31 Jan, 2019

Almost 2,000 Nigerian football fans who arrived in Russia for the FIFA 2018 World Cup are still in the country, making up the largest number of the more than 5,000 supporters who have remained illegally.

The system allowed fans with World Cup match tickets to enter Russia during the tournament without a visa, as long as they held a FAN ID document.

The Russian Interior Ministry reported last week that the number of fans remaining in Russia illegally beyond the deadline had been reduced during January, but still stood at 5,500.

Nigerians make up the largest group still in Russia, with 1,863 citizens yet to have left. That’s followed by people from Vietnam (911) and Bangladesh (456) – neither of whom were playing at the 32-team tournament.

Senegal, who were playing in Russia but like Nigeria were knocked out at the group stage, have an estimated 253 citizens still in the country.

https://www.rt.com/sport/450235-2000-nigerians-among-thousands-world-cup-fans-still-in-russia/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Email