(ATR) Vladimir Putin says football fans coming to Russia for the 2018 World Cup will be able to do so without a visa.
On Friday, the Russian president announced a "special visa regime" would be in place for the tournament. Russia has onerous visa policies which often discourage visitors.
"The history of football championships has never seen anything like this before," Putin told ITAR-TASS on Friday.
He also confirmed that representatives of the Ministry of Sports and the Russia 2018 Organizing Committee are already in contact with Brazilian colleagues, and he sees many positive lessons from Brazil.
"The World Cup in Brazil will be a bright page in the history of football," Putin said.
Written by Andrew Murrell
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