Football fans in Russia have spoken of their hope for a peaceful World Cup without hooliganism as they look ahead to the country hosting the tournament in 2018.

Clashes between Russian and English football fans in France at the Euro 2016 tournament made headlines for weeks and for fans in Russia that simply want to enjoy next year's event, safety is a concern.

Sergei Ptitsev, a fan of Moscow-based club FC Spartak, said he hopes that the events won't impact the World Cup.

"I think it's great to express emotions and have an adrenalin outburst at the stadium, but without any racism or physical aggression towards other people," he said.

In the run-up to the tournament, the Russian government has drastically tightened security and introduced the Fan ID - a pass, that involves an obligatory background check for every person that has purchased the ticket for a World Cup game.

Some warn that if there are any potential problems with hooliganism, Russian police and security will not hold back.

"Here they'll be very strict, I'm sure. And the problem will be solved," said Petr Shadrin a sports journalist at Kommersant FM.

"The problem might be solved with radical methods."

Igor, a young man in his 20s has been a Spartak fan since he was a little boy, unlike his grandfather, Viktor, who himself roots for Dinamo.

"We have never argued about that," said Igor.

"The wonderful game that is football unites us," nodded his grandfather, almost tearful.

Both men are equally excited about the World Cup.

"We can support different teams, says Viktor, but when it comes to the national team, all of us - Lokomotiv, Torpedo, Dinamo, Spartak supporters - we're all in one boat."

Moscow - November 28 2017

1. Various of Russia 2018 countdown clock near Red Square, people walking by

2. Various of World Cup-inspired graffiti on building

Moscow - November 27 2017

3. Various of Spartak fans having dinner and drinking before match

4. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Sergei Ptitsev, FC Spartak fan:

"We usually come here before the home matches of Spartak Moscow. It's Georgian and it's very tasty."

5. Close-up of Spartak emblem on hoodie

6. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Sergei Ptitsev, FC Spartak fan:

"I think it's great to express emotions and have an adrenalin outburst at the stadium, but without any racism or physical aggression towards other people. But other than that, it's absolutely normal to support your team, express emotions."

7. Spartak fan leaving restaurant

8. Spartak fans posing for camera in street ++NIGHT SHOT++

Moscow - November 21 2017

++NIGHT SHOTS++

9. Various of Otkrytie Arena stadium and police

Ekaterinburg - August 19 2017

10. Various of FC CSKA Moscow ultras (waving blue and red flags) in stand during match

11. Various of FC Ural Yekaterinburg ultras (wearing orange shirts) in stand

Ekaterinburg - November 22 2017

12. Establishing shot of sports analyst Petr Shadrin

13. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Petr Shadrin, sports journalist at Kommersant FM:

"There are problems with hooliganism everywhere. We remember Euro 2016 (UEFA European Championship), we remember Marseille and the clashes between the Russian and the British fans. But here they'll be very strict, I'm sure. And the problem will be solved. On the other hand, the problem might be solved with radical methods."

Moscow - November 21 2017

++NIGHT SHOTS++

14. Various exteriors of Otkrytie Arena stadium and fans

15. Fan Igor Malinin and his friend talking before match

16. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Igor Malinin, FC Spartak fan:

"I hope that the Russian national team will be in the group with the most difficult teams because I think that our team has to level up. And even though we play at home, the result is not important. I think, that we should play with the strong and be either beaten up or put up a decent game. One of the two."

17. Malinin and other fans walking outside

Moscow - November 23 2017

18. Various of Malinin and his grandfather Viktor watching football match at home

19. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Viktor Kurdyumov, FC Dinamo fan:

"We can support different teams, but when it comes to the national team, all of us - Lomotiv, Torpedo, Dinamo, Spartak supporters - are in one boat. And we root for our country. And we're looking forward to the World Cup."

