Volunteer recruitment for the Preliminary Draw: A case of abundant enthusiasm - RUSSIA 2018
The volunteer application campaign launched by the FIFA World Cup Russia™ Local Organising Committee (LOC) on 18 March has aroused a great deal of interest among Russians as well as candidates from other countries. The campaign aimed at recruiting volunteers to take part in the planning and staging of the Preliminary Draw, the first official event of Russia 2018. Within two weeks, around 2,000 candidates answered the LOC's call, more than enough applications from which to choose volunteers.
The registration period for prospective volunteers ended at midnight on 1 April 2015. In the upcoming stages, candidates who submitted applications will be interviewed and their knowledge of English tested. At the end of this process, 300 volunteers will be selected. The volunteers selected to work at the Preliminary Draw will be trained in June.
"Recruiting volunteers for the Preliminary Draw is our first step towards implementing the huge World Cup volunteer programme, which will run for three years," LOC CEO Alexey Sorokin pointed out. "And I have to say I'm pleased with the results. On behalf of the LOC, I would like to thank everyone who answered the call to help us stage this significant event. Your enthusiasm will certainly help to make the Preliminary Draw one of the year's most colourful and memorable events, and will have a positive impact on all our tournament preparations."
During the application period, it was the youngest age group, those aged from 18 to 27, who were the most active. They accounted for about 70 per cenr of all candidates. That said, there were plenty of men and women from the older generation who also offered to help organise the Preliminary Draw. Alongside Russian applications, around 180 foreign volunteers expressed a desire to sign up, covering a great geographical range, from the UK, Spain, France and other parts of Europe to Canada and Brazil.
For those who would like to be a Russia 2018 LOC volunteer but were unable to apply on this occasion, there is no reason to be disappointed. The main volunteer recruitment period will begin in the second quarter of 2016. That will result in more than 20,000 volunteers being selected to help organise Russia 2018, as well as the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017. The date from which applications may be submitted will be announced on the LOC website separately.
All prospective volunteers who registered in March for the Preliminary Draw will need to register online for a second time next year, if they want to be considered for selection as a volunteer at Russia 2018.
The blueprint for the Russia 2018 LOC volunteer programme will be officially launched in June 2015. Work will begin at that point to set up volunteer centres in all 11 Russia 2018 host cities.