MOST OVERDUE STADIUM OPENING

All right, Wembley had its problems, opened a year late and went a hefty 81 per cent over budget, but the new Krestovsky Stadium, home of Zenit Saint Petersburg, makes the London shambles seem like a model of good governance.

The 68,000-capacity ‘Spaceship’ has encountered every conceivable obstacle en route to opening. Built on the site of the old Kirov Stadium, which could hold 100,000 people and was nestled on bleak, but lovely, Krestovsky Island, it was initially funded by Gazprom. But the zillionaire petrol-pumpers chose to channel their money to a different project in 2009, and City Hall had to stump up the cash instead. The main contractor soon walked out amid talk of an unpaid billion-ruble bill, after which the project was then plagued by flooding and damage.

Last November, a FIFA team discovered that the playing field itself was unstable – it literally shook – while investigative journalists claimed that North Korean “slaves” were being used as workers and the roof leaks (it’s said that heavy snowfall might collapse it entirely). No wonder the city turned to God, asking 20 Orthodox priests to hold a service last year, in the hope of speeding up construction.

The cost has now run to around $1bn (a sevenfold increase, according to the Financial Times, although estimates vary wildly), and alas stinks of the kind of corruption that Russian businesses are trying to rid themselves of before the world starts to arrive next summer: a city governor has already been arrested regarding subcontractor kickbacks.

But it is now ready – nine years behind schedule. The doors opened in April, as Zenit defeated Ural Yekaterinburg, who ended up with eight men, 2-0. Russia will play one World Cup group game there and it will host a semi-final. Better late than never.