While the final draw is only three days away, FIFA has unveiled the official poster of 2018 World Cup, created by the well-known Russian artist Igor Gurovich in the Moscow Metro on 28 November, Tuesday.
The poster featured legendary Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin, who was also known as 'Black Panther' or 'Black Spider' during his football career. He had achieved gold in 1956 Olympic football tournament and also played in 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970 FIFA World Cups.
Fatma Samoura, FIFA Secretary General said, "The Official Poster of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is a true reflection of Russia's artistic and football heritage. We are very proud of this beautiful landmark asset that portrays such an important icon and celebrates the coming tournament on Russian soil."
The Chairman of the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee Vitaly Mutko said, "It was very important for us to portray Russia as the Host Country in the Official Poster. That's why we chose Lev Yashin, a symbol of Russian football, as the main figure. I'm sure that the poster will become one of the most memorable symbols of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and that fans and participants alike will approve of it."
While the poster only showcases Russia's football glamour, an animated video published by FIFA's official YouTube channel displays the other aspects of history. It shows Russia's achievements in space exploration, the transformation of the ball and Argentine legend Diego Maradona's goal against England in the quarterfinal match of the 1986 World Cup. The video also includes how football became an indoor game and also how the invention of mobile brings news related to football faster to the fans.
According to FIFA, the artist Gurovich, who was inspired by 1920's Russian movement of Constructivism and mainly by the posters designed by Dziga Vertov and the Stenberg brothers, said, "The style of Soviet post-Constructivist posters from the 1920s and 1930s, their unique visual language, a new, fresh poetry of figurative images, became one of the most important and revered elements of Russian culture."
"This language is unquestionably thought of as Russian throughout the world. Therefore, in my work on the poster, I really wanted to make this language modern and relevant once again," Gurovich further added.
The recently published 2018 FIFA World Cup poster has a meaning hidden inside. While the rays of light emanating from the ball, a common feature of Constructivist work, symbolises the tournament's energy, the green circle represents the fields of 12 stadiums in 11 host cities that will stage the 64 matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
