8), Peru (10), Switzerland (11), England (12), Colombia (13), Mexico (16), Uruguay (17), Croatia (18).

Pot 3: Denmark (19), Iceland (21), Costa Rica (22), Sweden (25), Tunisia (28), Egypt (30), Senegal (32), Iran (34).

Pot 4: Serbia (38), Nigeria (41), Australia (43), Japan (44), Morocco (48), Panama (49), South Korea (62), Saudi Arabia (63).

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A Russian police officer guards near the Kremlin where the Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will take place on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Denis Tyrin)

WHEN IS THE WORLD CUP?

Russia will play the tournament opener on June 14, 2018. The World Cup final will be held on July 15. Both showpiece games are at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Games will also be hosted in St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.

More than 740,000 tickets out of a total of 2.6 million have already been allocated and the next phase of sales starts on Dec. 5 through a ballot.

A signpost directing people to the entrance of the World Cup Final Draw is placed on the Red Square, with the St. Basil cathedral in the background, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. The Final Draw for the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia will take place on December 1 in the concert hall of the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

One of America's greatest soccer players is spending the week in Greece working with kids and reminding everyone that the most important moments in sports don't always end with a group of Champagne-soaked winners holding up a trophy.

Retired Olympian and World Cup star Carli Lloyd is joining onetime U.S. men's great Cobi Jones on the pitch and in communities in Greece as part of a program tailored by the U.S. Embassy in Athens, “Changing the Game: Sports for Inclusion.” One of its missions is to remind kids, and maybe their parents, too, about the core reason we play sports — to learn to lead, include others and be a good teammate.

“What makes it special is that when these kids have a ball at their feet, all the rest of the worries and issues kind of go away,” Lloyd said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I hope that us kind of going around the world and speaking about my journey and what it took, the ups and downs, hopefully that can help, and help others.”

There is some geopolitical messaging involved in this trip, as well.

The Lloyd and Jones journey is part of an effort begun in 2006 by the U.S. State Department, which sends elite American athletes and coaches overseas to participate in its Sports Envoy program. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Lee Satterfield told the AP the U.S. “is elevating sport to the diplomatic platform to engage people all over the world” and support America's broader foreign policy goals.

“We're able to look at sports as a way to connect to key audiences and reach people locally in communities who we might not otherwise be in contact with through regular, traditional diplomacy,” Satterfield said.

The U.S. views Greece as an important partner in an important place — closer than most European allies to Russia, North Korea and some other parts of Asia where democracy is either nonexistent or imperiled. Refugees from Ukraine, Northern Africa and other parts of Europe come to Greece; some of Lloyd's visits this week will be with children from the northern part of Africa.

It could take an entire plane flight from the U.S. to Athens to get through the 41-year-old Lloyd's resume. In short, she is a two-time FIFA player of the year who has played in more games in the World Cup and Olympics (47) than any other American on the U.S. women's national team.

She also has been overlooked — both when she was a kid without a soccer net in her backyard and had to prove she could play with the best, and then later as a seasoned veteran when, for instance, at age 27 she found herself in her garage “crying my eyes out, feeling like I was a failure," as she wrote on her website.

Turns out, she was just getting started. About five years after that, she scored three goals in the first 17 minutes to lead the U.S. to a win over Japan in the final of the 2015 World Cup. She played in two more Olympics and one more World Cup after that. Since hanging up the cleats, she has worked as an analyst on Fox's soccer coverage.

This week, it's a different role.

Lloyd will be talking to children — some from Greece, others refugees, still others who have physical and intellectual disabilities — on a number of topics, including gender equity, mental health, nutrition and how we all can learn from wins and from losses, both on and off the field. Embedded in all the conversations will be Lloyd's own experience with overcoming obstacles.

“It makes you reflect on where you live and where you come from and the opportunities you’ve had," Lloyd said of her travels across the globe over a career that spanned the better part of 25 years. “It puts things into perspective that there's always going to be room for improvement everywhere. There’s no perfect country or perfect place or perfect person. And so you're always going to strive to become a bit better.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Former US soccer player Carli Lloyd, left, controls the ball as a young migrant tries to stop him during a soccer game at Olympiacos Training Center in Athens, Monday, April 22, 2024. Elite American athletes and coaches, including the former US soccer players Carli Lloyd and Cobi Jones, take part in the 2024 spring roster of U.S. Soccer Sports Envoys organized by the U.S. Department of State. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyd, left, former US soccer player Cobi Jones, second left, US Ambassador to Greece George James Tsunis, center background, pose with young migrants and members of NGOs at Olympiacos Training Center in Athens, Monday, April 22, 2024. Elite American athletes and coaches, including Lloyd and Jones, take part in the 2024 spring roster of U.S. Soccer Sports Envoys organized by the U.S. Department of State. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyd speaks to young migrants at Olympiacos Training Center in Athens, Monday, April 22, 2024. Elite American athletes and coaches, including the former US soccer players Carli Lloyd and Cobi Jones, take part in the 2024 spring roster of U.S. Soccer Sports Envoys organized by the U.S. Department of State. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyd, left, watches Nur a migrant from Somalia as he kicks the ball at Olympiacos Training Center in Athens, Monday, April 22, 2024. Elite American athletes and coaches, including the former US soccer players Carli Lloyd and Cobi Jones, take part in the 2024 spring roster of U.S. Soccer Sports Envoys organized by the U.S. Department of State. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyd speaks to young migrants at Olympiacos Training Center in Athens, Monday, April 22, 2024. Elite American athletes and coaches, including the former US soccer players Carli Lloyd and Cobi Jones, take part in the 2024 spring roster of U.S. Soccer Sports Envoys organized by the U.S. Department of State. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyd watches the training of young migrants at Olympiacos Training Center in Athens, Monday, April 22, 2024. Elite American athletes and coaches, including the former US soccer players Carli Lloyd and Cobi Jones, take part in the 2024 spring roster of U.S. Soccer Sports Envoys organized by the U.S. Department of State. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)