Fifa has revealed that eight of the 12 World Cup 2018 stadiums in Russia are yet to be finished, with eight months to go before the tournament kicks off.
Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, which is scheduled to host the opening match and the final, is ready to host 78,000 fans at an international friendly next month.
Workers at Mordovia Arena have yet to finish the roof’s membrane covering, along with several of the venue’s facilities. Kaliningrad Stadium is underway with installing seats and temporary structures.
The Nizhny Novgorod Stadium is yet to finish its roof and facilities, though its playing surface is now complete after almost 48,000km of artificial blades of grass were sewn into the pitch.
The foundations of the football pitch at the Samara Arena are still under construction, while the vnue’s temporary fencing has been replaced by permanent structures. The installation of the lighting system at the Ekaterinburg Arena is yet to be completed, but is due to be ready in November.
Around 30 per cent of the seating at the Rostov Arena is already in place, as work continues on the multi-media façade, suspended ceilings, ceramic tiling, lifts and escalators, roads, pedestrian walkways, paths and open spaces. The deputy governor of the Rostov Region, Sergei Sidash, confirmed that construction on the stadium is 90 per cent complete.
Facilities at Volgograd Arena (pictured) are still being installed, with work continuing on the construction of sewage, plumbing fixtures, building communications, heating and ventilation systems.
The four stadiums that hosted the Fifa Confederations Cup 2017 during the summer, Spartak Stadium, Kazan Arena, Saint Petersburg Stadium and Fisht Stadium, are ready to welcome fans at Russia 2018.
Three of them are already hosting the home games of Russian Premier League clubs in Moscow, Kazan and Saint Petersburg.
Image: LOC
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