Moscow - November 24 2017

20. Various of young men training at Spartak football academy

21. Various of Vyacheslav Vashkevich, trainer at Spartak football academy

22. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vyacheslav Vashkevich, trainer at Spartak football academy:

"The World Cup opens new possibilities. And I think that our main goal is to come to the stadium and to see with our own eyes the strongest football players in action."

23. Various of young men training

24. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Ruslan Litvinov, trainee at Spartak football academy:

"Every team has a chance to win. Russia has a good chance though, because we're playing at home and most of the supporters at the stadiums will be Russian. Of course their support will play a role."

25. Various of young men training

Ahead of the World Cup, Russian authorities are cracking down on the hooligan culture in football.

Groups which wreaked havoc two years ago report surveillance and threats from law enforcement.

Leading hooligans from each club face lengthy prison sentences on old or trumped-up charges if there's trouble at the World Cup, even if they aren't personally involved, a Moscow veteran hooligan told The Associated Press.

He likened their situation to that of "hostages" and said the hooligan scene in Russia "is finished."

"I definitely won't go to any Russian national team games because, if, God forbid, someone does something, I will be the first to be suspected of doing it," he said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to describe numerous illegal acts, he said he had flown to Marseille in 2016 specifically to take part in fights with the English fans on the streets and in the stadium at the European Championship.

England's hooligans of the 1980s and 1990s inspired many Russian groups - most still bear English names - but in Marseille the Russians wanted to snuff out that reputation.

"It was a game for boys where you must prove who's stronger. There's never any bad intentions," he said.

Alexander Shprygin ran a fan group which worked with the government on World Cup planning, and had been photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he has rapidly fallen from grace.

Shprygin was twice deported from France during the 2016 tournament and two of his organisation's board members were imprisoned in Marseille over the disorder.

He denies any role.

Three months later, Russian police arrested him in a toilet at a conference held by the national football federation, seeking to question him over an earlier brawl in Russia, and dragged him out past waiting media.

His organisation has been dormant since then.

Shprygin told the AP his friends in the hardcore fan scene have been summoned by Russia's Federal Security Service, the heir to the Soviet-era KGB, for "preventative conversations" and many want to go abroad during the World Cup.

World Cup tickets are worthless without a Russian government-issue "Fan ID".

Applicants are vetted by the Russian security services, who have denied several thousand Russian fans ID to see games at the World Cup and last year's Confederations Cup, according to Oleg Semyonov, formerly a leader of the Spartak Moscow fan scene, who now runs a legal advice hotline for supporters.

Semyonov says authorities are using "a big database" which has barred people accused of taking part in football-related disorder _ including Shprygin, whose ID was cancelled two hours before a Confederations Cup game _ but also some with convictions dating back 20 years for minor offences like jaywalking or public drunkenness.

Most top Russian clubs now have so-called "curators" from the security services "who work with the fan organisations" and have warned them off disorder, Semyonov added.

Amid the crackdown, the Russian fan scene is increasingly split.

So-called "ultras" focus on coordinated chants, lighting flares and staging elaborate displays at games, but can defend themselves if needed.

The hardcore fighters mostly stick to pre-arranged brawls in forests because of tight stadium surveillance.

Some fighters are drifting away from football and turning to organised mixed martial arts events which offer a chance to make money from their hobby.

The Moscow hooligan also lamented the end of hooliganism's golden era, when battles between rival clubs in Moscow came down to tactics as much as strength.

Hooliganism offers a brotherhood, even for those like the Moscow hooligan, who has a university education and a traditionally middle-class job.

A world dominated by football's brawlers would have a simple, honourable way to solve disputes, he argued.

"It always goes by the rule of the fist. If you're stronger, you're right," he said. "If there were more people like that, maybe people wouldn't be building missiles."

