The number of visitors to the FIFA World Football Museum’s permanent exhibition increased last year, with 141,069 people taking a journey through the history of world football – 19.07 per cent up on 2017 and the highest annual figure since the museum opened on 28 February 2016.

There was also a premiere in the form of the first special exhibition to be held outside Zurich, and a successful one at that, with a presentation of the museum by FIFA Partner Hyundai in Moscow during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. Between 9 June and 22 July, a total of 94,266 visitors went to see 'The History Makers' in the Hyundai Motorstudio, which became a popular meeting place where fans from around the globe could meet.

“It was an excellent World Cup year for the museum, thanks in particular to the rising number of visitors to both our permanent exhibition and our cultural programme in Zurich, which shows that we are making a positive contribution to the city’s varied range of attractions,” said Managing Director Marco Fazzone. “With our first special exhibition abroad, we have also demonstrated that the FIFA World Football Museum has international pulling power. We are full of energy and ideas for the future. In 2019, the museum will be playing an active part in promoting women’s football, especially in the summer months, when it will be a focal point for the women’s game.”

Further highlights of the past 12 months, in addition to the permanent exhibition in Zurich and 'The History Makers' special exhibition in Moscow, were the museum’s regular cultural programme in Zurich (5,911 visitors in 2018) and the special pop-up exhibition 'JUST ARRIVED! Unboxing the Heritage of Russia 2018', also in Zurich (5,013 visitors), which presented a variety of objects from last year’s World Cup.

Under the museum’s educational programme, 4,497 individual tickets were issued in 2018 for visits by school classes, which became free of charge on 1 January this year. To take advantage of this offer, teachers need to book in advance via the website of the museum, which will allocate a time slot. Fazzone added: “Our educational concept based on learning via the phenomenon of football is an integral part of our work at the museum and a further resource that is particularly useful for those in greater Zurich. It is our contribution to FIFA’s efforts to give schoolchildren all over the world access to football through educational programmes.”