Russian strongman Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced visa-free travel for fans at the 2018 World Cup as he hosted two of world football's most powerful figures ahead of a key election.
Putin received FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Michel Platini in his native city of Saint Petersburg for celebrations of the centenary of the Russian Football Union (RFU).
Russia's sports-mad premier had scored points with domestic football fans by snatching the right to host the 2018 event from England in a bitter race last year -- a victory that helped boost his image of a can-do leader.
Putin will seek to win a third term as president in March elections after spending the past four years as prime minister and has spent recent weeks trying to attract the support of blue-collar workers at various meetings.
"Russia has decided to let in all the fans for the 2018 World Cup if they have tickets," Putin said during a meeting that was dominated by discussions of the World Cup's first-ever appearance in Russia.
"What's more, we are even considering the option of letting fans use their tickets to travel between host cities for free," he said.
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