Moscow, Russia - 16 May 2018

1. Various of clock with countdown to World Cup near Red Square in central Moscow

FILE: Tula, Russia - 1 December 2017

2. Various of Spartak FC (Moscow) fans cheering and lighting flares at a match

Moscow, Russia - 19 May 2018

3. Wide of craft beer festival venue, poster reading (English) "Big Craft Day Moscow"

4. Football fan, who requested not to be identified, walking at beer festival venue

5. SOUNDBITE (Russian) name withheld (spoke on condition of anonymity), veteran football hooligan:

"The World Cup is bad. Because of it we have big problems, a lot of people under investigation — a lot of problems. So it's not very good for us, it's not a festival of football. So me personally, I definitely won't go to any Russian national team games because, if, God forbid, someone does something, I will be the first to be suspected of doing it."

FILE: Marseille, France - 11 June 2016

6. Various of Russian and English fans clashing at Euro 2016 in France

Moscow, Russia - 19 May 2018

7. SOUNDBITE (Russian) name withheld (spoke on condition of anonymity), veteran football hooligan:

"Russia reached its peak at that moment. From 2000 to 2010 we had a good growth, a lot of people were involved in it. And when everybody found out that we're playing with the English it was just… I have only been to one match, I came there only for that (to fight) and left the next day. It was important. It was a game for boys where you must prove who's stronger. There's never any bad intentions."

Moscow, Russia - 22 May 2018

8. Various of Rostokino district in Moscow where hooligan groups' forest fights have been known to happen

9. Establishing shot of Vladimir Kozlov, filmmaker and author of books on Russian football fans

10. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vladimir Kozlov, filmmaker and writer:

"I'd say that today in Russia there are several thousand football hooligans, dispersed all over the country in the movements of various teams."

11. Cutaway of Kozlov

12. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vladimir Kozlov, filmmaker and writer:

"There's been no growth for a while now. The number (of hooligans) has been stable. There was growth when it was very fashionable at the end of the 90s to the beginning of the 2000s."

Moscow, Russia - 5 May 2018

13. Various of football fans and security measures before a football match, police on horseback

Moscow, Russia - 21 May 2018

14. Alexander Shprygin, Dinamo FC (Moscow) fan sitting at table

15. Dinamo FC emblem on flag

16. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Alexander Shprygin, Dinamo FC fan:

"First of all, the FSB (Federal Security Services, former KGB) has started working on the football fans actively which has never happened before. Secondly they've switched on all of the legal mechanisms and if before when you violated a rule at a stadium you could leave the stadium and forget about it, now even the slightest violation isn't left unnoticed."

17. Cutaway of Shprygin

18. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Alexander Shprygin, Dinamo FC fan:

"It's the main event of my life I've been dreaming of all my life and waited for. And of course every football fan dreams of being at Luzhniki stadium to see the opening match with the Russian national team. And I not only won't be able to attend the opening match, I won't be able to attend any match of the World Cup at all. Of course it's annoying."

19. Various of legal advice call centre for football fans

20. Various of Oleg Semyonov, head of the legal advice centre

21. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Oleg Semyonov, head of legal advice hotline for football fans:

"I rather expect some incidents between the Serbian and the Croatians, between Poland and Germany and even between Saudi Arabia and Iran because one side are Shia and others are Sunni and under certain circumstances there might be misunderstandings between them. As for us, all of these football fans are our guests."

Moscow, Russia - 16 May 2018

22. Various of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 sign on a building

Football fans in Russia have spoken of their hope for a peaceful 2018 FIFA World Cup - without hooliganism - as they looked ahead to the country hosting the tournament in 2018.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Clashes between Russian and English football fans in France at the Euro 2016 tournament made headlines for weeks - and for fans in Russia that simply want to enjoy next year's event, safety is a concern.

Sergei Ptitsev, a fan of Moscow-based club FC Spartak, said he hopes that the events won't impact the World Cup.

"I think it's great to express emotions and have an adrenalin outburst at the stadium, but without any racism or physical aggression towards other people," he said.

