Sport in the air across Kazan ahead of Games, say test event participants

On 6 June 2013, exactly one month before the start of the 27th Summer Universiade, the Volga Federal District University Football Championship kicked off in Kazan. The matches of the сhampionship are taking place at the Trudovye Rezervy and Olymp Stadiums.

The tournament features 8 teams from 7 Russia's cities: Samara, Saransk, Orenburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Kazan and Izhevsk.

The guests of the host city of the 2013 Summer Universiade have the most favourable impressions of the city. "We have not been to Kazan for a long time. Of course, my fellow coaches were very surprised to see that the city has recently changed so much – it has changed dramatically," admitted Jamil Sharipov, the head coach of the team of Samara State Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities. "On the threshold of the Universiade, sport is in the air across the city! We were very pleasantly surprised by the conditions that have been created here."

Football competitions among university students of the Volga Region have been held since 2005. This year, Kazan has approached the Organising Committee with the request to hold them as a test event for the Summer Universiade. The competition programme includes not only football matches among the students, but also friendly games among the organisers, referees and coaches, as well as a seminar on the development of university football in the Volga Region. By the way, the students' matches in Kazan are closely followed by representatives of the Russian Football Union, under whose auspices the tournament is being held.

"The main thing about football is friendliness and brotherhood," said the championship's referees chief Vladimir Ershov. "Hopefully, the Universiade in Kazan will give impetus to the development of university sport here, in Russia."

The Volga Federal District University Football Championship in Kazan will last until 12 June.