Event Data
The 2018 FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup is a quadrennial international football tournament for men's national teams from around the world. The tournament is scheduled to take place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018 and is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world.
It is predicted that approximately one million foreign tourists will visit Russia for the event.
The tournament matches will be played in 12 stadiums located in 11 host cities spread across Russia. - Samara: Samara Arena
- Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
- Volgograd: Volgograd Arena
- Ekaterinburg: Ekaterinburg Arena
- Saransk: Mordovia Arena
- Rostov-on-Don: Rostov Arena
- Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad Stadium
- Kazan: Kazan Arena
- Moscow: Spartak Stadium
- Moscow: Luzhniki Stadium
- Sochi: Fisht Stadium
- Saint Petersburg: Saint Petersburg Stadium
Terrorism Threat Information
AlertsUSA has been warning subscribers of Islamic State threats to carry out attacks on the 2018 FIFA World Cup as far back as 17 October, 2017.
The threats are directly linked to Russian Federation's involvement in the Syrian civil war.
There are four main terrorist threat vectors pointing to a significant risk of some kind of attack during the tournament: - Homegrown violent extremists (HVE) from the Caucasus region acting in the name of the Islamic State.
- Russian or CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) nationals who have trained and fought in Syria.
- Terror cells inspired by the Islamic State.
- Lone-wolf (independent) terrorists who may have been mobilized and inspired by online propaganda.
In response to these threats, as well as numerous bombings and mass casualty shootings in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Dzhimikent (Dagestan) and elsewhere over the 18 months, security forces have carried out numerous counter-terrorism raids across the Russian Federation in the run-up to the FIFA tournament.
Stringent security measures have also been implemented for the month-long event, though it will be difficult to maintain safety given the widespread geographic distribution of the tournament venues (see the map above), all of which are connected by vulnerable travel networks.
AlertsUSA subscribers are reminded of the following excerpt from the most recent Worldwide Caution issued by the U.S. State Department on 11 Jan 2018:
"Terrorists are increasingly using less sophisticated methods of attack to more effectively target crowds, including the use of edged weapons, pistols, and vehicles as weapons. Extremists increasingly aim to assault "soft" targets, such as:
- high-profile public events (sporting contests, political rallies, demonstrations, holiday events, celebratory gatherings, etc.)
- hotels, clubs, and restaurants
- places of worship
- schools
- parks
- shopping malls and markets
- tourism infrastructure
- public transportation systems
- airports "
AlertsUSA subscribers are strongly encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness when traveling.
For further Information:
U.S. State Department Worldwide Caution
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