In the run-up to the tournament, the Russian government has drastically tightened security and introduced the Fan ID - a pass, that involves an obligatory background check for every person that has purchased the ticket for a World Cup game.

Some warn that if there are any potential problems with hooliganism, Russian police and security will not hold back.

"Here they'll be very strict, I'm sure. And the problem will be solved," said Petr Shadrin a sports journalist at Kommersant FM.

"The problem might be solved with radical methods."

Igor, a young man in his 20s has been a Spartak fan since he was a little boy, unlike his grandfather, Viktor, who himself roots for Dinamo in Muscovite derbies.

"We have never argued about that," said Igor.

"The wonderful game that is football unites us," nodded his grandfather, almost tearful.

Both men are equally excited about the World Cup.

"We can support different teams, says Viktor, but when it comes to the national team, all of us - Lokomotiv, Torpedo, Dinamo, Spartak supporters - we're all in one boat."

Moscow, Russia. Various.

1. 00:00 Various of Russia 2018 countdown clock near Red Square, people walking by.

2. 00:13 Various of World Cup-inspired graffiti on building.

Moscow, Russia - 27th November 2017.

3. 00:23 Various of Spartak fans having dinner and drinking before match.

4. 00:49 SOUNDBITE (Russian) Sergei Ptitsev, FC Spartak fan:

"We usually come here before the home matches of Spartak Moscow. It's Georgian and it's very tasty."

5. 00:58 Close-up of Spartak emblem on hoodie.

6. 00:58 SOUNDBITE (Russian) Sergei Ptitsev, FC Spartak fan:

"I think it's great to express emotions and have an adrenalin outburst at the stadium, but without any racism or physical aggression towards other people. But other than that, it's absolutely normal to support your team, express emotions."

7. 01:03 Spartak fan leaving restaurant.

8. 01:25 Spartak fans posing for camera in street ++NIGHT SHOT++.

Moscow, Russia - 21st November 2017.

++NIGHT SHOTS++

9. 01:36 Various of Otkrytie Arena stadium and police.

Ekaterinburg, Russia - 19th August, 2017.

10. 01:59 Various of FC CSKA Moscow ultras (waving blue and red flags) in stand during match.

11. 02:09 Various of FC Ural Yekaterinburg ultras (wearing orange shirts) in stand.

Ekaterinburg, Russia - 22nd November, 2017.

12. 02:25 Establishing shot of sports analyst Petr Shadrin.

13. 02:31 SOUNDBITE (Russian) Petr Shadrin, sports journalist at Kommersant FM:

"There are problems with hooliganism everywhere. We remember Euro 2016 (UEFA European Championship), we remember Marseille and the clashes between the Russian and the British fans. But here they'll be very strict, I'm sure. And the problem will be solved. On the other hand, the problem might be solved with radical methods."

Moscow, Russia - 21st November, 2017.

++NIGHT SHOTS++

14. 02:54 Various exteriors of Otkrytie Arena stadium and fans.

15. 03:09 Fan Igor Malinin and his friend talking before match.

16. 03:13 SOUNDBITE (Russian) Igor Malinin, FC Spartak fan:

"I hope that the Russian national team will be in the group with the most difficult teams because I think that our team has to level up. And even though we play at home, the result is not important. I think, that we should play with the strong and be either beaten up or put up a decent game. One of the two."

17. 03:31 Malinin and other fans walking outside.

Moscow, Russia - 23rd November 2017.

18. 03:38 Various of Malinin and his grandfather Viktor watching football match at home.

19. 04:11 SOUNDBITE (Russian) Viktor Kurdyumov, FC Dinamo fan:

"We can support different teams, but when it comes to the national team, all of us - Lomotiv, Torpedo, Dinamo, Spartak supporters - are in one boat. And we root for our country. And we're looking forward to the World Cup."

Moscow, Russia - 24th November 2017.

20. 04:39 Various of young men training at Spartak football academy.

