December 23 – FIFA has set the dates for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia and the 2018 World Cup. The governing body has agreed that some World cup qualification matches can begin as early as next March.
The 2017 Confederations Cup, FIFA’s test event played the year before the World Cup, will be played June 17 to July 2.
The 2018 World Cup will open on Thursday June 14 with final being played on Sunday July 15. The opening game and the final will both be played in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium which is currently being redeveloped.
Although the main qualifying matches and groups will be drawn next July 25 in St. Petersburg, FIFA has said that some preliminary round matches in the AFC and CONCACAF federations can begin earlier in March. There are more than 800 qualifying matches to determine the 32 finalists.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia will be played in 12 stadiums across 11 cities.
Russia last week announced construction contracts and budgets for two stadiums – in Saransk and in Rostov on Don. Both stadiums will be built by Rissian firm Sport Englineering and both will have a 45,000 capacity. The combined budget is 36.7 billion Rubles ($672 million)
The cost of the Saransk will be slightly cheaper at 16.5 billion Rubles ($302 million). Scheduled for completiton in 2017, the project will see the money released in stages: 7.9 billion Rubles before the end of 2014, 4.2 billion Rubles in 2015, 2.1 billion Rubles in 2016 and 1.8 billion Rubles in 2017.
The Rostov on Don stadium will also be completed in 2017, costing 20.2 billion Rubles ($370 million). The money will be released in stage with 7.8 billion released in 2014, 6.1 billion Rubles in 2015, 3.6 billion Rubles in 2016 and 2.1 billion Rubles 2017.
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