Volgograd Arena has passed the testing by the Russian Cup final

See photo gallery of the event

On May, 9  the third (final before for the FIFA World Cup 2018™ in Russia) test match was played at Volgograd Arena. On the Victory Day the stadium saw the first Olymp-Russian Football Cup final match in the hero-city history.  FC Tosno (Leningrad region) severely struggled to win 2:1 from Avangard (Kursk).

The game was attended by a record number of spectators - over 40,000 fans (40,373), who were hosted with the best comfort ever, including lighting, sound and various services. High level of the arena readiness was as well appreciated by honourable guests: Acting Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vitaly Mutko, Governor of the Volgograd Region Andrey Bocharov and owner of the Volga Group Gennady Timchenko. Vitaly Mutko expressed his confidence that the World Cup games going to be held at the Volgograd Arena will be played “at the highest level”.

The national team ex-coach Leonid Slutsky has visited his native city and came to see the arena as well. “The World Cup is a great event for Volgograd, said Slutsky to the journalists after the game. - It is my first visit to the Volgograd Arena and I admire the stadium. This gorgeous arena has has been long ago deserved by our city!”

A concert and a wide entertainment program was prepared for the stadium guests. Area in front of the stadium was occupied by an ethnographic village acquainting the visitors with traditions of nations living in the Volgograd region. Dmitry Malikov and the Volgograd rock band “ProRock” sang for the arena spectators. The opening ceremony started from a minute of silence in honour of the fallen during the Great Patriotic War.

The ultimate duel for the Russian Football Cup is one of the main matches of the national football calendar. To promote football in our country the Russian Football Union holds the main Russian Football Cup games in various cities and regions. This is the third year in a row, when the final game was payed at one of the stadiums built for the FIFA World Cup 2018. Football is being dearly loved and valued by the Volgogradians. On May 2, 1943, in only three months after the Stalingrad battle end, this city accommodated the match between local team “Dynamo” and “Spartak” (Moscow). Later this game was called “the match in Stalingrad ruins”.