The President was welcomed to the stadium by FC Spartak’s heads and club veterans. Mr Putin congratulated everyone on the stadium’s opening and had a tour of the stands and the inside facilities.
The President then watched a training session of young footballers studying at the Spartak Children’s Football Academy. The students asked Mr Putin to sign a football and have his photograph taken with them.
The President also inspected via video linkup several other stadiums that are being readied for the FIFA World Cup: Luzhniki in Moscow, Zenit Arena in St Petersburg, and Yubileiny in Saransk.
During the visit to the stadium, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko updated the President on the state of progress in construction of football stadiums in Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Samara and Kaliningrad.
