Industry News

Confederations Cup stadiums pass final inspection

Each venue marked to host the 2017 Fifa Confederations Cup in Russia have passed the final inspections assessing the readiness and customisation of each stadium’s infrastructure.

The arenas in St. Petersburg, Kazan, Sochi and Moscow were verified at the end of February and early March by a joint delegation from Fifa and the Russia 2018 Local Organising Committee (LOC) led by Fifa director of competitions Colin Smith and LOC chief executive Alexey Sorokin.

Last month, there were doubts that the Zenit Arena in St. Petersburg would be ready in time for the tournament, with a number of issues surrounding design and constructors’ contracts affecting progress at the stadium since renovation work began in 2007.

However, Fifa later quelled the concerns on the stadium’s readiness by insisting that it would be completed in time to host its share of the games.

Experts in stadium preparation, competition management, security and transport were advised as part of the joint delegation on the readiness of each stadium, along with specialists in the logistics, TV broadcasting, media function support, human resources, marketing and ticketing program implementation industries.

The Confederations Cup kicks off on June 17, with 16 games featuring the top teams from all continents including Chile, Australia, Cameroon, Mexico, New Zealand and Portugal, as well as World Cup champions Germany and host nation Russia. The tournament final will take place on July 2 at the Zenit Arena.

Every stadium is currently undergoing preparation of the complementary infrastructure required for Confederations Cup matches.

While Kazan Arena and Spartak Stadium have been hosting football matches for years, the Zenit Arena only recently welcomed its first spectators during test events.

“There are just over 100 days to go until the start of Fifa Confederations Cup 2017, so this visit was a great opportunity for the experts and professionals from the LOC and Fifa to get together and discuss issues concerning the movement of groups inside the stadium, the organisational details of fans’ entry and exit and so on,” said Smith on the results of the visit.

“I like all the stadiums we visited. It is very important to ensure the surroundings of the venues are ready, so that the fans feel comfortable.”

Sorokin added: “It was our final inspection tour immediately preceding the Confederations Cup, the last chance for all experts to come together and see how the preparations for the tournament are going directly at the stadiums, to tackle all operational issues. In general, we are happy with the progress achieved at the Confederations Cup venues. Thanks to the participation of local authorities, huge work has been completed.”