The 2018 FIFA World Cup is the 21st FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is currently ongoing in Russia starting from 14 June and will end with the final match on 15 July 2018. The country was awarded the hosting rights on 2 December 2010.
This is the first World Cup to be held in Eastern Europe, and the eleventh time that it has been held in Europe. For the first time the tournament takes place on two continents - Europe and Asia. All of the stadium venues are in or just near European Russia to keep travel time manageable. At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion, it is the most expensive World Cup ever.
The final tournament involves 32 national teams, which include 31 teams determined through qualifying competitions and the automatically qualified host team. Of the 32 teams, 20 make back-to-back appearances following the last tournament in 2014, including defending champions Germany, while both Iceland and Panama make their first appearances at a FIFA World Cup. A total of 64 matches will be played in 12 venues located in 11 cities. The final will take place on 15 July at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
The winners of the World Cup will qualify for the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Video 2018 FIFA World Cup
Host selection
The bidding procedure to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments began in January 2009, and national associations had until 2 February 2009 to register their interest. Initially, nine countries placed bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but Mexico later withdrew from proceedings, and Indonesia's bid was rejected by FIFA in February 2010 after the Indonesian government failed to submit a letter to support the bid. During the bidding process, the three remaining non-UEFA nations (Australia, Japan, and the United States) gradually withdrew from the 2018 bids, and the UEFA nations were thus ruled out of the 2022 bid. As such, there were eventually four bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, two of which were joint bids: England, Russia, Netherlands/Belgium, and Portugal/Spain.
The 22-member FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zürich on 2 December 2010 to vote to select the hosts of both tournaments. Russia won the right to be the 2018 host in the second round of voting. The Portugal/Spain bid came second, and that from Belgium/Netherlands third. England, which was bidding to host its second tournament, was eliminated in the first round.
The voting results were as follows:
The process was not without criticism. Allegations of bribery on the part of the Russian team and corruption from FIFA members were made particularly by the English Football Association. It was alleged that four members of the executive committee had requested bribes to vote for England, and Sepp Blatter said that it had already been arranged before the vote that Russia would win. The 2014 Garcia Report, an internal investigation led by Michael J. Garcia, was withheld from public release by Hans-Joachim Eckert, FIFA's head of adjudication on ethical matters. Eckert instead released a shorter revised summary, and his (and therefore FIFA's) reluctance to publish the full report caused Garcia to resign in protest. Due to such controversy, the FA refused to accept Eckert's absolving of Russia from blame, with Greg Dyke calling for a re-examination of the affair and David Bernstein calling for a boycott of the World Cup.
Maps 2018 FIFA World Cup
Teams
Qualification
For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, all eligible nations - the 209 FIFA member associations minus automatically qualified hosts Russia - applied to enter the qualifying process. Zimbabwe and Indonesia were later disqualified before playing their first matches, while Gibraltar and Kosovo, who joined FIFA on 13 May 2016 after the qualifying draw but before European qualifying had begun, also entered the competition. Places in the tournament were allocated to continental confederations, with the allocation unchanged from the 2014 World Cup. The first qualification game began in Dili, Timor Leste, on 12 March 2015 as part of the AFC's qualification, and the main qualifying draw took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg on 25 July 2015 at 18:00 local time (UTC+3).
Of the 32 nations qualified to play at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 20 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2014. Both Iceland and Panama qualified for the first time, with the former becoming the smallest country in terms of population to reach the World Cup. Other teams returning after absences of at least three tournaments include: Egypt, returning to the finals after their last appearance in 1990; Morocco, who last competed in 1998; Peru, returning after 1982; and Senegal, competing for the second time after reaching the quarter-finals in 2002. It is the first time three Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland and Sweden) and four Arab nations (Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia) have qualified for the World Cup.
Notable countries that failed to qualify include four-time champions Italy (for the first time since 1958) and three-time runners-up the Netherlands (for the first time since 2002), and four reigning continental champions: 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon, two-time Copa América champions and 2017 Confederations Cup runners-up Chile, 2016 OFC Nations Cup winners New Zealand, and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup champions United States (for the first time since 1986). The other notable qualifying streaks broken were for Ghana and Ivory Coast, who had both made the previous three tournaments.
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the FIFA World Rankings at the time of the tournament.
