Reporter’s Diary: How media covered 2018 World Cup draw

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The Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup is one of the most anticipated events in the world of football. This was obvious just by looking at the amount of foreign journalists who gathered in Moscow for the event.

And it wasn’t only journalists from the 32 nations that have qualified for the World Cup – they came from all over the world. I spoke with reporters from an Argentinian newspaper, a Swiss radio station, a German news agency and a Japanese TV station, among others. Hundreds of journalists were accredited by FIFA for this event on December 1.

Reporters work at the media center. /CGTN Photo

There were several filming opportunities organized by FIFA in the days ahead of the draw. But for the main event on Friday, it was only FIFA rights holders who could be in the same hall of the Kremlin palace along with all the football stars and professionals for the much-anticipated ceremony.

The rest had to watch the draw take place in the media center, which was buzzing with journalists.

I interviewed Fabio Cannavaro the day before the draw. He was one of the draw assistants who took part in the ceremony. He told me he was sad that Italy didn’t qualify for the World Cup.

When I asked him about his predictions for the World Cup Final he said that it would be good to see something new as sometimes it’s boring to see the same teams compete in the finals. I couldn’t agree more!

Snowman built by journalists inside the Kremlin. /CGTN Photo

Looking at the groups that were allocated today it looks like it will be an interesting World Cup indeed. Newcomers Iceland will face Argentina in Moscow for their first group match. Iceland did really well in the Euro 2016 tournament, so it will be interesting to follow them next summer. There are some tough groups too, like group B with Portugal and Spain.

This year, for the first time in the history of the World Cup, teams were divided into four pots of eight, which were determined according to each team’s FIFA world ranking. This was designed to make sure that each group was well balanced.

Groups A-H that will compete in the World Cup 2018. /CGTN Photo‍

After the Final Draw ceremony finished, the work of all the journalists began. A few hours afterwards, most were still typing away or filming their standups in the media center. Judging by the number of journalists for the draw, one media center may not be enough to fit everyone in when it comes to June 14 next year and the tournament itself.

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