On December 2, 2010 Russia was chosen as the host country for the 2018 FIFA World Cup



The voting for the 2018 World Cup followed a set of final presentations by the four contenders: Russia, England and the two joint bids from Spain-Portugal and from the Low Countries, Holland and Belgium.

New breakthrough

Russia's final plea pointed out that eastern Europe has never previously hosted the World Cup. "Twenty one years ago the Berlin Wall was broken," Russia's Sports Minister Vitali Mutko told his 21 fellow members of FIFA's executive committee, "Today we can break another symbolic wall and open a new era in football together."



"Russia represents new horizons for FIFA, millions of new hearts and minds, and a great legacy after the World Cup, great new stadiums and millions of boys and girls embracing the game. Russia's economy is large and growing, and Russia's sports market is developing markedly."

And of course, Russia has earmarked virtually unlimited resources for the event. Its budget will exceed the one billion euros allocated to the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.