2018 FIFA World Сup – First Time in Russia

2018 FIFA World Cup

The International Football Association, FIFA, is the main football organization, the biggest international managing authority for football, futsal and beach football. Under the auspices of FIFA all football tournaments of the world scale are held, including the FIFA World Cup™, similar tournament among women, youth and junior tournaments, the Confederations Cup and the Club World Cup.

FIFA World Cup™ is one of the most important and uniting the planet sport events, the festival of big football which is looked forward by millions of football fans from all over the world.

In 2018 FIFA holds the 21st FIFA World Cup, the final part of which is for the first time hosted by Russia from June 14 till July 15, 2018. Also, for the first time the Mundial will take place in two parts of the world – Europe and Asia. The World Cup is planned to be held in 12 stadiums in 11 cities of our country.

The cities hosting the Cup games are: Moscow, Kaliningrad, Saint-Petersburg, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhniy Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Ekaterinburg.

In each of these cities, within the framework of preparations for the Cup, the stadiums are either constructed anew or reconstructed. The best venues of the hosting cities hold the 2018 FIFA Fan Fests, which gather tens of thousands of fans and football lovers from all over the planet.

The Cup’s program includes 64 games between leading football national teams of the world. About the participating countries and the games schedule you can learn here.

Official Mascot

This is a nice and smiling Zabivaka Wolf, which is the official mascot of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia™.

Zabivaka has a winner’s spirit and nature. He won our hearts having confidently taken the first place in the Internet voting for the choice of the Cup’s Mascot, where over a million football fans took part.

Zabivaka fulfills the most important task – he is not just a symbol, but takes an active part in preparation and holding of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia™, tells about the coming tournaments, meets with teams and fans in the stadiums, and he is even the Ambassador, representing Russia at the Cup.

In the program of the FIFA Fan Fest™ in Volgograd a special day will be dedicated to Zabivaka – June 18, 2018. During this day the Fest guests will have a chance to get acquainted with the charming wolf-mascot in person and take a commemorative picture.