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77-618: The observation platform is on a steep bank 85 m (279 ft) above the river, or 200 m (660 ft) above sea level. The Central Lenin Stadium , where the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1980 Summer Olympics took place, is right below, across the Moskva River . Next to it is the Novodevichy Convent , with its Naryshkin Baroque towers. Not far from the observation platform

154-546: A "lack of leadership" and lack of confidence in Eckert's independence. On 3 June 2015, the FBI confirmed that federal authorities were investigating the bidding and awarding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups . In an interview published on 7 June 2015, Domenico Scala , the head of FIFA's Audit And Compliance Committee, stated that "should there be evidence that the awards to Qatar and Russia came only because of bought votes, then

231-414: A federal sub-program—"Construction and Renovation of Transport Infrastructure"—was implemented with a total budget of ₽352.5 billion (rubles), with ₽170.3 billion coming from the federal budget, ₽35.1 billion from regional budgets, and ₽147.1 billion from investors. The biggest item of federal spending was the aviation infrastructure costing ₽117.8 billion. Construction of new hotels

308-439: A huge challenge from a racism standpoint, and that a World Cup could not be held there under the current conditions. On July, United Nations anti-discrimination official Yuri Boychenko said that Russian soccer authorities had failed to fully grasp what racism was and needed to do more to combat it. To address this as well as concerns of hooliganism in general, Russian intelligence services blacklisted over 400 fans from entering

385-622: A new world record at the time. On 23 May 1963, Fidel Castro made a historic speech in Luzhniki Stadium during his record 38-day visit to the Soviet Union. New Japan Pro-Wrestling , the Japanese professional wrestling promotion, ran a show in 1989. Luzhniki Stadium also makes an appearance in the Russian supernatural thriller film Night Watch (Russian: Ночной дозор, Nochnoy Dozor ), during

462-665: A permanent hybrid turf was installed, consisting of 95 percent natural grass reinforced with plastic. On 23 December 1954, the Government of the USSR adopted a resolution on the construction of a stadium in the Luzhniki area in Moscow. The decision of the Soviet Government was a response to a specific current international situation: By the early 1950s, Soviet athletes took to the world stage for

539-483: A preliminary squad of 30 players, but in February 2018 this was increased to 35. From the preliminary squad, the team had to name a final squad of 23 players (three of whom had to be goalkeepers) by 4 June. Players in the final squad could be replaced for serious injury up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team's first match. These replacements did not need to have been named in the preliminary squad. For players named in

616-574: A second runway. Saransk Airport received a new navigation system; two new hotels were constructed in the city—the Mercure Saransk Centre ( Accor Hotels ) and Four Points by Sheraton Saransk as well as few other smaller accommodation facilities. In Samara , new tram lines were laid. Khrabrovo Airport in Kaliningrad was upgraded with radio navigation and weather equipment. Renovation and upgraded radio-engineering tools for flight operations

693-402: A single headquarters in Moscow, which received live video of the games and were in radio contact with the on-field referees. Systems were in place for communicating VAR-related information to broadcasters and visuals on stadiums' large screens were used for the fans in attendance. VAR had a significant impact on several games. On 15 June 2018, Diego Costa 's first goal against Portugal became

770-483: A situation, as is the case of one, two or even three stadiums in South Africa , where it is a problem of what you do with these stadiums". In October 2014, on their first official visit to Russia, FIFA's inspection committee and its head, Chris Unger , visited St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan and both Moscow venues. They were satisfied with the progress. On 8 October 2015, FIFA and the local organising committee agreed on

847-408: A uniting force. Brazilian World Cup-winning striker Ronaldo entered the stadium with a child in a Russia jersey. Pop singer Robbie Williams then sang two of his songs solo before he and Russian soprano Aida Garifullina performed a duet. Dancers dressed in the flags of the 32 competing teams appeared carrying a sign with the name of each nation. At the end of the ceremony Ronaldo reappeared with

