The first official World Cup store in central Moscow. (Photo: Artyom Geodakyan/TASS)
The first official World Cup store opened in the center of Moscow on Tuesday, just in time for the New Year’s shopping rush.
The shop is located on the first floor of Detsky Mir, or Central Children’s Store, on Lubyanka, at walking distance from Red Square. It offers official World Cup souvenirs, ahead of the tournament in Russia next summer — such as the Telstar 18 football, t-shirts, backpacks and stationery, among other items.
St. Petersburg and other World Cup host cities will also have their own official fan stores, as the Russian authorities continue to clamp down on fakes.
Last week, border guards in Russia's Far East confiscated 640 counterfeit stuffed toys of the official World Cup mascot, the wolf Zabivaka, the state news agency TASS reported earlier.
And in 2016, more than 61,000 counterfeit products with images of Zabivaka were found in Moscow, the Moskva 24 news channel reported earlier.
