* The FIFA World Cup is the most - widely watched sporting event in the world and over three billion people are expected to watch this year’s tournament held in Russia.
* The final on 15 July will be played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow which has a capacity of 81, 000. The Luzhniki Stadium was chosen because it can hold almost double the amount of spectators that Moscow’s second biggest stadium, the Otkrytie Arena, can (44, 000).
* The mascot for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is a wolf called Zabivaka whose name means “goalscorer” in Russian. Zabivaka won a national competition where Russians were given the opportunity to vote for the official mascot of the tournament. Over one million people voted and Zabivaka won 52. 8% of the vote against its opponents, a tiger and a cat. Tomsk State University student, Ekaterina Bocharova is the designer behind the mascot.
* It won’t come as much of a surprise that Brazil has overtaken Spain as the most expensive squad (worth an eye - watering €671. 5 million or AU $1 billion) at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The average age of their top - five most valuable players, which include superstars Neymar and Philippe Coutinho, is just 24.
* 13, 000 people have been involved in the construction and renovation of 10 stadiums for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Construction associated with the tournament has created 100, 000 jobs for local people.
* And finally, it’s been reported that 66, 000 Iceland fans requested tickets to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, meaning that 20% of the entire population wanted to come to Russia. For a country with only 330, 000 inhabitants, Iceland is the smallest nation to ever qualify and the team’s coach, Heimar Hallgrimson, famously combines managing the national team with running his own dental surgery.
Surprised? Well, don’t be! FIFA is full of it and by the time the tournament ends, there’ll be more surprising news that would either leave your mouth open and make you wonder about the magnanimity of the event. Enjoy the game!
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