Draw
The draw was held on 1 December 2017 at 18:00 MSK at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. The 32 teams were drawn into 8 groups of 4, by selecting one team from each of the 4 ranked pots.
For the draw, the teams were allocated to four pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of October 2017. Pot 1 contained the hosts Russia (who were automatically assigned to position A1) and the best seven teams, pot 2 contained the next best eight teams, and so on for pots 3 and 4. This was different from previous draws, when only pot 1 was based on FIFA rankings while the remaining pots were based on geographical considerations. However, teams from the same confederation still were not drawn against each other for the group stage, except that two UEFA teams could be in each group.
Squads
Each team had to name a preliminary squad of 35 players. From the preliminary squad, the team had to name a final squad of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by 4 June. Players in the final squad may be replaced due to serious injury up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team's first match and such replacements do not need to have been named in the preliminary squad.
For players named in the 35-player preliminary squad, there was a mandatory rest period between 21 and 27 May 2018, except for those involved in the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final played on 26 May.
Initially the preliminary squads were to have 30 players but, in February 2018, it was announced that the number of players to be named in the provisional squads would be increased to 35.
Referees
On 16 March 2018, the FIFA Council approved the use of video assistant referees (VAR) for the first time in a FIFA World Cup tournament.
On 29 March 2018, FIFA released the list of 36 referees and 63 assistant referees selected to oversee matches. On 30 April 2018, FIFA released the list of 13 video assistant referees, who will solely act as VARs in the tournament. On 30 May 2018, referee Fahad Al-Mirdasi of Saudi Arabia was removed over a match fixing attempt, along with his two assistant referees, compatriots Mohammed Al-Abakry and Abdulah Al-Shalwai. A new referee was not appointed, but two assistant referees, Hasan Al Mahri of the United Arab Emirates and Hiroshi Yamauchi of Japan, were added to the list. Assistant referee Marwa Range of Kenya also withdrew after the BBC released an investigation conducted by a Ghanaian journalist which implicated Marwa in a bribery scandal.
On 15 June 2018, Diego Costa's goal against Portugal became the first World Cup goal based on a VAR decision; the first penalty as a result of a VAR decision was awarded to France in their match against Australia on 16 June and resulted in a goal by Antoine Griezmann.
Venues
Russia proposed the following host cities: Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, and Yekaterinburg. All the cities are in or just outside European Russia to reduce travel time for the teams in the huge country. The bid evaluation report stated: "The Russian bid proposes 13 host cities and 16 stadiums, thus exceeding FIFA's minimum requirement. Three of the 16 stadiums would be renovated, and 13 would be newly constructed."
In October 2011, Russia decreased the number of stadiums from 16 to 14. Construction of the proposed Podolsk stadium in the Moscow region was cancelled by the regional government, and also in the capital, Otkrytiye Arena was competing with Dynamo Stadium over which would be constructed first.
The final choice of host cities was announced on 29 September 2012. The number of cities was further reduced to 11 and number of stadiums to 12 as Krasnodar and Yaroslavl were dropped from the final list. Of the 12 stadiums used for the tournament, 3 (Luzhniki, Yekaterinburg and Sochi) have been extensively renovated and the other 9 stadiums to be used are brand new; $11.8 billion has been spent on hosting the tournament.
Sepp Blatter stated in July 2014 that due to concerns over the completion of venues in Russia, the number of venues for the tournament may be reduced from 12 to 10. He also said, "We are not going to be in a situation, as is the case of one, two or even three stadiums in South Africa, where it is a problem of what you do with these stadiums".
In October 2014, on their first official visit to Russia, FIFA's inspection committee and its head Chris Unger visited St Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan and both Moscow venues. They were satisfied with the progress.
On 8 October 2015, FIFA and the Local Organising Committee agreed on the official names of the stadiums used during the tournament.
Of the twelve venues used, the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and the Saint Petersburg Stadium - the two largest stadiums in Russia - will be used most, both hosting seven matches. Sochi, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara will all host six matches, including one quarter-final match each, while the Otkrytiye Stadium in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don will host five matches, including one round-of-16 match each. Volgograd, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Saransk will all host four matches, but will not host any knockout stage games.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated in February 2018 that he was "very satisfied so far with the progress in Russia. I'm sure we'll have a great World Cup there - not only a great World Cup but the best World Cup ever."
