MOSCOW, November 22 (R-Sport) - Russia is set to attract more fans from abroad than South Africa did in 2010 or Brazil will in 2014, organizers for the 2018 edition said Thursday.
Alexei Sorokin, head of the organizing committee, said up to 1 million foreign supporters were expected to attend the games in 11 cities.
"It's hard to predict the exact figures until the draw is made," Sorokin said. "But we are expecting very good attendances."
FIFA had assured Sorokin's team that "more foreigners will come to Russia than traveled to South Africa and will travel to Brazil," and Sorokin explained why.
"It's not far from South America, Asia is our neighbor, and Europe's right next door," he said.
Sorokin said foreign fans are expected to make up one-third of the overall stadium audiences.
About half a million supporters traveled to South Africa in 2010 - far fewer than originally expected - while Brazil has said it expects upwards of 600,000 visitors in 2014.