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924-597: Is currently used for some matches of the Russia national football team , as well as being used for various other sporting events and for concerts. Luzhniki Stadium is currently the temporary home ground of FC Torpedo Moscow . The stadium is located in Khamovniki District of the Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow city, south-west of the city center. The name Luzhniki derives from the flood meadows in

1001-536: Is the Luzhniki Metro Bridge . The two-level Metro-Bridge traverses the river to link Komsomolsky Prospekt with Vernadsky Prospekt. It serves two urban transport systems: motor vehicles and the Moscow Metro subway. The glass-walled subway station Vorobyovy Gory is at the lower level of the bridge. The hills, immortalized by many Russian poets and writers, have been named after the village Vorobyovo , which

1078-578: Is the national stadium of Russia , located in its capital city, Moscow . Its total seating capacity of 78,011 makes it the largest football stadium in Russia and the ninth-largest stadium in Europe . The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex , and is located in Khamovniki District of the Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow city. The name Luzhniki derives from the flood meadows in

1155-579: The 1999 UEFA Cup Final in which Parma defeated Marseille in the second UEFA Cup final to be played as a single fixture. The Luzhniki Stadium was chosen by the UEFA to host the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final won by Manchester United who beat Chelsea in the first all-English Champions League final on 21 May. The match passed incident-free and a spokesman for the British Embassy in Moscow said, "The security and logistical arrangements put in place by

1232-570: The AFC's qualification , and the main qualifying draw took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna , Saint Petersburg, on 25 July 2015. Of the 32 nations qualified to play at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 20 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2014 . Both Iceland and Panama qualified for the first time, with the former becoming the smallest country in terms of population to reach

1309-674: The Armenian SSR , electrical and oak beams for the spectator benches from the Ukrainian SSR , furniture from Riga and Kaunas , glass was brought from Minsk , electrical equipment from Podolsk in Moscow Oblast , and larch lumber from Irkutsk in Siberia. It was necessary to demolish a whole area of dilapidated buildings (including the Trinity Church, which is supposed to be restored). Because

1386-702: The BBC released an investigation conducted by a Ghanaian journalist which implicated him in a bribery scandal. Shortly after the International Football Association Board 's decision to incorporate video assistant referees (VARs) into the Laws of the game (LOTG) on 16 March 2018, the FIFA Council took the much-anticipated step of approving the use of VAR for the first time in a FIFA World Cup tournament. VAR operations for all games were operated from

1463-416: The Moscow Oblast was cancelled by the regional government. Also, in the capital, Otkritie Arena was competing with Dynamo Stadium over which would be constructed first. The final choice of host cities was announced on 29 September 2012. The number of cities was reduced further to 11 and the number of stadiums to 12 as Krasnodar and Yaroslavl were dropped from the final list. Of the 12 stadiums used for

1540-605: The Netherlands , who were three-time runners-up and had finished in third place in 2014, had qualified for the last three World Cups, and failed to qualify for their second major tournament in a row, missing out on the UEFA Euro 2016 as well. Four reigning continental champions: 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon ; two-time Copa América champions and 2017 Confederations Cup runners-up Chile ; 2016 OFC Nations Cup winners New Zealand ; and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup champions

1617-594: The Trinity Church . The Sparrow Hills were renamed Lenin Hills ( Ле́нинские го́ры , Leninskiye Gory ) in 1935 after Vladimir Lenin . The historic name was restored in 1999. 55°42′36″N 37°32′35″E  /  55.710°N 37.543°E  / 55.710; 37.543 Luzhniki Stadium The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex , commonly known as Luzhniki Stadium ,

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1694-505: The UEFA Cup final in 1999 and UEFA Champions League final in 2008. The stadium also hosted such events as Summer Universiade , Goodwill Games and World Athletics Championships . It was the main stadium of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and hosted 7 matches of the tournament, including the opening match and the final . In the past, its field has been used as the home ground for many years of football rivals Spartak Moscow and CSKA Moscow . It

1771-548: The USSR Supreme Soviet Leonid Brezhnev declared the XXII Summer Olympic Games open. On 20 October 1982, disaster struck during a UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem . 66 people died in the crowd crush , which made it Russia's worst sporting disaster and most infamous cover-up at the time. In the spring of 1992, the state enterprise, including the sports complex,

1848-639: The United States (for the first time since 1986) also failed to qualify. The other notable qualifying streaks broken were for Ghana and Ivory Coast , both of which had qualified for the three previous tournaments. The lowest-ranked team to qualify was the host nation, Russia. Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the FIFA World Rankings at the time of the tournament. AFC (5) CAF (5) CONCACAF (3) CONMEBOL (5) OFC (0) UEFA (14) The draw

1925-683: The ongoing conflict in Ukraine had also prompted calls for the tournament to be moved, particularly following the annexation of Crimea . In 2014, FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated that "the World Cup has been given and voted to Russia and we are going forward with our work". Russia was criticised for alleged abuse of migrant labourers in the construction of World Cup venues, with Human Rights Watch reporting cases where workers were left unpaid, made to work in dangerously cold conditions, or suffering reprisals for raising concerns. A few pundits claimed it

2002-527: The sports complex was repaired for the first time. The stadium was the chief venue for the 1980 Summer Olympics , the spectator capacity being 103,000 at that time. The events hosted in this stadium were the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics , football finals, and the individual jumping grand prix . Then General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Chairman of the Presidium of

2079-512: The 18th century was moved, too. The stadium was officially opened on 31 July 1956, with a friendly football match between the RSFSR and China. 100 thousand spectators welcomed the event. The stadium was built in just 450 days. It was the national stadium of the Soviet Union , and is now the national stadium of Russia. In 1960 a 26-foot bronze statue of Lenin by sculptor Matvei Manizer , which

2156-472: The 2018 FIFA event was the most expensive World Cup in history, surpassing the $ 11.6 billion cost of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The Russian government had originally earmarked a budget of around $ 20 billion, which was later slashed to $ 10 billion, for World Cup preparations. Half was spent on transportation infrastructure. As part of the program to prepare for the 2018 FIFA World Cup,

2233-517: The 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments began in January 2009, and national associations had until 2 February 2009 to register their interest. Initially, nine countries placed bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but Mexico later withdrew from the proceedings, and Indonesia 's bid was rejected by FIFA in February 2010 after the Indonesian government failed to submit a letter to support the bid. During

2310-407: The 35-player preliminary squad, there was a mandatory rest period between 21 and 27 May 2018, except for those involved in the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final played on 26 May. On 29 March 2018, FIFA released the list of 36 referees and 63 assistant referees selected to oversee matches. On 30 April 2018, FIFA released the list of 13 video assistant referees, who acted solely in this capacity in

2387-645: The Central stadium, climbed onto a large paved area on the Lenin Hills [which after the Soviet era would revert to their old name, the Sparrow Hills ]... the proximity of the river, green mass of clean, fresh air – this circumstance alone mattered to select the area of the future city of sports... In addition, Luzhniki is located relatively close to the city center and convenient access to major transport systems with all parts of

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2464-482: The Europe-Asia border) in order to reduce travel time for the teams in the huge country. The bid evaluation report stated: "The Russian bid proposes 13 host cities and 16 stadiums, thus exceeding FIFA's minimum requirement. Three of the 16 stadiums would be renovated, and 13 would be newly constructed." In October 2011, Russia reduced the number of stadiums from 16 to 14. Construction of the proposed Podolsk stadium in

2541-538: The FIFA World Cup. Between 2010 (when Russia were announced as hosts) and 2018, nine of the twelve stadiums were built (some in place of older, outdated venues) and the other three were renovated for the tournament. Base camps were used by the 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. On 9 February 2018, FIFA announced the base camps for each participating team. At an estimated cost of over $ 14.2 billion as of June 2018 ,

2618-535: The Russian authorities have been first-rate, as has been their cooperation with their visiting counterparts from the UK." In August 2013, the stadium hosted the World Athletics Championships . The original stadium was demolished in 2013 to give a way for the construction of a new stadium. However, the self-supported cover was retained. The facade wall was retained as well, due to its architectural value, and

2695-512: The World Cup host if an independent investigation verified allegations of North Koreans being subjected to forced labor. Racism and Neo-nazi symbols displayed in the past by some Russian football fans drew criticism, with documented incidents of racial chants, banners spewing hate-filled messages, and sometimes assaults on people from the Caucasus and Central Asia . In March 2015, FIFA's then Vice President Jeffrey Webb said that Russia posed

2772-408: The World Cup. Other teams returning after absences of at least three tournaments included: Egypt , returning to the finals after their last appearance in 1990; Morocco , who last competed in 1998; Peru , who last appeared in 1982; Senegal , competing for the second time after reaching the quarter-finals in 2002. Poland , Saudi Arabia , Tunisia and Sweden have also returned after 12 years . It

2849-498: The awards could be cancelled". Prince William of Wales and former British Prime Minister David Cameron attended a meeting with FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon in which a vote-trading deal for the right to host the 2018 World Cup in England was discussed. For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, all eligible nations—the 209 FIFA member associations except automatically qualified hosts Russia—applied to enter

2926-421: The bend of Moskva River where the stadium was built, translating roughly as "The Meadows". It was necessary to find a very large plot of land, preferably in a green area close to the city center that could fit into the transport map of the capital without too much difficulty. According to one of the architects: "On a sunny spring day of 1954, we, a group of architects and engineers who were tasked with designing

3003-401: The bend of Moskva River where the stadium was built, translating roughly as "The Meadows". The stadium is located at Luzhniki Street, 24, Moscow. Luzhniki was the main stadium of the 1980 Olympic Games , hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as some of the competitions, including the athletics and final of the football tournament. A UEFA Category 4 stadium, Luzhniki hosted

3080-524: The bidding process, the three remaining non- UEFA nations ( Australia , Japan , and the United States ) gradually withdrew from the 2018 bids, and thus all UEFA nations were ruled out of the 2022 bid. As such, there were eventually four bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, two of which were joint bids: England , Russia , Netherlands / Belgium , and Portugal / Spain . The 22-member FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zürich on 2 December 2010 to vote to select

3157-445: The capital". It was one of the few major European football stadia to use an artificial pitch, having installed a FIFA-approved FieldTurf pitch in 2002. However, a temporary natural grass pitch was installed for the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final . The game between Chelsea and Manchester United was the first UEFA Champions League final held in Russia. On the match day, UEFA gave Luzhniki its elite status. In August 2016

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3234-512: The defending champions, were eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 1938 . Host nation Russia was eliminated in the quarter-finals. In the final , France played Croatia on 15 July at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow . France won the match 4–2, claiming their second World Cup and becoming the fourth consecutive title won by a European team, after Italy in 2006 , Spain in 2010 , and Germany in 2014 . Croatian player Luka Modrić

3311-469: The eighth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and to draw support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine . It was attended by approximately 200,000 supporters, according to police, with media reports suggesting that state employees were bussed to the rally while others were paid or forced to attend. Luzhniki Stadium hosted seven games of the 2018 FIFA World Cup , including

3388-491: The executive committee had requested bribes to vote for England, and Sepp Blatter had said it had already been arranged before the vote that Russia would win. FIFA appointed Michael J. Garcia , a US attorney, to investigate and produce a report on the corruption allegations. Although the report was never published, FIFA released a 42-page summary of its findings as determined by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert . Eckert's summary cleared Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing, but

3465-487: The final draw, FIFA adjusted six kick-off times. Russia was placed in position A1 in the group stage and played in the opening match at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 14 June against Saudi Arabia , the two lowest-ranked teams of the tournament at the time of the final draw. The Luzhniki Stadium also hosted the second semi-final on 11 July and the final on 15 July. The Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg hosted

3542-408: The first World Cup goal based on a VAR decision; the first penalty as a result of a VAR decision was awarded to France in their match against Australia on 16 June and resulted in a goal by Antoine Griezmann . A record number of penalties were awarded in the tournament, a phenomenon partially attributed to VAR. Overall, the new technology was both praised and criticised by commentators. FIFA declared

3619-409: The first semi-final on 10 July and the third place play-off on 14 July. The opening ceremony took place on Thursday, 14 June 2018, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, preceding the opening match of the tournament between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia. At the start of the ceremony, Russian president Vladimir Putin gave a speech, welcoming the countries of the world to Russia and calling football

3696-607: The first time after World War II (rus. the Great Patriotic War ), participating in the Olympic Games. The 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki brought the Soviet team 71 medals (of which 22 gold) and second place in the unofficial team standings. It was a success, but the increased athletic development of the Soviet Union, which was a matter of state policy , required the construction of a new sports complex. The proposed complex

3773-517: The host cities. Preference, especially in key areas, was given to those with knowledge of a foreign language and volunteering experience, but not necessarily to Russian nationals. Free public transport services were offered for ticketholders during the World Cup, including additional trains linking host cities, as well as services such as bus services within them. The full schedule was announced by FIFA on 24 July 2015 without kick-off times, which were confirmed later. On 1 December 2017, following

3850-618: The hosts of both tournaments. Russia won the right to be the 2018 host in the second round of voting. The Portugal/Spain bid came second, and that from Belgium/Netherlands third. England, which was bidding to host its second tournament, was eliminated in the first round. The voting results were: The choice of Russia as host was controversial. Issues included the high level of racism in Russian football, human rights abuses by Russian authorities, and discrimination against LGBT people in government (including gay propaganda laws ) along with wider Russian society. Russia's involvement in

3927-526: The implementation of VAR a success after the first week of competition. Russia proposed the following host cities: Kaliningrad , Kazan , Krasnodar , Moscow , Nizhny Novgorod , Rostov-on-Don , Saint Petersburg , Samara , Saransk , Sochi , Volgograd , Yaroslavl , and Yekaterinburg . Each chosen city was located in European Russia (except Yekaterinburg, which is located in Asia but lies very close to

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4004-445: The next best eight teams, and so on for pots three and four. This was different from previous draws, when only pot one was based on FIFA rankings while the remaining pots were based on geographical considerations. However, teams from the same confederation still were not drawn against each other for the group stage, except that two UEFA teams could be in each group. The pots for the draw are shown below. Initially, each team had to name

4081-899: The official names of the stadiums to be used during the tournament. Of the twelve venues, the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and the Saint Petersburg Stadium—the two largest stadiums in Russia—were used most; both hosted seven matches. Sochi, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara each hosted six matches, including one quarter-final match each, while the Otkritie Stadium in Moscow and the Rostov Stadium hosted five matches, including one round-of-16 match each. Volgograd , Kaliningrad , Yekaterinburg and Saransk each hosted four matches, but did not host any knockout stage games. Twelve stadiums in eleven Russian cities were built or renovated for

4158-540: The only stadiums to have hosted the finals of the FIFA World Cup and UEFA's European Cup/Champions League and featured as a main stadium of the Summer Olympic Games . Saint Denis' Stade de France is scheduled to become another in 2024. When the Luzhniki Stadium hosted the final game of the 1957 Ice Hockey World Championship between Sweden and the Soviet Union , it was attended by a crowd of 55,000 and set

4235-483: The opening and the final matches. During the World Cup, Luzhniki had six access control stations with 39 inspection lines, and seven access control points with 427 entrances for fans arriving on foot. The grounds were serviced by 3,000 surveillance cameras and about 900 scanners, monitors, and detectors. 55°42′57″N 37°33′13″E  /  55.71583°N 37.55361°E  / 55.71583; 37.55361 2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup

4312-479: The passage of spectators. About 900 scanners, 3000 cameras and monitors were installed. Special seats were provided for fans with disabilities. The stadium's capacity was increased from 78,000 to 81,000 seats, partly caused by the removal of the athletics track around the pitch. In 2018 FIFA named the stadium as best arena in the world. The stadium joins Rome's Stadio Olimpico , London's old Wembley Stadium , Berlin's Olympiastadion and Munich's Olympiastadion as

