When we think about global poverty we seldom focus on developed nations like Russia. But perhaps FIFA’s latest decision to award the country with the rights to the 2018 World Cup could help shine a light on just how persistent and devastating poverty can be in the unlikeliest of places.

It’s true that Russia’s 15.8 percent poverty rate is vastly better than the 86 percent experienced in Zambia or the 80 percent in Haiti, but the fight against poverty doesn’t begin and end with the world’s worst case scenarios. Despite the country’s immense oil and gas revenues, large segments of the population remain cut off and unable to get ahead, and health and food security are of major concern.

And, while many of the discussions about poverty that take place are rightly on the countries where its impact is most widespread, it’s impossible to ignore that poverty can hurt just as much in developed countries as it does elsewhere. Global events like the World Cup present a unique opportunity to change the way we look at poverty.