Russian Stadiums Ready for 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup - Deputy Prime Minister

All four main venues for the upcoming Russia-hosted 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup are ready for the event, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Russian Football Union President Vitaly Mutko said Tuesday.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) – Confederations Cup matches will be held at four stadiums across Russia, including the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, the St. Petersburg Stadium, normally referred to as the Zenit Arena, the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi and the Kazan Arena in Kazan. The competition, which is considered to be a rehearsal of the FIFA World Cup, will involve a third of the 12 stadiums expected to be used in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

"Russia is ready to host the Confederations Cup. All four stadiums are ready. All the cities have 12 pre-match training grounds. All the agreements have been signed. There are issues to resolve by June 2. Everything will be given over to the organizing committee on June 2. We are confident that the tournament will be held at the highest possible standard," Mutko, who is a member of the World Cup organizing committee, told reporters.

The 2017 Confederations Cup will be held in Russia between June 17 and July 2. The once-in-four-years event will bring together the national teams of Australia, Cameroon, Chile, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal and Russia. FIFA started to sell tickets for the Confederations Cup earlier in April.

Russia will also host its first ever Football World Cup on June 14 — July 14 next year. The matches will be held in several major cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don and others.

Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!