Stadiums
A total of twelve stadiums in eleven Russian cities have been built and renovated for the FIFA World Cup.
- Samara: Samara Arena. The construction officially started on 21 July 2014. The project was completed on 21 April 2018.
- Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. The construction of the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium commenced in 2015. The project was completed in December 2017.
- Volgograd: Volgograd Arena. The main arena of Volgograd was built on the demolished Central Stadium site, at the foot of the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex. The stadium was commissioned on 3 April 2018.
- Ekaterinburg: Ekaterinburg Arena. The Central Stadium of Ekaterinburg has been renovated for the FIFA World Cup. The arena's stands will have a capacity of 35,000 spectators. The renovation project was completed in December 2017.
- Saransk: Mordovia Arena. The stadium in Saransk was scheduled to be commissioned in 2012 in time for the opening of the all-Russian Spartakiad, but the plan was revised. The opening was rescheduled to 2017. The arena hosted its first match on 21 April 2018.
- Rostov-on-Don: Rostov Arena. The stadium is located on the left bank of the Don River. The stadium construction was completed on 22 December 2017.
- Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad Stadium. The first piles were driven into the ground in September 2015. On 11 April 2018 the new stadium hosted its first match.
- Kazan: Kazan Arena. The stadium was built for the 2013 Summer Universiade. It has since hosted the 2015 World Aquatics Championship and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. The stadium serves as a home arena to FC Rubin Kazan.
- Moscow: Spartak Stadium. The stadium is a home arena to its namesake FC Spartak Moscow. In accordance with the FIFA requirements, during the 2018 World Cup it is called Spartak Stadium instead of its usual name Otkritie Arena. The stadium hosted its first match on 5 September 2014.
- Sochi: Fisht Stadium. The stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Afterwards, it was renovated in preparation for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup.
- Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg Stadium. The construction of the stadium commenced in 2007. The project was officially completed on 29 December 2016. The stadium has hosted games of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and will serve as a venue for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship.
- Moscow: Luzhniki Stadium. The largest stadium in the country was closed for renovation in 2013. The stadium was commissioned in November 2017.
Team base camps
Base camps will be used by the 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. On 9 February 2018, FIFA announced the base camps for each participating team.
Preparation and costs
Budget
At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion as of June 2018, it is the most expensive World Cup in history, surpassing the cost of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The Russian government had originally earmarked a budget of around $20 billion which was later slashed to $10 billion for the preparations of the World Cup, of which half is spent on transport infrastructure. As part of the program for preparation to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a federal sub-program "Construction and Renovation of Transport Infrastructure" was implemented with a total budget of 352.5 billion rubles, with 170.3 billion coming from the federal budget, 35.1 billion from regional budgets, and 147.1 billion from investors. The biggest item of federal spending was the aviation infrastructure (117.8 billion rubles). Construction of new hotels was a crucial area of infrastructure development in the World Cup host cities. Costs continued to balloon as preparations were underway.
Infrastructure spending
Platov International Airport in Rostov-on-Don was upgraded with automated air traffic control systems, modern surveillance, navigation, communication, control, and meteorological support systems. Koltsovo Airport in Yekaterinburg was upgraded with radio-engineering tools for flight operation and received its second runway strip. Saransk Airport received a new navigation system; the city also got two new hotels, Mercure Saransk Centre and Four Points by Sheraton Saransk as well as few other smaller accommodation facilities. In Samara, new tram lines were laid. Khrabrovo Airport in Kaliningrad was upgraded with radio navigation and weather equipment. Renovation and upgrade of radio-engineering tools for flight operation was completed in the airports of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Volgograd, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Kazan and Sochi. On 27 March, the Ministry of Construction Industry, Housing and Utilities Sector of Russia reported that all communications within its area of responsibility have been commissioned. The last facility commissioned was a waste treatment station in Volgograd. In Yekaterinburg, where four matches are hosted, hosting costs increased to over 7.4 billion rubles, over-running the 5.6 billion rubles originally allocated from the state and regional budget.