21. 05:06 Various of Vyacheslav Vashkevich, trainer at Spartak football academy.

22. 05:16 SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vyacheslav Vashkevich, trainer at Spartak football academy:

"The World Cup opens new possibilities. And I think that our main goal is to come to the stadium and to see with our own eyes the strongest football players in action."

23. 05:25 Various of young men training.

24. 05:34 SOUNDBITE (Russian) Ruslan Litvinov, trainee at Spartak football academy:

"Every team has a chance to win. Russia has a good chance though, because we're playing at home and most of the supporters at the stadiums will be Russian. Of course, their support will play a role."

25. 05:46 Various of young men training.

SOURCE: SNTV.

DURATION: 05:54.

STORYLINE:

Ahead of the 2018 World Cup, Russian authorities are cracking down on the hooligan culture in domestic football in a bid to host a smoothly run tournament renowned for dramatic contests on the pitch and not off it.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Ahead of the World Cup, Russian authorities are cracking down on the hooligan culture in football.

Groups which wreaked havoc two years ago report surveillance and threats from law enforcement.

Leading hooligans from each club face lengthy prison sentences on old or trumped-up charges if there's trouble at the World Cup, even if they aren't personally involved, a Moscow veteran hooligan told SNTV.

''I definitely won't go to any Russian national team games because, if, God forbid, someone does something, I will be the first to be suspected of doing it," said a veteran hooligan speaking under condition of anonymity.

He also said he had flown to Marseille in 2016 specifically to take part in fights with the English fans on the streets and in the stadium at the European Championship.

England's hooligans of the 1980s and 1990s inspired many Russian groups - most still bear English names.

Alexander Shprygin ran a fan group which worked with the government on World Cup planning, and had been photographed with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he has rapidly fallen from grace.

Shprygin was twice deported from France during the 2016 tournament and two of his organisation's board members were imprisoned in Marseille over the disorder.

He denies any role.

Three months later, Russian police arrested him in a toilet at a conference held by the national football federation, seeking to question him over an earlier brawl in Russia, and dragged him out past waiting media.

His organisation has been dormant since then.

Shprygin told SNTV that his friends in the hardcore fan scene have been summoned by Russia's Federal Security Service, the heir to the Soviet-era KGB, for "preventative conversations" and many want to go abroad during the World Cup.

''They've switched on all of the legal mechanisms and if before when you violated a rule at a stadium you could leave the stadium and forget about it, now even the slightest violation isn't left unnoticed.

"It's the main event of my life I've been dreaming of all my life and waited for.

''And I not only won't be able to attend the opening match, I won't be able to attend any match of the World Cup at all. Of course it's annoying," said Shprygin.

World Cup tickets are worthless without a Russian government-issue "Fan ID".

Applicants are vetted by the Russian security services, who have denied several thousand Russian fans ID to see games at the World Cup and last year's Confederations Cup, according to Oleg Semyonov, formerly a leader of the Spartak Moscow fan scene, who now runs a legal advice hotline for supporters.

Semyonov says authorities are using a big database which has barred people accused of taking part in football-related disorder - including Shprygin, whose ID was cancelled two hours before a Confederations Cup game - but also some with convictions dating back 20 years for minor offences like jaywalking or public drunkenness.

Most top Russian clubs now have so-called "curators" from the security services who work with the fan organisations and have warned them off disorder, Semyonov added.

While Russian-fronted hooliganism is likely to be relatively absent from the World Cup, Semyonov said he still expected clashes between rival groups hailing from other nations.

"I rather expect some incidents between the Serbian and the Croatians, between Poland and Germany and even between Saudi Arabia and Iran because one side are Shia and others are Sunni and under certain circumstances there might be misunderstandings between them,'' predicted Semyonov.  

Amid the crackdown, the Russian fan scene is increasingly split.

So-called "ultras" focus on coordinated chants, lighting flares and staging elaborate displays at games, but can defend themselves if needed.

