Russia’s World Cup Prep Is Stranger and Crazier Than You’d Ever Imagine

Russia’s Costs To Host Have Mysteriously Skyrocketed

Photo Credit: Sergei Fadeichev\TASS via Getty Images

Russia estimated hosting the World Cup would cost around $5 billion. With the event kicking off, the actual cost has ballooned to $11 billion! That’s not cheap, and probably not very smart on Russia’s part. Also, we’re not sure where the extra $6 billion went if it didn’t go into stadium standards!

There’s one big reason doubling a multi-billion dollar budget is insane. Russia’s domestic team is ranked 65th in the world. If they don’t make it out of the group stage, attendance numbers and domestic interest will plummet. There’s a good chance that happens… Coming up, is a nuclear war coming to the World Cup?