"There are 196 television broadcasters in 212 countries. We expect about three billion viewers," Sorokin said during a conference held by the Russian Football Union.

He added that security during the tournament would be provided by the Russian National Guard along with almost 22,000 personnel employed by private security companies. This will cover around 170 different buildings, including the stadiums.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will take place between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums across 11 Russian cities, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, and Sochi.