“Today I've taken one step closer to fulfilling my dream,” 17-year old Roman Dvoinikov revealed. As soon as Roman learned that Russia would host the 2018 FIFA World Cup™, he started planning how he could be a part of it. For this very reason he applied to volunteer at the event. Yesterday, he was one of the first 500 candidates to be interviewed at FIFA World Cup Volunteer Centres across Russia.

"I'm a bit stirred up but nevertheless happy. In fact, I began to plan everything from the start. One of the most important steps was getting into university: I figured this had to be one of the competition's host cities and I chose Kazan. I think I can be proud of this, as it shows my motivation is extremely high,” said Roman.

Such interviews with prospective volunteers for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 and 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ began on 7 September at all 15 Volunteer Centres set up at Russian higher-education establishments in all of the tournament’s Host Cities.

The interviewers are aiming to establish the candidates’ key attributes, such as their ability to cope under pressure, their sense of responsibility and communication skills. The potential volunteers will also be asked to explain why they want to offer their services at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 and FIFA World Cup 2018, as well as answering a few general questions on their previous volunteering or work experience. Some questions will be asked in English language, in order to confirm the candidate's knowledge of the language matches that demonstrated during the online test.

The interviewees who scored the highest marks will have every chance of joining the team of volunteers for the Confederations Cup and World Cup. Candidates who reside outside Russia will be interviewed via Skype. The list of successful applicants chosen to help organise and host the Confederations Cup will be finalised in the first quarter of 2017. Specialist training then begins in March before the first volunteers get down to work on 10 May.

"Starting the interview process with prospective volunteers is a very important part of the Russia 2018 volunteer programme,” said Aleksandr Antimonov, Director of the World Cup Volunteer Centre in Ekaterinburg. “Our team set the target of not only organising a high standard of interview, but also of creating a sense of hospitality and a totally comfortable, friendly atmosphere for the candidates in the Volunteer Centre. There's a lot of work still ahead, but I'm sure that all together, LOC and Volunteer Centres, we will train up a fantastic team of volunteers for the World Cup."

The mass recruitment campaign for Russia 2018 volunteers was launched on 1 June 2016, when the website FIFA.com/volunteers began accepting applications. According to information on 5 September, the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee (LOC) has received more than 100,000 applications from potential candidates. The volunteer-selection process will continue until the end of 2016.

Anybody who is interested can send in an application: the only requirement is that the candidate must be 18 or over on 10 May 2017 to volunteer for the Confederations Cup, while for the World Cup the cut-off date is 10 May 2018. Applications will close by the end of the year.

The recruitment and selection of volunteers takes place at the 15 Volunteer Centres set up at Russian higher-education establishments in every tournament Host City. The centres, themselves selected on the basis of a competition, are already preparing for their role in the Confederations Cup next summer.

In total, close to 5,500 volunteers will be involved in events surrounding the ‘Festival of Champions’ next year, compared to over 15,000 at the FIFA World Cup in 2018.