The hardcore fighters mostly stick to pre-arranged brawls in forests because of tight stadium surveillance.

Some fighters are drifting away from football and turning to organised mixed martial arts events which offer a chance to make money from their hobby.

The Moscow hooligan also lamented the end of hooliganism's golden era, when battles between rival clubs in Moscow came down to tactics as much as strength.

Hooliganism offers a brotherhood, even for those like the Moscow hooligan, who has a university education and a traditionally middle-class job.

_5th May - 22nd May and FILE. Various. Moscow, Russia. 16th May 2018. 1. 00_00 Various of clock with countdown to World Cup near Red Square in central Moscow FILE - Tula, Russia. 1st December 20172. 00_17 Various of Spartak FC (Moscow) fans cheering and lighting flares at a match Moscow, Russia. 19th May 2018. 3. 00_46 Wide of craft beer festival venue, poster reading _Big Craft Day Moscow_4. 00_51 Football fan, who requested not to be identified, walking at beer festival venue 5. 00_59 SOUNDBITE (Russian)_ Veteran football hooligan_++CLIENT NOTE - name withheld (spoke on condition of anonymity)++ _The World Cup is bad. Because of it we have big problems, a lot of people under investigation — a lot of problems. So it's not very good for us, it's not a festival of football. So me personally, I definitely won't go to any Russian national team games because, if, God forbid, someone does something, I will be the first to be suspected of doing it._FILE - Marseille, France. 11th June 2016.6. 01_23 Various of Russian and English fans clashing at Euro 2016 in FranceMoscow, Russia. 19th May 2018. 7. 01_46 SOUNDBITE (Russian)_ Veteran football hooligan_++CLIENT NOTE - name withheld (spoke on condition of anonymity)++ _Russia reached its peak at that moment. From 2000 to 2010 we had a good growth, a lot of people were involved in it. And when everybody found out that we're playing with the English it was just… I have only been to one match, I came there only for that (to fight) and left the next day. It was important. It was a game for boys where you must prove who's stronger. There's never any bad intentions._Moscow, Russia. 22nd May 2018. 8. 02_16 Various of Rostokino district in Moscow where hooligan groups' forest fights have been known to happen 9. 02_35 Establishing shot of Vladimir Kozlov, filmmaker and author of books on Russian football fans 10. 02_45 SOUNDBITE (Russian)_ Vladimir Kozlov, filmmaker and writer_ _I'd say that today in Russia there are several thousand football hooligans, dispersed all over the country in the movements of various teams._11. 02_55 Cutaway of Kozlov12. 03_02 SOUNDBITE (Russian)_ Vladimir Kozlov, filmmaker and writer_ _There's been no growth for a while now. The number (of hooligans) has been stable. There was growth when it was very fashionable at the end of the 90s to the beginning of the 2000s._Moscow, Russia. 5th May 2018. 13. 03_18 Various of football fans and security measures before a football match, police on horseback Moscow, Russia. 21st May 2018. 14. 03_39 Alexander Shprygin, Dinamo FC (Moscow) fan sitting at table15. 03_47 Dinamo FC emblem on flag16. 03_52 SOUNDBITE (Russian)_ Alexander Shprygin, Dinamo FC fan_ _First of all, the FSB (Federal Security Services, former KGB) has started working on the football fans actively which has never happened before. Secondly they've switched on all of the legal mechanisms and if before when you violated a rule at a stadium you could leave the stadium and forget about it, now even the slightest violation isn't left unnoticed._17. 04_13 Cutaway of Shprygin18. 04_18 SOUNDBITE (Russian)_ Alexander Shprygin, Dinamo FC fan_ _It's the main event of my life I've been dreaming of all my life and waited for. And of course every football fan dreams of being at Luzhniki stadium to see the opening match with the Russian national team. And I not only won't be able to attend the opening match, I won't be able to attend any match of the World Cup at all. Of course it's annoying._19. 04_37 Various of legal advice call centre for football fans 20. 04_53 Various of Oleg Semyonov, head of the legal advice centre21. 05_07 SOUNDBITE (Russian)_ Oleg Semyonov, head of legal advice hotline for football fans_ _I rather expect some incidents between the Serbian and the Croatians, between Poland and Germany and even between Saudi Arabia and Iran because one side are Shia and others are Sunni and under certain circumstances there might be misunderstandings between them. As for us, all of these football fans are our guests._Moscow, Russia. 16th May 2018. 22. 05_32 Various of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 sign on a buildingSOURCE_ SNTVDURATION_ 05_41

