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Probably the biggest game on the planet is set to kick off in Russia on 14th June with 32 teams participating from 5 different confederations. Russia being the host there are a lot of facts and predictions going around. Here are some fun facts about the World Cup other than the players participating in the World Cup.
#5 FIFA matches are on two different continents.
The 2002 World Cup witnessed the world cup matches being played on two different countries i.e. Jpan and South Korea. This time around Russia 2018 World Cup will create history as the World Cup matches will be played on two different continents i.e. Europe and Asia.
Russia is the biggest country in the world by landmass and its 25% land lies in Europe and the other 75% in Asia. The distance between the easternmost city(Ekaterinburg) and the westernmost city(Kaliningrad) is 2,415 km.
#4 Fun Foodie Fact.
McDonald's is the official partner in the 2018 Russia World Cup. This is creating a lot of buzz in the host country as an official site is created on the FIFA site. Among the tabs on the site, one guides us to various outlets in the host cities in Russia.
There is also a McDonald's FIFA fantasy league, where you can select a set of players from the money allotted to you and then carry on. You can create leagues and tournaments, winners will get prizes and KIA goodies.
First ever McDonald's outlet opened in USSR was in Moscow in 1990, which is still operating.
#3 Tickets super expensive if non-Russian.
The prices of the tickets for the World Cup were released around July 2016. And the tickets were quite expensive only if you are non-Russian. The cheapest ticket for the world cup is of the group stage matches which is $165 and the same for the Russians is just $20 or 1280 rubles. Yes, that's right!
The most expensive ticket for the finals is $710 for non-Russians and around $109 for the Russians. Compared to the other world cups, 2014 Brazil World Cup also had similar ticket fares as well as in the 2010 South Africa World Cup for the home fans.
#2 Pakistan connection in the World Cups.
You heard it right Pakistan does have a connection to the World Cups. Pakistan Football Team does not have a lot to offer in the World Cup as they are at the bottom in the FIFA rankings. Pakistan manufactured soccer balls have been used in the World Cups since the 1982 World Cup. Moreover, nearly half of the World Cup balls are manufactured in Pakistan.
Sialkot a city in Pakistan produces 40% of the Worlds soccer balls with over 100 firms working there.
In British colonial time around 1889, a British Sergeant got irritated because of the late shipments of the soccer balls so asked a saddlemaker to repair a punctured soccer ball and he was so impressed by the result that they started giving them a batch of balls to be made. From there it just took on!
#1 No one goes empty pocket.
The winning team of the World Cup 2018 Russia will get a hefty $35 million and the runners-up cash prize is $25 million. No wonder, losing the game is also so worthy!
Actually, everyone gets something to take home as even the participating team takes home a whopping $8 million each! But all eyes will be on who takes the prestigious gold trophy home.
