More than 1,200 people banned from attending football matches "surrendered their passports ahead of the World Cup," the U.K. Home Office said. Of 1,312 individuals with football banning orders, 1,254 "have given up their documents before the tournament." Police said that "they will continue working to trace the remaining 58." U.K. Police Minister Nick Hurd said that the action will ensure "thugs" will not "ruin the tournament for real fans" (BBC, 6/13).
Tickets were "still unsold" for 20 matches at the World Cup "just one day before the start of the tournament, including England’s opening game against Tunisia." There were tickets available in two of the three pricing categories for England’s match against Tunisia on Monday in Volgograd, while Russia’s opening game against Saudi Arabia "only sold out" on Tuesday. FIFA insisted "the number of matches that had yet to be sold out was not a reflection of a lack of public interest in the World Cup," but a result of an extra 120,000 tickets being released only last week (LONDON TIMES, 6/13).
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday that he will run for re-election as head of FIFA. Speaking at the FIFA Congress in Moscow on the eve of the World Cup, the Swiss-Italian said that he will present his candidacy for elections taking place in Paris in June '19. Infantino: "I want another four years of it because I believe in what I do" (REUTERS, 6/13).
Global Sport Integrity Dir Mark Phillips said that professional gamblers "are avoiding betting on World Cup matches involving host nation Russia because of doubts over their integrity." Phillips: "I'm certainly worried about it. I know there are professional gamblers who are looking at these matches in Group A -- Russia, Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia -- and saying we can't bet on those games, because they don't know if they're going to be completely straight" (ABC NEWS, 6/13).
A Russian comic's song which "mocks the country's World Cup team and questions the financial sense of hosting the event has gone viral" on the eve of the tournament, "angering some fans and politicians." Written and performed by Semyon Slepakov, "Ole Ole Ole" imagines Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed head of Chechnya, as the Russian football team's "new but unsuccessful manager." It has been viewed more than 5 million times on YouTube (REUTERS, 6/13).
The Brazilian government "has prepared the country’s power grid to deal with the wild swings in demand for electricity" as most people in the country "tune out everything except their televisions" to watch the national team play in the World Cup. When Brazil plays in the World Cup, power demand "falls sharply close to the start of the games, then surges during halftime breaks as people rush to grab a drink in the refrigerator or make microwave-popcorn." As play resumes, power demand "falls sharply again" (REUTERS, 6/12).
