Some 2.5 million tickets sold for 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
"About 2.5 million tickets have been already sold and 53% of them were purchased by football fans from abroad," Mutko, who oversees the issues of sports, tourism and youth affairs in the Russian government, said, TASS reports.
"Many countries will see about 15,000-20,000 of their football fans coming to Russia, while an expected number of football fans from the United States stands at some 30,000," Mutko said. "We need to shape up a precise system of hospitality."
A week ago, the world's governing football body, FIFA, announced the opening of the 3rd and final stage of ticket sales for matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The FIFA announced that before the opening of the last stage of ticket sales a total of "1,698,049 tickets" had been allocated to football supporters from all over the world since the launch of Phase One of ticket sales in September 2017.
Over 164,000 tickets were purchased within 24 hours after the launch of the final stage of sales on April 18, according to FIFA.
The world's football organization keeps reminding that at the request of the Russian authorities, all fans attending matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup need to apply for a Fan-ID - the official identity document issued to fans.
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 a visa for foreign visitors to enter the country.
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