Volunteers
Volunteer applications to the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee opened on 1 June 2016. The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Volunteer Program has set a new record: by 30 December when application period was over, the organisers received about 177,000 applications. The 2018 FIFA World Cup will engage a total of 17,040 volunteers and more than 18,000 city volunteers in the 11 host cities. They received training at 15 Volunteer Centres of the Local Organising Committee based in 15 universities, and in Volunteer Centres in the host cities. Preference, especially in the key areas, is given to those with knowledge of foreign languages and volunteering experience. Volunteers can be nationals of Russia or any other countries.
Transport
Free public transport services are being offered for ticketholders during the World Cup, including additional trains linking between host cities, as well as services such as bus service within them.
Schedule
The full schedule was announced by FIFA on 24 July 2015 (without kick-off times, which were confirmed later). On 1 December 2017, following the final draw, six kick-off times were adjusted by FIFA. Russia was placed in position A1 in the group stage and will play in the opening match at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 14 June against Saudi Arabia, the two lowest ranked teams of the tournament at the time of the final draw. The Luzhniki Stadium will also host the second semi-final on 11 July and the final on 15 July. The Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg will host the first semi-final on 10 July and the third place play-off on 14 July.
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony took place on Thursday, 14 June 2018, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, preceding the opening match of the tournament between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Former Brazilian World Cup winning striker Ronaldo walked out with a child wearing a Russia 2018 shirt. English pop singer Robbie Williams then performed two songs before he and Russian soprano Aida Garifullina performed a duet while other performers emerged, dressed in the flags of all 32 teams and carrying a sign bearing the name of each nation. Dancers were also present.
Ronaldo returned with the official match ball of the 2018 World Cup which was sent into space with the International Space Station crew in March and came back to Earth in early June.
Group stage
Competing countries are divided into eight groups of four teams (groups A to H). Teams in each group play one another in a round-robin basis. A win is awarded 3 points and a tie/draw is awarded 1 point to each team. After matches are completed, the top two teams of each group advance to the first knockout stage (round of 16). All times listed below are local time.
Tiebreakers
The top two teams after the round-robin is completed in each group are determined as follows (regulations Article 32.5):
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time is played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners.
If a match goes into extra time, each team will be allowed to make a fourth substitution, the first time this has been allowed in a FIFA World Cup tournament.
Bracket
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
Final
Statistics
Goalscorers
There have been 45 goals scored in 20 matches, for an average of 2.25 goals per match.
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- 1 own goal
Source: FIFA
Discipline
Colombian Carlos Sánchez was awarded a red card for denying a goal by handling the ball against Japan, and is suspended for the game against Poland.
Prize money
Prize money amounts were announced in October 2017.
Marketing
Branding
The tournament logo was unveiled on 28 October 2014 by cosmonauts at the International Space Station and then projected onto Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre during an evening television programme. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that the logo was inspired by "Russia's rich artistic tradition and its history of bold achievement and innovation", and FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that it reflected the "heart and soul" of the country. For the branding, a typeface called Dusha (from ????, Russian for soul) was created by Portuguese design agency Brandia Central in 2014.
Mascot
The official mascot for the tournament was unveiled 21 October 2016, and selected through a design competition among university students. A public vote was used to select from three finalists--a cat, a tiger, and a wolf. The winner, with 53% of approximately 1 million votes, was Zabivaka--an anthropomorphic wolf dressed in the colors of the Russian national team. Zabivaka's name is derived from the Russian word ????????, "to score", and his official backstory states that he is an aspiring football player who is "charming, confident and social".
Ticketing
The first phase of ticket sales started on 14 September 2017, 12:00 Moscow Time, and lasted until 12 October 2017.
The general visa policy of Russia will not apply to participants and spectators, who will be able to visit Russia without a visa right before and during the competition regardless of their citizenship. Spectators are nonetheless required to register for a "Fan-ID"--a special photo identification pass by visiting the website https://www.fan-id.ru and for an enquiry write to support@fan-id.ru. A Fan-ID is required to enter the country visa-free, while a ticket, Fan-ID and a valid passport are required to enter stadiums for matches. Fan-IDs also grant World Cup attendees free access to public transport services, including buses, and train service between host cities. Fan-ID is administered by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, who may revoke these accreditations at any time to "ensure the defence capability or security of the state or public order".
Match ball
The official match ball of the 2018 World Cup is called "Telstar 18" and is based on the name and design of the first Adidas World Cup ball from 1970. It was introduced on 9 November 2017.
