World Cup 2018, Soccer Football Dating Seek

---

One day afternoon at a park in Moscow, Agustin Otelo, an Argentine soccer fan, is not counting the number of goals his soccer team scored in the 2018 World Cup. He is busy counting the numbers of Russian women he collects.

"Four!" Exclaimed the 26-year-old technician, dressed in his country's blue and white striped jersey. Otelo competes with his friends to see who gets the most number.

Otelo said, "exotic factor" will help him "find love" in the Russian capital.

"We do not know what to do on the sidelines of the game. So we thought we could try to get to know Russians better, "he told AFP, shifting his cell phone screen to see the Russian women's swafoto in the Tinder dating app.

---

---

Language differences are not an obstacle for thousands of Russians and thousands of football fans from different countries to mingle on the streets of Moscow.

Maria S., a 25-year-old Russian woman, said she was "impatient" waiting for the World Cup because "there are many opportunities to meet strangers."

"That's probably the main advantage (World Cup)," said Maria who deliberately took an English course ahead of the world's soccer tournament.

His friend, Lyubov, who speaks fluent in three languages other than Russian, calls the World Cup an asset.

"Usually I only get two dates a week. Now I get four dates. Instead I have to refuse some bids, "said the young woman.

The search for a mate in the World Cup widened into a political debate with an appeal from politicians to Russian women.

On the eve of the opening of the World Cup, Communist Party legislator Tamara Pletneva warned Russian women that dating visiting football fans could result in them having to raise a "different from the other" child alone.

"We should give birth to our own children," said Pletneva, who heads the family, women and children committee in the lower house of the Russian parliament or Duma.

Another Russian legislator, Mikhail Degtyaryov from the ultra-nationalist LDPR party, has a different view.

"The more love stories we have associated with the World Cup, the more children born, the better," he said.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said having a romance during the World Cup was a personal choice.

"Russian women can manage their own affairs. They are the best women in the world, "said Dmitry Peskov, presidential spokesman Vladimir Putin.