Will The Fifa World Cup 2018 Provide A Fillip To The Russian Economy

The Fifa World Cup 2018 has arrived with much fanfare. It is one of the greatest sporting extravaganzas and the world is likely to be glued to this tournament.

- Aniket Panja

As Russia is hosting the football world cup this time round, it is an excellent opportunity for the Russian President Vladimir Putin to showcase his infrastructural achievements. The tournament is sure to have an impact on the Russian economy and infrastructural penetration. The million dollar question is can the Russian economy sustain the fillip that will be provided by this sporting spectacle.

It is estimated that the World Cup 2018 could have an impact of around $31 billion on the Russian economy and boost the country's GDP to somewhere between 1.6 trillion rubles ($26 billion) to 1.9 trillion rubles ($30.8 billion).

Infrastructure

Hosting a tournament like the Football World Cup requires a boost to the transportation system and also entails massive development of social infrastructure. About $638 billion has been sanctioned for this tournament by the Russian authorities. The tournament is spread over 11 Russian cities and the allotted fund has ensured significant infrastructural development of these cities. Around 100000 jobs have been created with 13000 people being involved in the construction and renovation of the 12 stadiums that will host the football matches. All of these are multipurpose stadiums and the infrastructural spending on these stadiums will be carried forward even after the World Cup ends.