2018 World Cup: Volunteers from around the world flock to Russia

World
Europe

02:02

This year more than 32-thousand volunteers from around the world have made their way to Russia. They're there to help out with the the footballing festivities. And as Frances Kuo explains, Chinese volunteers are also providing a helping hand.

There are the teams and the fans, but one group on the sidelines is very much part of the game. Chen Qiming is one of about 15,000 international volunteers at this year's world cup. She made the trip from China, bringing plenty of football fever along.

CHEN QIMING VOLUNTEER FROM CHINA "I'm fortunate enough to become a volunteer here at the Stadium. It's a great honor for me. I would like to do my part to help fans from around the world feel comfortable while watching the games."

Though China failed to qualify for the world cup, Chinese fans are still feeling the spirit. It's estimated nearly 100000 of them are visiting Russia during the games.

RUAN JIAYANG VOLUNTEER FROM CHINA "We can see some of them quite often here. They are all very happy to find out that I can speak Chinese. They may feel no language obstacles when asking for help."

Help in all sorts of ways, like leading Chinese fans in the right direction and buying tickets. There are also guiding Chinese journalists.

XU HAORAN VOLUNTEER FROM CHINA "We provide services to media crew from all over the world. I spend most of the time working in the inquiry office of the media and broadcast center. Every day, journalists from China or who speak Chinese come and ask for help, and then I can use my Chinese to help them."

More than 50 Chinese volunteers are helping out. Some with language skills beyond Chinese.

TATYANA KOMZYAKOVA DIRECTOR, VOLUNTEER DEPT. OF WORLD CUP 2018 "It's very cool when volunteers, Chinese citizens who live in Russia know the Russian language. It is a big help for us from the aspect of language support, because we have many users from China and having volunteers who know the Chinese language is fantastic."

Proving that putting on a football event of this scale is truly a team effort. Frances Kuo, CGTN.