Local Organising Committee Director in Ukraine Markiyan Lubkivsky on Tuesday (29th May) described Sol Campbell comments as "insolent", after the former England defender warned fans not to travel to the UEFA European Championships in Ukraine and Poland because of fears of racism and violence.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

The Ukrainian city of Kiev marked ten days to go until the start of the UEFA European Championships on Tuesday (29th May), which Ukraine are co-hosting with Poland.

But it was a day that the Local Organising Committee Director in Ukraine Markiyan Lubkivsky came out in defence of Ukraine and Poland, after former England defender Sol Campbell warned fans to stay away from Euro 2012 because of fears of racism and violence.

Lubkivsky described Campbell's comments as "insolent" and added "I don't see any dangers for citizens of different nationalities to stay in Ukraine".

Campbell told BBC's Panorama programme that the tournament should never have been awarded to Poland and Ukraine and advised fans to "stay home, watch it on TV".

With ten days remaining until the start of the tournament fan zones are being constructed in the four host cities in Ukraine.

Lubkivsky said that there were concerns about the stadia or airports, which he said were ready for the tournament.

The first round of matches at Euro 2012 are on June 8th when Poland host Greece, followed by Russia's game with the Czech Republic.

The first match to take place in Ukraine will be on June 9th when the Netherlands face Denmark at the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv, followed by Germany's match against Portugal at Arena Lviv in Lviv.

Kiev will have to wait until June 11th to host its first match when the co-hosts Ukraine play Sweden in a Group D game.

SHOTLIST: Kiev, Ukraine - 29th May 2012.

1. 00:00Various of shot of Kiev pedestrian area with preparations of fan zone

2. 00:10 Mid shot of Euro 2012 fan shop

3. 00:14 Close up of sign

4. 00:20 Wide of building with Euro 2012 countdown clock

5. 00:24 Mid shot of Euro 2012 countdown clock

6. 00:28 Close up of Euro 2012 countdown clock

7. 00:34 Wide of people setting up tents on street

8. 00:45 Various of signs with Euro 2012 logos

9. 00:55 Various of people walking

10. 01:04 Wide Local Organising Committee of Ukraine press conference

11. 01:08 Close up of Euro 2012 logo

12. 01:12 SOUNDBITE: (Ukrainian) Markiyan Lubkivsky, Local Organising Committee Director in Ukraine (Responding to former England international Sol Campbell's comments that England fans shouldn't travel to Ukraine because of the threat of racism and violence): "I don't see any dangers for citizens of different nationalities to stay in Ukraine. We will be glad to see everybody. We are getting ready for the great football festival. Well, if the player (Sol) Campbell has such a vision, than it is his own point of view, and it can not be projected for the whole country. On the other hand, it (his statement) is simply insolent for us, and we do not understand the aim of such a statement. The best way is to come and to get fun from football."

13. 01:51 Cut away Logo

14. 01:55 SOUNDBITE: (Ukrainian) Markiyan Lubkivsky, Local Organising Committee Director in Ukraine (Saying that stadia and airport are ready to host Euro 2012) " We have no questions about all our airports, the same goes for all our stadia. All of us are waiting for a wonderful championship."

15. 02:05 Various shots of National Olympic stadium in Kiev

SOURCE: SNTV