Over 86% of Free Train Tickets to FIFA Group-Stage Games Booked - Official

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Football fans have booked more than 86 percent of the seats in the free trains that will travel to cities hosting FIFA group-stage matches, the remaining 14 percent of tickets are available for booking one week before the tournament starts, Director General of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Transport Directorate Kirill Polyakov said.

"More than 700 trains with a total capacity of almost 450,000 seats have been put into service. As of today, more than 86 percent of the seats in the free trains operating during the group stage in the first two weeks [of the World Cup] have already been booked, and 64 percent have been booked in trains operating during the knockout stage," Polyakov said.

Fans must purchase match tickets and have a valid Fan ID in order to be able to reserve a seat free of charge.

READ MORE: Midfielder Perez to Replace Injured Lanzini in Argentina Squad Ahead of FIFA

Russia will host the FIFA World Cup for the first time from June 14 to July 15. The games are set to be held in 11 cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg.