Russia will host the 2018 FIFA Wold Cup, and many of the stadiums in the 13 host cities are being built from scratch.
The Kremlin has earmarked $4bn for sports over the next four years, with a further $10bn to be spent on infrastructure.
The World Cup is expected to be a big boost for the Russian economy, but the country still has to overcome problems of bureaucracy and corruption.
Al Jazeera's Neave Barker reports from the town of Saransk.
