How Even Non-Football Fans Can Talk ‘Cup’


Have you heard?

Fast facts ensure you stay in the game when discussing World Cup.

The world’s largest international football tournament kicked off in Russia last week, and with the 2018 FIFA World Cup offering a month’s worth of “the beautiful game,” the topic is likely to come up in conversation when you are chatting with colleagues and clients at events or by phone across the world.

So here is a guide to ensure even those non-football fans among us are experts:

  • Whilst three stadiums have been refurbished to host the World Cup, nine have been built from scratch. In total the World Cup is being hosted in 12 stadiums across 11 different Russian cities.
  • The host cities are all in western Russia to minimise travel times and stay within fewer time zones.
  • It’s the first World Cup in Europe since Germany 2006.
  • It’s the most expensive World Cup in history and will cost between $11 billion and $14 billion.
  • Several airports have been upgraded across Russia to cope with the influx of fans, teams, and new navigation systems, runways, and communication systems were all fast-tracked for the tournament.
  • Fans should be sure to taste pelmeni — Russia’s famous meat dumplings. However, they probably are not on the training menu of any of the 32 teams competing.
  • Asian sponsors are now responsible for 39 percent of all deals for the 2018 cup, leaving European and other sponsors behind. But overall value has fallen. According to Nielsen Sports research, FIFA sponsor revenue fell from $1,629 million (about £1,220m) at the 2014 Brazil World Cup to $1,450 million (about £1,092m) today.

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