MOSCOW: For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, a multilingual, 24/7 fan support center has been created, which is aimed at helping football fans who may face different kinds of issues during their stay in Russia for the marquee event.
FansHotline24 has been formed with the support from the Russian Football Union (RFU), the Russian Ministry of Sport, the Russian Football Premier League, the European Legal Service and several other organizations, TASS, Russia’s national news agency, reports.
“The fans can call the hotline to ask for medical or legal assistance,” Denis Rogachev, legal advisor to the president of the RFU, told journalists.
“The experience of former events has shown that such a service is necessary and relevant.”
The service was deployed during the 2016 UEFA European Championship in which 2,174 fans used the hotline. Whereas, during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, as many as 5,130 fans benefitted from it.
According to the tournament organizers, 75,000 calls and more are expected at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
FansHotline24 will provide information and legal and medical assistance to football fans during the tournament in 10 languages; namely Russian, English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese, Persian and Chinese.
