The constantly confrontational Betfair Contrarian has been busy arguing against the odds again over on Betting@Betfair. He’s eager to exploit the patriotic punting on England hosting the 2018 World Cup by backing Russia at 2.52 (in from 3.4 yesterday). Here are his five justifications for the bet…

Every rival bid has clear flaws
Russia’s competition is provided by USA, England and joint Holland/Belgium and Portugal/Spain bids. 2014 will mark the first time that two World Cups have taken place away from Europe, so sadly for USA, it’s almost certain to return in 2018. Joint-bids are out of fashion once more – Japan and South Korea in 2002 were the only ever co-hosts – while England’s whole campaign has been a shambles.

FIFA will likely opt for a first-time host
The recent FIFA trend has been to choose a fresh host every eight years. So in 1986, 1994, 2002 and 2010, the exciting new options of Colombia (who later resigned), USA, Japan and South Korea and South Africa were taken, with the others going to nations who had staged it before.

Russia is the fresh but safe option
By choosing Russia, FIFA can take the World Cup somewhere new without to deal with any “will they be ready in time?” drama. They already have eight 30,000-plus capacity stadiums, and billionaires like Roman Abramovich will probably step in if needed, as occurred with Guus Hiddink’s wages.

It would reward their domestic growth
As recently as 2004, the Russian Premier League was ranked the 21st best in Europe. Now it’s up to sixth, with Spartak Moscow dominance a thing of the past, two UEFA Cup winners in CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg and clubs outside Moscow challenging for the title. It would send out a positive message if Russia were seen to rewarded for the improvement in their domestic game.

Blatter is clearly a fan
Popular FIFA president Sepp Blatter is almost as impressed with the bid as The Contrarian, saying: “I was there recently and what they presented is remarkable. Russia is not a country but a continent and Russia has big plans to expand.”

Bet on who will host the next world cup at Betfair for a £25 Free Bet…..