Russia Launches FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour Nationwide

As Russia prepares to host the 2018 World Cup, Moscow Luzhniki Stadium where the final will take place hosted on Thursday a ceremony launching the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour across the country.

FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura, Russian Deputy prime minister Vitaly Mutko together with other officials pushed “a red button” and announced the route of the journey.

During 2017 and 2018 the trophy will travel across 24 Russian cities from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. The tour will start in September.

Luzhniki is one of the venues for Russia’s 2018 World Cup and will act as a hub during the games and will also be the location of FIFA’s office throughout the tournament. The stadium, which has a capacity of 81,000, will host both the opening match and final of the tournament.

The World Cup 2018 will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 different Russian stadiums in 11 cities, including two in Moscow, and one each in St. Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg.