Russia 2018 World Cup : Foreign fans spend N539.5billion

Nigerian fans and their other counterparts across the globe that graced the just ended World cup in Russia spent an estimated N539.5billion (about $1.5bn), Russia’s Sberbank has revealed.

The state-owned banking and financial services company analysed usage of foreign credit cards during the World Cup, taking into consideration all credit cards purchases, cash payments and currency conversions within its network to arrive at the submission made public on Monday.

During the month long event which ran from June 16 to July 15 foreign citizens’ expenses in Russia doubled when compared with the same period last year

According to its analysis, football fans spent most of their money on hotels and restaurants, with the largest expense surge registered in the sports goods segment.

Sberbank’s report also shows that consumers have moved away from cash payments, with just 8.2 per cent of all expenses being covered by ATM cash withdrawals.

“Foreign fans were most active during the second week of the group stage,” the report reads.

“In July, the level of representation of countries that had left the tournament fell as fans started leaving, but the overall volume of expenses remained at the same level as during the first two weeks of the tournament.”

According to estimates, around 600,000 foreign fans arrived to Russia for the tournament, providing the country’s tourism industry with a much-needed boost.

Russia spent heavily on preparations for the event, the biggest event the country’s held since the collapse of the Soviet Union with the total cost of the tournament estimated at around US$11bn (€9.4bn, £8.4bn).

Five African countries, Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia and Morocco participated in the World cup in Russia but none went past the group stage.

The next world cup will be hosted by Qatar, the last to feature 32 teams.  The 2026 edition to be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and United States will feature 48 countries for the first time with Africa having nine slots up from the current five.