The latest instalment of world’s premier soccer tournament, the
2018 FIFA World Cup™ in Russia, is less than 100 days away. The tournament is being hosted by Russia and will feature World Cup favourites Germany, Brazil and France. To get you in the mood for this celebration of soccer, I’ve compiled five of my favourite 2018 facts. Enjoy!
A FIFA World Cup™ First
The 2018 FIFA World Cup™ was awarded to hosts Russia on 2 December 2010. In the tournament’s 88-year history, it has never been held in Russia. Despite the region’s size, population and enthusiastic fan base, neither Russia (until now) nor any Eastern European country have ever won the right to host the World Cup.
In contrast, the tournament has been held in France, Brazil and Germany twice while America’s have won the right to host the FIFA World Cup™ eight times.
32 Teams Ready to Compete
Russia will kick off the 2018 World Cup™ against Saudi Arabia on 14 June at Luzhniki Stadium in the country’s capital, Moscow.
The tournament will feature 32 international teams competing for the cup. Along with Russia, 13 national teams have qualified from FIFA’s European zone. In addition, the tournament will feature five teams each from the Africa, Asia and South America zones. The final three teams to qualify for the 2018 World Cup are from the Caribbean and North and Central America zone.
The Wolf Zabivaka™ Mascot Designer
Image Source: fifa.com
The official 2018 World Cup™ mascot is a wolf character called Zabivaka™, meaning “the one who scores” in Russian. The character was created by Ekaterina Bocharova, a 21-year-old design student. Bocharova’s design was part of an online design competition. Her Wolf design received an impressive 53 percent of the vote, with the Tiger and Cat characters receiving 27% and 20% of the vote respectively.
Russia’s Largest and Smallest Stadiums
The
Luzhniki Stadium (pic) in Moscow is the eighteenth largest stadium in the world with capacity for 81,006. The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Spain only narrowly outdoes Russia’s premier stadium with just 38 seats more.
The smallest stadium to be used in the 2018 World Cup is the Kaliningrad Stadium in Kaliningrad. The venue has the capacity for just 35,212 and is an astonishing 1,000 kilometres from its big brother in Moscow. To put that into context, the two stadiums are the same distance from each other as Kampala and Mombasa.
Bet on the Europeans
European nations have long since dominated the FIFA World Cup™. In fact, counties from FIFA’s European zone account for five of the eight countries to ever have won a World Cup. In total, European countries have secured 11 World Cups with Germany and Italy winning four apiece. Germany is also the World Cup’s most recent winners, beating Argentina in the final of the 2014 World Cup™.
South American teams are also extremely successful at World Cup competitions winning the remaining nine of the 20 World Cups ever played. The continent also features the World Cup’s most successful team, Brazil. The country has secured five World Cup victories in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.
Whether you are supporting Europeans, Africans or South Americas, make sure to place your bets on a
secure online soccer betting site like
Betway Uganda!
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The Stadiums of Russia 2018
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