Aleksander Ceferin, president of European football’s governing body, Uefa, has said the under-construction Zenit Arena in Russia has the potential to be one of the top venues in Europe.
Saint Petersburg’s Zenit Arena is scheduled to host games during next year’s Fifa World Cup but doubts remain over a renovation project that began in 2007.
The 69,000-capacity facility is due to stage matches during this summer’s Confederations Cup and Fifa recently moved to allay fears by insisting the stadium would be ready for the tournament, which takes place from June 17 to July 2.
A number of issues surrounding design and constructors’ contracts have halted progress at the Zenit Arena but Ceferin is confident that the stadium will be worth the wait.
“I am sure that when it is ready, it will be one of the top arenas in Europe,” Ceferin said in an interview with Russian news agency Tass. “At Uefa, we all know all about the atmosphere at the Stadion Petrovski (the 21,000-capacity facility currently used to stage football matches in Saint Petersburg) and I am sure that the new stadium will be even more impressive for fans and players alike.”
A Russian Premier League game between Zenit Saint Petersburg and Ural Yekaterinburg will take place at the Zenit Arena on April 23, with the fixture to serve as a test match ahead of the Confederations Cup.
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