Football fans take centre stage at 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

To bring fans into the FIFA World Cup conversation like never before, FIFA offers a diverse array of global fan-engagement initiatives.

FIFA’s Chief Commercial Officer Philippe Le Floc’h explains: “Fans are truly at the heart of the beautiful game. We are very happy to launch highly engaging initiatives before and during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia that promote a greater unity between FIFA and fans, both on the ground in Russia and digitally around the world. The passion and energy of the fans are key elements of the success of this FIFA World Cup”.

Fan Movement
Comprising more than 40 countries and 400 members so far, the “Fan Movement by FIFA” is a mixture of amateur players, supporters, coaches, gamers and freestylers, who share their views and love of the game on social media creating hundreds of hours of unique content with the hashtag #WeLiveFootball.
Wish campaign
Two lucky Chinese fans will see their wish to watch a FIFA World Cup Final become reality, all thanks to the launch of the FIFA World Cup Weibo account with the World Cup Wish campaign. This elicited Chinese football fans’ most emotional Wishes, with over 75,000 submissions and 11 million impressions.

Fan Match
Describe yourself in five emojis and get matched to another FIFA World Cup enthusiast – that summarises the FIFA Fan Match campaign. From 55 million digital impressions across FIFA’s platforms, three pairs of fans are now being matched by FIFA to meet each other for a unique meet-up at the semi-final in St. Petersburg on 10 July.

Rival Hug
The Rival Hug campaign motivates fans globally to create and share their very personal moment with a rival fan from another team and upload it with the hashtag #RivalHug on social media for the chance to win tickets to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final. To date over 1 million fans have engaged in the campaign, which will run until 28 June. Beyond social media, fans can join the campaign by taking their rival picture at a special Hug Counter booth at the FIFA Fan Fest™ in Moscow.

Snapchat
FIFA takes another dive into the digital fan space together with Snap Inc. New features enable Snapchatters worldwide to use FIFA World Cup™ branded augmented-reality Lenses, Filters and Stickers throughout the tournament.

Anthony Nlebem reporting from St. Petersburg/Russia

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