Uruguay to carry historic turf to Russia

Montevideo: The Uruguayan national football team participating in the 2018 World Cup will take pieces of turf from this capital’s legendary Centenario stadium — which hosted the first World Cup in 1930 — to Russia in June.

“I believe it is very meaningful for it to travel [with us] to Russia,” Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) president Wilmar Valdez said on Tuesday. The Bering-Bellingshausen Institute for the Americas, a Russian NGO, proposed the idea, which was implemented jointly with the AUF and the relevant authorities in Uruguay.

“The sections of turf from the Centenario [stadium] will be present in all the matches in, which Uruguay is set to play in Russia,” said Valdez.