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Sochi marks 50 days until FIFA World Cup with ‘record-breaking’ mountain football match

25 Apr, 2018 15:35
Sochi marks 50 days until FIFA World Cup with ‘record-breaking’ mountain football match
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A record-breaking football match has been staged in the snowy Sochi mountains, 2,064ft above sea level, to mark 50 days until the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which will be staged in Russia.

Two teams – “Legends of Russian football” and “Legends of Sochi” – comprised of veterans of Russian and Sochi football respectively, faced each other on Wednesday to show off their skills on a slippery snow surface which covered the football pitch in the mountains.

The game, which ended in a 3-3 draw, entered the Record Book of Russia as the highest-altitude football match ever played in the country.

Following the match, the players and guests of the event were invited to taste a specially prepared “football menu.”

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will kick off in Russia on June 14 with the opening game between Russia and Saudi Arabia at the newly renovated Luzhniki stadium in Moscow.

Fans attending World Cup matches in Russia, held from June 14 to July 15, must apply for a FAN ID. The FAN ID system will provide visa-free entry into the country for foreign fans and free inter-host city travel and use of public transport on match days.

The World Cup will be staged in 12 stadiums located in 11 Russian cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Sochi, Kaliningrad, Ekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd and Samara.