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Some 50,000 Fan-IDs officially distributed in Russia since July 4

A Fan-ID holder was allowed to enter the country without having a Russian visa and stay for the duration of global football tournaments

MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. Some 50,000 Fan-ID permissions have been issued since early July, the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media announced on its Telegram channel on Friday.

Gosuslugi, Russia’s state-run web-portal providing various state services, began accepting applications for Fan-IDs on July 4. Gosuslugi is the final instance to approve the issuance of a Fan-ID for everyone wishing to attend football matches in Russia. The document will be required for the purchase of either a one-match ticket or a multiple-entry ticket for the season.

"As of today, some 50,000 Fan-IDs have been already distributed," the ministry’s stated.

Fan-ID registration with Gosuslugi web-portal is obligatory for everyone wishing to buy a ticket to attend any football match of the Russian Premier League (RPL). It has been also stated previously that Fan-IDs must be issued to everyone wishing to be present at stadiums during matches, including football fans, organizers, participants of the tournaments and media representatives.

On December 30, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a draft on the introduction of Fan-ID documents, which will be required for fans to attend sports tournaments in the country starting from June 1, 2022.

Russia’s Fan-ID was successfully tested during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, as well as during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and earned high marks from the world’s governing football body - FIFA. The Fan-ID system was also in place during matches of the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup in St. Petersburg.

A Fan-ID holder was allowed to enter the country without having a Russian visa and stay for the duration of global football tournaments. Fan-IDs were obligatory, in addition to purchased tickets, in order to attend football matches.

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