- Address: Rostov-on-Don
- Country: Russia
- Capacity: 45,000
- Opened: 13 May 2018
- Main use: Football
- Tenants: FC Rostov (football)
Extra stadium info – Rostov Arena
The construction of the stadium, which opened as one of the largest sports venues by capacity in Russia, started in 2014. The Rostov Arena became one of the venues for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The national football teams of Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the Swiss Confederation and Uruguay played FIFA World Cup matches at the stadium.
FIFA World Cup matches
The first-ever FIFA World Cup match at the football stadium took place on 17 June 2018. The match between Brazil and the Swiss Confederation ended in a 1-1 draw. 43,000 people attended the game. Uruguay won the second world championship game at the Rostov Arena after beating Saudi Arabia 1-0. The United Mexican States won the third match after defeating Korea and Croatia won the fourth match after beating Iceland. The first four games were group stage games and the fifth match was a round of 16 game. Belgium won the round of 16 game against Japan 3-2.
FC Rostov
The Rostov Arena opened with a football match, which was won 1-0 by FC Rostov. 37,000 fans showed up for the game. FC Rostov, one of the first Russian football clubs with 100,000 followers on its main social media page, was founded in 1930 under a different name. They won the Russian cup tournament in 2014 for the first time in their history. FC Rostov won the cup after winning a penalty shoot-out against FC Krasnodar.
The UEFA Champions League
FC Rostov played their first-ever UEFA Champions League match in 2016. The club drew an average home attendance of 10,000 in that domestic league season. They faced Club Atlético de Madrid from Spain, FC Bayern München from Germany and PSV from the Netherlands in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. FC Rostov finished third place in the group stage of the tournament. They won one of the six group stage games. Two games ended in a draw.