4389-417: The power shut-down scene when the power station goes into overload. The stadium is seen with a match taking place, and then the lights go out. In 2008, Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties after a 1–1 draw to win their third European Cup . This was United's third appearance in the final, and Chelsea's first. On 18 March 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin held a rally at the stadium marking

4466-561: The qualifying process. Zimbabwe and Indonesia were later disqualified before playing their first matches, while Gibraltar and Kosovo , who joined FIFA on 13 May 2016 after the qualifying draw but before European qualifying had begun, also entered the competition. Places in the tournament were allocated to continental confederations, with the allocation unchanged from the 2014 World Cup. The first qualification game, between Timor-Leste and Mongolia , began in Dili on 12 March 2015 as part of

4543-401: The soil was heavily waterlogged, almost the entire area of the foundations of the complex had to be raised half a meter. 10,000 piles were hammered into the ground and dredgers reclaimed about 3 million cubic metres of soil . The total area of the stadium occupies 160 hectares. Eight thousand people moved home to make place for the stadium. The Church Tikhvin , an architectural monument of

4620-405: The stadiums by June 2018, with 32 other countries also sending officers to help local police screen attendees for valid ID cards. Allegations of corruption in the bidding processes and concerns over bribery on the part of the Russian team and corruption by FIFA members for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups led to threats from England's FA to boycott the tournament. They claimed that four members of

4697-448: The tournament, three ( Luzhniki , Yekaterinburg and Sochi ) had been extensively renovated and the other nine were brand new; $ 11.8 billion was spent on hosting the tournament. Sepp Blatter had said in July 2014 that, given the concerns over the completion of venues in Russia, the number of venues for the tournament may be reduced from 12 to 10. He also said, "We are not going to be in

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4774-504: The tournament. Referee Fahad Al-Mirdasi of Saudi Arabia was removed on 30 May 2018 over a match-fixing attempt, along with his two assistant referees, compatriots Mohammed Al-Abakry and Abdulah Al-Shalwai. A new referee was not appointed, but two assistant referees, Hasan Al Mahri of the United Arab Emirates and Hiroshi Yamauchi of Japan, were added to the list. Assistant referee Marwa Range of Kenya also withdrew after

4851-447: The ₽5.6 billion rubles originally allocated from the state and regional budget. Volunteer applications to the 2018 Russia Local Organising Committee opened on 1 June 2016. The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Volunteer Program received about 177,000 applications, and engaged a total of 35,000 volunteers. They received training at 15 Volunteer Centres of the local organising committee based in 15 universities, and in volunteer centres in

4928-582: Was a crucial area of infrastructure development in World Cup host cities. Costs continued to mount as preparations were underway. Platov International Airport in Rostov-on-Don was upgraded with automated air traffic control systems. Modern surveillance, navigation, communication, control, and meteorological support systems were also installed. Koltsovo Airport in Yekaterinburg was upgraded with radio-engineering tools for flight operation and received

5005-695: Was acquired by Grand Duchess Sophia of Lithuania , Vytautas ' only daughter, from the boyars Vorobyovs in 1453. Alexander I of Russia wished to build the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour there; his successor had construction works suspended and the cathedral eventually was erected near the Kremlin . The main landmarks of the hills are the Moscow State University (at one time the tallest building in Europe) and

5082-599: Was completed in the Moscow , Saint Petersburg , Volgograd , Samara , Yekaterinburg, Kazan and Sochi airports. On 27 March, the Russian Ministry of Construction Industry, Housing and Utilities Sector of reported that all communications within its area of responsibility had been commissioned. The last facility commissioned was a waste treatment station in Volgograd. In Yekaterinburg, where four matches were hosted, hosting costs increased to over ₽7.4 billion, exceeding

