Russia to present at conference in Sochi new security products for 2018 FIFA World Cup

MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. Russia will come up with new practices and products for providing security at the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup and will present them at the international conference of security officers in Sochi on April 25-26, Alexander Venediktov, an aide to the Russian Security Council secretary, told TASS on Tuesday. "Russia has accumulated enormous experience by hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and is ready to share this experience with the international society," Venediktov said in an interview with TASS. In February and March of 2014, the Russian resort city of Sochi hosted the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, which, according to international sports officials, athletes and visitors, were organized at the highest level possible and provided up-to-date security and infrastructure at all levels. "(During the conference in Sochi) we are also planning to present new practices and products for the security provision at the upcoming world football championship this summer," Venediktov added. 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. Fan-IDs are obligatory, in addition to purchased tickets, in order to attend matches of the 2018 World Cup tournament in Russia. The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in 50 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. Read more