The FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 is beginning to come to life in the cities hosting the tournament, which gets underway in June next year.
Locals and visitors in Russia's capital Moscow can confirm the ‘Tournament of Champions’ is rapidly approaching, as passengers on the city's metro can now travel in trains decorated in the tournament's signature style. The trains, which were unveiled in Moscow on 23 December, will be running on the underground Circle Line for the next six months.
The special trains are made up of five wagons and the exterior of each familiarises passengers with the Confederations Cup Host Cities - Kazan, Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Sochi - as well as their decorative symbols. The trains will also feature branding from the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™.
The presence of Confederations Cup logos on the metro will be advertising in motion exposed to a huge number of people, as one train on the Circle Line transports around 50 thousand** **people every day - almost the capacity of most FIFA Confederations Cup stadiums.
“We hope this train will be one of those used by fans to visit matches during the FIFA Confederations Cup and FIFA World Cup in Russia”, said LOC Russia 2018 CEO Alexey Sorokin. "The FIFA Confederations Cup will be a wonderful tournament next summer. This is a major football event and a great test of our capabilities to organise beautiful global tournaments
The trains will also provide information on how to attend matches at the Confederations Cup, where the planet's continental champions will compete against each other. The participating nations are AFC Asian Cup winners Australia, Copa America champions Chile, CONCACAF Gold Cup holders Mexico, OFC Nations Cup winners New Zealand, UEFA EURO champions Portugal, World Cup winners Germany, hosts Russia and the victorious country at the Africa Cup of Nations, which is taking place in February 2017.
A web address - FIFA.com/tickets - will be displayed in each wagon showing where you can get tickets for the tournament. Full attendances are what Russia national team players expect at FIFA Confederations Cup, which will be the only official tournament for the hosts until the 2018 FIFA World Cup™.
“The FIFA Confederations Cup will be a major test of our strength in 2017," said Russia midfielder Denis Glushakov, who attended the event. "We will play against the champions of Europe and the champions of other continents and we'll do our best to progress as far as possible. That’s why we need the support of the fans”,
Glushakov has a special connection to the metro. “My club Spartak Moscow travelled to one game on the metro because of traffic jams," he explained. "And I scored that day! If necessary, the Russian national team could even use this beautiful train to get to a Confederations Cup game”.
For those who would like to purchase tickets to the 'Tournament of Champions', 2018 FIFA World Cup Ambassador and Russian TV-presenter Yana Churikova provided some updates. “We are all waiting for the FIFA Confederations Cup, the biggest sporting event of the coming year. Right now on FIFA.com anyone can buy tickets. Beside tickets, supporters will also need Fan ID cards, which can also already be arranged”.
After the opening ceremony, the first specially dressed-up train departed off into the darkness, a visual metaphor of the upcoming and highly anticipated Confederations Cup in Russia.