Tickets for 2018 Russian Cup final match at Volgograd Arena to be free of charge - RFU

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. The admission to the final match of the 2018 Russian Cup between football clubs Tosno and Avangard on May 9 at the new stadium in the city of Volgograd will be free of charge for everyone, an official with the RFU told TASS on Wednesday. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko announced earlier that the RFU planned to circulate tickets for free. The upcoming match at the Volgograd Arena will be also the third test match for the sports facility, which is set to host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup this summer. "We confirm that the entrance to the stadium will be free of charge for everyone," RFU Commercial Director Vladimir Karpovich told TASS. "Free tickets are not being distributed as of yet." The RFU is holding the Russian Cup annually for the national professional football clubs and the winner of the tournament gets the privilege of securing a berth in the group stage of the next UEFA Europa League. The participating clubs in the Russian Cup are from the Russian Football Premier League, from the First Division and the Second Division as well as amateur football clubs. The new 45,000-seats capacity Volgograd Arena for the 2018 World Cup has been constructed on the site of the Central Stadium, which was built in 1962 and was home for Rotor Volgograd FC. The dismantling of the Central Stadium was launched in mid-October 2015. Volgograd, formerly known as Stalingrad, is a city boasting an over one million population and it stretches alongside the Volga River. The city and the surrounding areas were the scene of the heaviest battles of World War II and the Battle of Stalingrad is considered to be the turning point in the war. An area of over 20 hectares (almost 50 acres) was allocated for the construction of the new stadium and parking sites almost in the heart of the city, while the Pobeda Arena itself will be occupying an area of some 124,000 square meters (30.6 acres). At least three matches will held to test the new stadium before the world championship and they will be the games between Russian football clubs on April 21, May 2 and May 9. The Volgograd Arena is scheduled to host four group stage matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, namely Tunisia-England on June 18, Nigeria-Iceland on June 22, Saudi Arabia-Egypt on June 25 and Japan-Poland on June 28. The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in 49 days with the opening match in the Russian capital of Moscow. Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara. The matches of the 2018 World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums located in the 11 mentioned above cities across Russia. Two of the stadiums are located in the Russian capital. Read more