FIFA World Cup 2018: A guide to 12 host stadiums in Russia

When Russia won the bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2018, it proposed the following cities to host the matches - Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, and Yekaterinburg.

The cities that were picked were all in or just outside European Russia to reduce travel time for the teams in the huge country.

While, the host country initially proposed 13 cities and 16 stadiums, eventually FIFA had reduced that to 12 stadiums and 11 different cities

Although Russia is a huge country, it is not very popular, in comparisons to Spain, England, and Germany among other big names in football. The fact that Russia constructed a couple of stadiums just for the football mega event has certainly backed the above statement.

Here is a guide to FIFA World Cup’s 12 stadiums:

Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow

It is the home to Russian national football team. Luzhniki hosted the opening game between Russia and Saudi Arabia and the final also will be played there on July 15.

Built in 1956, Russia’s historic stadium was a venue for the Olympic Games in 1980, and has hosted over 3,000 football matches.

When Russia won the FIFA bid in 2014, Luzhniki Stadium went under renovation for four years by
Moscow-based architecture studio Speech, which saw the athletics track removed. It was a task for the architects to increase the capacity but at the same time they had to keep the historical walls intact.

Eventually, the capacity increased from 78,000 to 81,000.

St Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg

It is a 78-metre-tall stadium designed to look like a spaceship. Opened in 2017, Krestovsky Stadium, will be known as the St Petersburg Stadium during the tournament.

The stadium, which is the home of Russian football club FC Zenit St Petersburg, features a retractable roof, to allow games to take place in all weather, and a 67,000-seat capacity. The stadium is set to host seven games, including a semi-final and the third place play-off.

Fisht Stadium, Sochi

Sochi, the official summer residence of president Putin and the location for the 2014 Winter Olympics - the most expensive games in history - is more famed for its beaches, skiing resort, and Formula 1 races than for soccer, but its former Olympic venue, the Fisht Stadium, is now a World Cup venue.

From the armadillo-shaped 40,000-seat stadium, one can view the snow-capped summits of the
Caucasus. The Fisht Olympic Stadium will host on June 15 what is probably the best group stage match - Spain v/s Portugal. Also, its sub-tropical climate proved decisive for Brazil’s team base camp choice.

Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg

The easternmost venue will be Ekaterinburg, capital of the Urals, the mountain chain dividing Europe from Asia. The former 35,000-seat velodrome is now the Yekaterinburg Arena, where Uruguayans and Peruvians are set to face off after the latter’s 36-year World Cup absence.

Spartak Stadium, Moscow

Moscow is the only city boasting two World Cup stadiums: apart from Luzhniki, it also hosts the home turf of Spartak Moscow, the 45,000-seater Otkritie Arena, built in 2014, which finally provided a home to Russia's most successful club which until then had been "homeless".

Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod

“Complete stranger" could also be used to describe the 45,000-seater Nizhni Novgorod stadium, resembling a Roman amphitheater with its colonnades and roof with a small circular opening.

Mordovia Arena, Saransk

Even deep Russia has its own venue: Saransk is the smallest town to host World Cup matches. A charming garden-city with pedestrian streets and an airport within walking distance from the 45,000- seat Mordovia Arena.

Even Russians can’t find it on the map. Where is Saransk? Answer: in the heart of Russia.

Kazan Arena, Kazan

Kazan, capital of Russia's Tatarstan, can boast of having the FIFA Cup's most beautiful stadium, the world;s biggest Jumbotron on its facade and a view of Kazan's iconic 'White Kremlin' citadel.

The 45,000-seater stadium was inaugurated in 2013 and is home to FC Rubin Kazan, the “unknowns”
who beat Messi and Pep Guardiola's Barcelona 1-2 at Camp Nou in the 2009 UEFA Champions League.

Samara Arena, Samara

One venue lagging behind schedule was Samara’s Kosmos stadium, European Russia's industrial
heartland capital; the delays prompted Putin, the FIFA and the organizing committee to pay attention and it was back on schedule.

The stadium looks straight out of a science fiction novel. No surprise here, as Samara is the de-facto capital of Russia's Aerospatiale sector. It resembles a B-movie UFO, ready to fly off with soccer teams and spectators on board.

Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad

If Ekaterinburg is the most easterly venue, the one that lies most to the west is the 35,000-seat Kaliningrad stadium, built in Russia’s isolated Baltic enclave surrounded by Poland, Belarus and Lithuania and famous for its amber.

Volgograd Arena, Volgograd

The new 45,000-seat Volgograd stadium at the city formerly known as Stalingrad was a complex project, as it unearthed hundreds of unexploded bombs and human remains that gave testimony of the bloodiest battle in World War II, where the seemingly-unstoppable Nazi advance collided with an unmovable Soviet resistance.

The venue stands next to the Stalingrad Battle memorial and a hill with Europe's largest statue, the Motherland, site of a massive wartime mass grave.

Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don

At the 45,000-seater Rostov Arena, fans will enjoy the River Don’s refreshing breeze, a snow-white stadium and a rhomboid LED-studded outer shell to illuminate its nights.

(With efeservicios inputs)