5159-566: Was created for Expo 58 in Brussel , was placed on the square in front of the main stadium entrance. On 10, 11 and 12 June 1958, the first motorcycle speedway races to be held in the Soviet Union were conducted at the stadium. However, the stadium became better known for hosting ice speedway and it held the final of the Individual Ice Speedway World Championship in 1966 , 1967 , 1975 and 1984 . In 1976–1979

5236-562: Was denounced by critics as a whitewash. Because of the controversy, the FA refused to accept Eckert's absolving Russia from blame. Greg Dyke called for a re-examination of the affair and David Bernstein called for a boycott of the World Cup. Garcia criticised the summary as being "materially incomplete" with "erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions", and appealed to FIFA's Appeal Committee. The committee declined to hear his appeal, so Garcia resigned to protest of FIFA's conduct, citing

5313-436: Was held on 1 December 2017 at 18:00 MSK at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four, by selecting one team from each of the four ranked pots. For the draw, the teams were allocated to four pots based entirely on the FIFA World Rankings of October 2017. Pot one contained the hosts Russia (who were automatically assigned to position A1) and the best seven teams. Pot two contained

5390-460: Was later reconnected to the new building. Construction of the new stadium was completed in 2017. The total cost of repairs was 24 billion rubles . The 2018 FIFA World Cup was held in Russia with the Luzhniki Stadium selected as the venue for the opening match and also the final , which was held on 15 July 2018. For the 2018 World Cup the stadium organized six checkpoints with 39 inspection lanes and seven pedestrian points with 427 points for

5467-463: Was privatized and renamed the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, and by June of the same year, Lenin's name was removed. An extensive renovation in 1996 saw the construction of a roof over the stands, and the refurbishment of the seating areas, resulting in a decrease in capacity. Till the renovation, the stadium could accommodate 81 thousand people. In 1998, the stadium was listed by UEFA in the list of 5-star European football stadiums . The stadium hosted

5544-427: Was slave labour. In May 2017, FIFA president Gianni Infantino admitted there had been human rights abuses of North Korean workers involved in the construction of Saint Petersburg 's Zenit Arena . By June 2017, at least 17 workers had died on World Cup construction sites, according to Building and Wood Workers' International . In August, a group of eight US senators called on FIFA to consider dismissing Russia as

5621-582: Was the 21st FIFA World Cup , the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA . It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in late 2010. It was the eleventh time the championships had been held in Europe , the first time they were held in Eastern Europe , and the first time they were held across two continents (Europe and Asia). At an estimated cost of over $ 14.2 billion, it

5698-418: Was the first time three Nordic countries ( Denmark , Iceland and Sweden ) and four Arab nations (Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia ) qualified for the World Cup. Notable teams that failed to qualify included: four-time champions Italy (for the first time since 1958), who were knocked out in a qualification play-off by quarter-finalists Sweden and were the highest-ranked team to not qualify; and

5775-487: Was the most expensive World Cup ever held until it was surpassed by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar . The tournament phase involved 32 teams, of which 31 came through qualifying competitions , while the host nation Russia qualified automatically. Of the 32, 20 had also appeared in the 2014 event , while Iceland and Panama each made their debut at the World Cup. 64 matches were played in 12 venues across 11 cities. Germany ,

5852-688: Was to meet all modern international standards and at the same time serve as a training base for the Olympic team and arena for large domestic and international competitions. The stadium was built in 1955–56 as the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium. The design began in January 1955 and was completed in 90 days by the architects Alexander Vlasov, Igor Rozhin, Nikolai Ullas, Alexander Khryakov and engineers Vsevolod Nasonov, Nikolai Reznikov, Vasily Polikarpov. Building materials came from Leningrad and

5929-573: Was voted the tournament's best player, winning the Golden Ball . England 's Harry Kane won the Golden Boot as he scored the most goals during the tournament with six. Belgium 's Thibaut Courtois won the Golden Glove , awarded to the goalkeeper with the best performance. It has been estimated that more than 3 million people attended games during the tournament. The bidding procedure to host

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