With the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ drawing ever nearer, construction on all the tournament's stadiums continues apace. Every month FIFA.com provides an update for fans on how progress is going.

Progress of the monthFootball in Rostov-on-Don is on the up and up. The local club, FC Rostov, who remained in the Russian Premier League a year ago thanks only to their victory in the relegation play-offs, unexpectedly battled for the championship title to the very last round this season. Second place in the league and a berth in the UEFA Champions League is a serious achievement for the club, and the new stadium being built for the 2018 World Cup could not be coming at a more opportune moment.

“We just can't wait to play in the Rostov Arena,” said FC Rostov's goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanayev, who could barely contain his delight on a visit to the stadium.

However, the Rostov Arena is particularly important not only for the club, but for the city too. The tenth most populous city in Russia (more than 1.1 million inhabitants) stretches out along the right bank of the Don, while the left bank is largely undeveloped. They now plan to build a new city centre on the left bank, right where the World Cup stadium can be found.

At the same time as the arena is being built, the area is being developed. The famous Rostov embankment is being reconstructed, the refurbishment of the main street of the Left Bank area is soon to begin, and a beach area is being built. In the future it is expected that the stadium will become part of a new quarter and large recreational district with a favourable location. There are other sports facilities planned to be built here too, so the Rostov Arena will become the centre of a new sports and leisure district.

At the stadium, the assembly of the metal roof is nearing completion. Also on the site, plastering and electrics works are under way, the sewerage systems are being constructed, as are the provisions for water and heating. The utilities networks are now being assembled and the barriers for the arena are being erected.

Elsewhere around RussiaAt Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, which will host the Opening Match and Final of Russia 2018, the replacement has begun of the old polycarbonate roof with a new material. To protect the fans from the elements, the roof of the arena has been extended by 11 metres and the new canopy will be covered in a transparent material. The main peculiarity of this is that it lets in the sun's rays and is ideally suited for stadiums with natural grass pitch coverings.

In Volgograd, the construction of all the stadium's floors is complete. In the 'A' sector there are five floors and the remaining sectors have three floors each. The supporting structures here are now ready (the walls, columns, and ceilings). The monolithic work is also in the final straight: already, over 100,000 out of the 112,000 cubic metres of concrete have been laid.

In Nizhny Novgorod, the builders have commenced the erection of the fifth and final floor of the stadium in the 'A' sector. This is where the boxes for the VIP audiences will be situated alongside the commercial boxes and the boxes for the press.

InEkaterinburg, the installation of the reinforced concrete structures of the stands in the southern, northern and eastern sectors of the complex has been completed on the first floor. These structures form the frame of the stands, where the seats for the spectators will be assembled in the future.

And in the stadium in Kazan the fate of the most important trophies in Russian football has already been decided. On 2 May, in the Kazan Arena, FC Zenit won the Russian Cup having routed CSKA 4-1 in the final. And on 21 May, in the final round of the Russian Premier League, CSKA beat the local team FC Rubin 1-0 to take the championship title.

Did you know?The retractable pitch in the Saint Petersburg Stadium weighs 8,400 tonnes and is moved in and out of the stadium along 18 tracks on 394 wheels. These tracks have already been built, and the movement of the pitch is controlled by a system of lasers placed along the length of the pitch. If even just one of the 394 wheels were to start to skid the automation would transfer the additional effort to the other wheels and even out the movement of the pitch.

Figure of the monthMore than ten kilometres of pipes will be laid along the perimeter of the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. These pipes will provide water and heating to the new arena, along with drainage, and outflow for rainwater.