Away from the World Cup, the secret lives of goalposts

[May 30, 2018]    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Never mind Russia's state of the art World Cup stadiums, Reuters photographers have been capturing the eclectic settings of communities' spartan goalposts and pitches.

Children play with a puppy near a goalpost on a football pitch in the Siberian settlement of Novosyolovo, Krasnoyarsk region, Russia, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

The sometimes ramshackle goalposts were photographed in Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, giving a glimpse of life away from the fervor of a tournament that will be watched by fans from around the world.

Young Russians do pull-ups from the crossbar and run around on pitches in the shadow of golden onion domes, old Soviet concrete walls and modern high-rises.

Locals also find alternative uses for the rusty, netless posts that have seen better days. One man ties his goat to the upright, children take a dog for a walk, and a man gallops past another on horseback.

(Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Alison Williams)

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