The international football governing body will award Russia $60 million (Ksh6 billion) to help develop the sport in the country, following last summer’s tournament which was widely praised as among the best ever editions of the event.
Meeting for the last time on Wednesday, Russia’s Local Organizing Committee (LOC) summarized the financial aspects of the tournament, which was held between June 14 and July 15 across 12 stadiums in 11 host cities.
“FIFA will allocate at least $60 million for the legacy program. The amount will be used to support and develop children’s, women’s football and infrastructure,” said LOC chairman Arkady Dvorkovich, TASS reported. The governing body created a similar fund for the last World Cup in Brazil, which saw the South American nation receive a reported $100 million.
The FIFA Council hailed the Russia World Cup, which was the 21st edition of the tournament and was won by France, as the best in history at a meeting in October. Although close to seven months have passed since the last World Cup a recent report indicates that thousands of World Cup fans are still stranded in Russia.
