In the shadow of The Motherland Calls, the world’s tallest sculpture of a woman, Anna, 28, was having a stroll in Volgograd before the World Cup game between England and Tunisia.

Anna had never attended a league football game in Russia, but said she loved the sport and planned to go to a number of games in her home city with her mother and sister.



“We do not attend football games in the league, as the environment at the games can be unpleasant. However, we are going to the game tonight because we want to experience the great atmosphere that comes with the World Cup. I think that the tournament will inspire many women to attend more matches here in Russia,” she said.



Another fan, Elena, had travelled from Taganrog in south-west Russia with her family to watch the match. “My children like playing football and I often go and watch. Lots of Russian women really like to play and watch the sport and I think that the World Cup will encourage more women to get involved. International fans help to create a different and more positive atmosphere.”



Anna and Elena are two of the many Russian women who will be going to World Cup games in spite of the culture of hooliganism and stereotypes that have led to a predominately male attendance at football matches in Russia.



The rise of Russia’s neo-Nazi football hooligans Read more

Hooliganism among Russian football fans, previously an internal problem within the country, came to international attention at the European Championship game between England and Russia in Marseille in 2016. However, it has so far been kept at bay during this year’s World Cup.



The women’s activist Alena Popova said: “Football continues to be a predominantly men’s sport in Russia. Men with their friends gather in stadiums, before that usually drinking alcohol, and often ending up in fights. This is not the best atmosphere for women.



“The World Cup games are calmer than the national championship, so we can see more women in the stadiums than usual. Everyone discusses football here. The problem has not been a question of who is interested in the sport, but about who attends the games.”

In recent months the scandal surrounding accusations of sexual harassment made against the MP Leonid Slutsky prompted a wider debate about the treatment and perception of women in Russian society, and activists hope that the World Cup might encourage a more inclusive environment for female fans who want to attend games in host cities.



It is not only Russian women who have come out in force to support their national team. Women-only groups have travelled from Europe, Africa and South America, too.



Laura, 58, travelled with her friend Luisa, 64, from Uruguay to watch their national team face Russia in Rostov, said: “We use a WhatsApp group to keep in touch with other Uruguayan fans and to meet them for a beer in the evening, but we have been mainly travelling through Russia alone. We have both felt really safe travelling, whether it is on the train or by plane.”



Jo, 38, who travelled from Ipswich with her mother, Diane, 68, encouraged other groups of female fans to go to Russia.



“Everyone so far has been so helpful and kind,” she said. “It’s really important that groups of women come here as much as groups of lads. We arrived on a chartered flight with England fans and I have to admit it was predominately male, and we should change that.”



Samé, 21, had travelled from Tunis with two friends to support the national team during a break from exams: “We have come to support our country,” she said. “We want to wear the flag and to show that women also support football and our national team. Tunisia are not often in the World Cup so we want to come to this match. We have felt very welcome here.”

