FIFA World Cup 2018: A philatelic visit to the football stadiums of the 2018 World Cup

The 21st 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 matches were played in 12 stadiums across 11 cities.

Russia issued stamps on each of the 12 stadiums where the matches were played, and the first set of stamps were issued by Russia on 23 August 2017, featuring four stadiums which hosted matches. All stamps were priced at 22 roubles each. The stamps on other stadiums will be listed separately.

Stamps listing football stadiums which hosted the 2018 WC

The first 4 stadiums on which stamps were released are:

Kaliningrad Stadium - It has a seating capacity of 35,212, and it is a newly constructed stadium which hosted its first match in April 2018. During the World Cup, it hosted the group matches from 16 June to 28 June 2018.

Nizhny Novgorod Stadium - A newly built stadium with a seating capacity of 44,899, and it was inaugurated in 2018. It hosted the group matches from 18 June to 27 June 2018, the round of 16 matches between Croatia & Denmark, and the quarter-final on 06 July 2018 between France and Uruguay.

St Petersburg Stadium (Krestovsky Stadium) - This stadium hosted the games of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and is also scheduled to host UEFA Euro 2020 matches.

It hosted the 2018 World Cup group matches from 15 June to 26 June 2018, the round of 16 matches between Sweden & Switzerland on 03 July 2018, the semi-final between France & Belgium on 10 July, and the third-place match between Belgium & England on 15 July 2018. The stadium can seat up to 68,000 spectators.

Mordovia Arena (in Saransk) - It has a spectator seating capacity of 44,442, and it was opened in 2017. It hosted the group matches from 16 June to 28 June 2018.