Fan House opens doors in Buenos Aires ahead of 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

BUENOS AIRES, April 11. /TASS/. The Fan House of the 2018 FIFA World Cup opened its doors on Tuesday in Argentina’s Buenos Aires on the territory of the Russian Center for Science and Culture to provide services related to the global football championship, which kicks off in Russia this summer. "Let it be the departing point to the dream of all Argentinians," Claudio Tapia, the president of the Argentine Football Association, said at the opening ceremony of the Fan House. Visitors of the Fan House will be able to receive assistance and hear answers to all questions they have regarding the travel to Russia for the championship as well as about the issuance of Fan-IDs, which are obligatory together with tickets for attending matches. Moreover, visitors of the Fan House will be also able to take pictures with 2018 FIFA World Cup mascot Wolf Zabivaka and to see the exhibition of the Argentinian and Russian national football uniforms of different times. The Fan House will also provide live broadcasts of all Russian and Argentinian teams’ matches during the World Cup. Russian Ambassador to Argentina Viktor Koronelli said in an interview with TASS that the opening of the Fan House in Buenos-Aires was a "milestone event." "Argentina is one of the most football countries around the globe, the game of football for all Argentinians is not simply a hobby, but an irreplaceable part of the life and this is why this event is so remarkable," Koronelli said. The diplomat also said that numerous questions are addressed daily to the Russian Embassy regarding the World Cup in Russia. "According to our information, about 15,000 Argentinians have already bought tickets for matches of the World Cup, primarily for matches of their national team, but for other matches as well," Koronelli said. "Several more thousands are planning to come to Russia without having bought tickets, as they want to watch the matches on huge screens and in sport bars," Koronelli added. On December 1, 2017, the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow hosted the Final Draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which determined the group breakdown for the FIFA flagship event this year. A total of 32 national football squads were divided into eight groups with four teams in each. Team Argentina was placed in Group D alongside with the national teams from Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria. The group stage matches of the Argentinian national squad will be played on June 16 against Iceland in Moscow, on June 21 against Croatia in Nizhny Novgorod and on June 26 against Nigeria in Saint Petersburg. The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in 63 days with the opening match in the Russian capital of Moscow. Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara. The matches of the 2018 World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums located in the 11 mentioned above cities across Russia. Two of the stadiums are located in the Russian capital. Fan-IDs for ticket holders Russia came up for this FIFA World Cup with an innovation, which is the so-called Fan-ID and it is required for all ticketholders. This innovation was successfully tested during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia and earned high marks from the world’s governing football body. The Fan-ID plays an important security role during the major football tournament in Russia as it grants admittance to the stadiums and also serves as visa for foreign visitors to enter the country. A Fan-ID holder is allowed to enter the country without having a Russian visa and stay for the duration of the global football tournament as well as to travel free of charge between the Russian cities hosting matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Read more