Conducting mass global-scale sports events requires large amounts of investment and is considered quite a costly event. Although, most countries and regions are eager to host major sporting events, not only for reasons of prestige, but also because of the expected economic results. The paper considers economic and social aspects of the 2018 World Cup in Russia taking the city of Kazan (the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan) as an example. In this work, the analysis of investments in the program of the sports event for the Republic of Tatarstan for 2014-2018 is presented, in which the quantitative indicators of investments for carrying out activities for the 2018 FIFA World Cup are analyzed. The analysis of investments in this event was supplemented by the results of a sociological survey conducted by the authors using the method of formalized interviews among the population of the Republic of Tatarstan for 2017-2018. As a result, positive and negative aspects of mass sports events on the functioning of the city of Kazan and its development have been revealed. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for conducting such large-scale events for the city at the present stage illustrated by the experience of the Republic of Tatarstan are given. (C) 2018 INT TRANS J ENG MANAG SCI TECH.