World Cup changes West’s perception of Russia - FIFA chief

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. The 2018 FIFA World Cup changes the perception of Russia, especially in the West, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at the Sports and the Future forum in Moscow. The FIFA World Cup group stage ended on Thursday, the first knockout stage matches will be played on Saturday. "So far it's been a fantastic event, which shows that Russia is a very welcoming, very warm country. This World Cup changes the perception about Russia, especially our Western. Everyone can come and celebrate, walk around the streets in Moscow and other cities. You can see people in different shirts of different national teams celebrating football," Infantino said. "It is a big party for Russia, it's a big party for the world," he added. Russia is hosting its first ever FIFA World Cup, which kicked off with a spectacular opening show at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on June 14. The country selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup. They are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara. Read more