MOSCOW (Sputnik) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in an official ceremony at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, where the start of the worldwide tour of FIFA World Cup's trophy was announced. Within the tour the trophy will visit 24 Russian cities and over 50 countries.
"To the people of Russia, I tell them — enjoy and celebrate the trophy tour and then the World Cup. And to the people of the world, I tell them — come to Russia, enjoy Russia and celebrate the World Cup," Infantino said.
"It is fantastic to be here in this beautiful stadium which has so much history and so much future ahead. The stadium has written the history of sports and football. And next year in this stadium the world champion will be crowned," Infantino said.
Russia will host the upcoming FIFA World Cup from June 14 through July 15, 2018. The matches will be held in the cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don, Kaliningrad, Samara, Saransk, Nizhny Novgorod and Volgograd.
