MOSCOW: The FIFA World Cup 2018 set another record as the world game’s governing body selected as many as 17,040 fans as its Local Organising Committee (LOC) volunteers for the competition out of a whopping 176,870 applicants.
The tournament’s Volunteer Programme has seen fans from 112 countries travelling to Russia to help serve the game they love at perhaps world sport’s biggest tournament ever. Their backgrounds are diverse, ranging from an oil tanker captain to a former footballer and a dragon boat racing world champion.
In a remarkable statistic, 64% of these volunteers are female and 36% are male. A lot of couples and families have joined in the cause as well. 7% of them are non-Russian. Their range of tasks are across 20 functional areas, with each of them gaining accreditation for one each such as media and broadcasting, logistics and operations, player and photography assistance and so on.
Some of the volunteers have got an opportunity to take photographs with some of the world’s top players such as Gareth Southgate and Ashley Young of England.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino explained its value for the competition.
“The volunteers’ faces are the first thing the fans see when they arrive. Their smiles are what visitors pick up on.”
One of the volunteers from England, David was quoted as saying:
“It’s one thing to watch a World Cup on television but it’s completely different to experience it first hand. It’s a dream come true.”
