MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on visa-free entry to Russia for holders of Fan IDs they used to attend matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup till the end of the current year, according to the official portal of legal information.

The bill was passed by the Russian State Duma lower parliament house on July 26 and approved by the Federation Council upper house on July 28.

Russia hosted the FIFA World Cup from June 14 through July 15, 2018. Holders of Fan ID’s who had tickets to the tournament’s matches needed no visa to enter Russia. After the championship, Russian President Vladimir Putin came out with an initiative to grant foreign holders of Fan IDs multiple visa-free entry to Russia till the year-end.

The chairman of the Duma committee on physical culture, sports, tourism and youth affairs, Mikhail Degtyarev, said earlier that the bill had been initiated following numerous requests from football fans. "Opinion polls demonstrated that some 80% of fans would like to come to Russian once again to have a closer look at our culture, to see other Russian cities and towns, to enjoy our nature," he said.