It’s looking like the 2018 World Cup is shaping up to be one of the biggest events in sporting history, with Russia, the world’s biggest nation hosting it for the first time in the events 88 year history after being awarded the honour back in 2010. The event is held at 12 stadiums across the nation, including many of the bigger games being held at the massive Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the 16th biggest stadium in the world, hosting an astonishing 81,000 fans. The World Cup began in 1930, with the first match taking place in Uruguay and was won by the host’s team. The event has now run consistently every four years excluding two events in 1942 and 1946 which were cancelled due to the events of World War II.
The 2014 edition of the prestigious game was held in Brazil and saw an estimated 3.2 billion people tune in across the near-month long event held from the 12th of June to the 13th of July 2014, with over 1 million tourists travelling from over 200 different nations to watch the events. This year, 12 locations across the country will play host to the 64 games, including –
- Luzhniki Stadium
- Krestovsky Stadium
- Fisht Olympic Stadium
- Volgograd Arena
- Kazan Arena
- Otkritie Arena
- Rostov Arena
- Cosmos Arena
- Nizhny Novgorod
- Mordovia Arena
- Ekaterinburg Arena
- Kaliningrad Stadium
With last year’s winners and hosts (Germany and Brazil) currently earning the most popular World Cup betting odds in the run up to the event, it’s looking like it could be anyone’s game as countries such as Iceland and Panama make their World Cup debut, having never made it to the event previously. South American nation Peru will be making history, having been absent from the games since 1982, the longest absence of any team currently scheduled to play in Russia this year.
With the event just around the corner, check out this quiz to see how much of a passionate football fan you are. Is your wardrobe packed with your team’s apparel? Are you taking time off from work to watch it at home with your friends? Perhaps you’re heading all the way to Russia to attend a match! Let us know what your plans are, and most importantly, what your score is.be sure to share it with your pals to see which of you the bigger fan is! Enjoy the World Cup readers!