FIFA World Cup 2018: A philatelic visit to the football stadiums of the 2018 World Cup (part 2)

The last FIFA World Cup was held in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018. A total of 32 countries participated in the World Cup, and 65 matches were played in 12 stadiums across 11 cities of Russia.

Russia issued a second set of stamps on 26 August 2016, featuring another 4 stadiums which hosted matches. These stamps were issued in sheetlets of 8 stamps per sheetlet, and the stamps were priced at 21.5 rouble each.

The stadiums featured on these stamps are:

Stadium Arena (Volgograd) - The Volgograd stadium arena was built at the foot of Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex. Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, is located on the western bank of the Volga River in South West Russia.

It hosted 4 group matches from 18 June to 28 June 2018. It has a maximum capacity of 45,000 spectators.

Ekaterinburg Arena Stadium (Ural) - This stadium hosted the group matches of group A, C, H, and F from 15 June to 27 June 2018. The designed capacity of the stadium was 35,000 spectators.

The match between Mexico and Sweden on 27 June 2018 at this stadium attracted 33,061 spectators.

Rostov Arena Stadium (Rostov on Don) - This beautiful stadium is located on the left bank of River Don. It hosted 4 group matches from 17 June to 26 June 2018, and a round of 16 match between Belgium and Japan on 02 July 2018.

The stadium was built to hold a maximum capacity of 45,000 people.

Samara Arena (Samara) - This stadium is located in eastern Russia, and has a capacity of 45,000 people, and it hosted a total of 6 matches during the World Cup.

Apart from the 4 group matches, it was host to a round of 16 match between Brazil and Mexico on 02 July 2018.

This stadium also had the proud privilege of hosting the quarter final match between European giants, Sweden and England, on 07 July 2018, and it had an attendance of 39,991 spectators.