He added that, prior to the tournament, several foreign governments had called for a boycott of the World Cup in what he described as a coordinated anti-Russia campaign.

"Fortunately, we withstood these difficult tests. Now that everybody has acknowledged that it was a tremendous tournament, I think hundreds of millions of people in all countries are grateful to Russia for a great time they had at the football festival... And I really hope, that the attacks on Russian sport will fade away into nothing," Zhukov said.

He also expressed his gratitude to all the World Cup volunteers, security services and fans for their proper behavior during the tournament.

Russia hosted its first World Cup from June 14 to July 15 with the games held in 11 cities across the country.