Merchandise
On 30 April 2018, EA announced a free expansion for FIFA 18 based on the 2018 FIFA World Cup, featuring all 32 participating teams and all 12 stadiums used at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Official song
The official song of the tournament is "Live It Up", with vocals from Will Smith, Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi, released on 25 May. The FIFA World Cup Official Music Video was released on 8 June.
Controversies
33 footballers who are alleged to be part of the steroid program are listed in the McLaren Report. On 22 December 2017, it was reported that FIFA fired a doctor who had been investigating doping in Russian football. On 22 May 2018 FIFA confirmed that the investigations concerning all Russian players named for the provisional squad of the FIFA World Cup in Russia had been completed, with the result that insufficient evidence was found to assert an anti-doping rule violation. FIFA also decided to exclude Russians from drug testing procedures at the tournament, to make sure that samples would not be tampered with.
Host selection
The choice of Russia as host has been challenged. Controversial issues have included the level of racism in Russian football, and discrimination against LGBT people in wider Russian society. Russia's involvement in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has also caused calls for the tournament to be moved, particularly following the annexation of Crimea. In 2014, FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated that "the World Cup has been given and voted to Russia and we are going forward with our work".
Allegations of corruption in the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups caused threats from England's FA to boycott the tournament. FIFA appointed Michael J. Garcia, a US attorney, to investigate and produce a report on the corruption allegations. Although the report was never published, FIFA released a 42-page summary of its findings as determined by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert. Eckert's summary cleared Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing, but was denounced by critics as a whitewash. Garcia criticised the summary as being "materially incomplete" with "erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions", and appealed to FIFA's Appeal Committee. The committee declined to hear his appeal, so Garcia resigned in protest of FIFA's conduct, citing a "lack of leadership" and lack of confidence in the independence of Eckert.
On 3 June 2015, the FBI confirmed that the federal authorities were investigating the bidding and awarding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. In an interview published on 7 June 2015, Domenico Scala, the head of FIFA's Audit And Compliance Committee, stated that "should there be evidence that the awards to Qatar and Russia came only because of bought votes, then the awards could be cancelled". Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and former British Prime Minister David Cameron attended a meeting with FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon in which a vote-trading deal for the right to host the 2018 World Cup in England was discussed.
Response to Skripal poisoning
In response to the March 2018 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that no British ministers or members of the royal family would attend the World Cup, and issued a warning to any travelling England fans. Iceland is diplomatically boycotting the World Cup. Russia responded to the comments from the UK Parliament claiming that "the west are trying to deny Russia the World Cup". The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced Boris Johnson's statements who compared the event to the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi Germany as "poisoned with venom of hate, unprofessionalism and boorishness" and "unacceptable and unworthy" parallel towards Russia, a "nation that lost millions of lives in fighting Nazism".
The British Foreign Office and MPs had repeatedly warned English football fans and "people of Asian or Afro-Caribbean descent" travelling to Russia of "racist or homophobic intimidation, hooligan violence and anti-British hostility". England fans who have travelled have said they have received a warm welcome after arriving in Russia.
Broadcasting rights
FIFA, through several companies, sold the broadcasting rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to various local broadcasters.
In the United States, the 2018 World Cup is the first men's World Cup whose English rights will be held by Fox Sports, and Spanish rights held by Telemundo. The elimination of the US national team in qualifying led to concerns that US interest and viewership of this World Cup would be reduced (especially among "casual" viewers interested in the US team), especially noting how much Fox paid for the rights, and that US games at the 2014 World Cup peaked at 16.5 million viewers. During a launch event prior to the elimination, Fox stated that it had planned to place a secondary focus on the Mexican team in its coverage to take advantage of their popularity among US viewers (factoring Hispanic and Latino Americans). Fox stated that it was still committed to broadcasting a significant amount of coverage for the tournament.
In February 2018, Ukrainian rightsholder UA:PBC stated that it would not broadcast the World Cup. This came in the wake of growing boycotts of the tournament among the Football Federation of Ukraine and sports minister Ihor Zhdanov.
Sponsorship
See also
- 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
- FIFA World Cup hosts
Notes
References
External links
- FIFA.com 2018 website
- Welcome2018.com
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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