The opening ceremony of Russia’s first FIFA Confederations Cup kicked off in St. Petersburg prior to the match between the national teams of the hosting country and New Zealand.

Axar.az reports citing Sputnik.

The first match is scheduled to start at 6 p.m local time (15:00 GMT) on Saturday, whereas the opening ceremony had begun two hours earlier.

The Confederations Cup will be held from June 17 to July 2 in the Russian cities of Kazan, Sochi, St. Petersburg and Moscow. Besides New Zealand, Portugal, Mexico, Cameroon, Chile, Australia and Germany have also sent their national teams to participate in the cup.

Earlier on Saturday, the organizing committee of the 2018 World Cup, also dealing with the Confederations Cup, informed that Russian low-income citizens, including families with many children, orphans and disabled people, will be able to visit the Confederations Cup matches for free.