Daily Times

Russian women, dressed in floor-length white bridal dresses, featured in a 5-a-side football match in Russia on sidelines of the ongoing FIFA World Cup on Sunday.

Wearing floor-length white dresses and running shoes, the women divided themselves into two 5-member teams and played two 15-minute halves on gravel in front of a small crowd.

The women said that they were doing so to show love for the sport and to also prove that it is not only the men who adore football.

“It’s not only a man’s game, the most important thing is friendship and solidarity,” said Maryana Raznogorskaya, a participant.

All the running and athleticism was, however, not so comfortable in a bridal dress, but for the ladies, it was all worth it. “We had a nice appearance but it wasn’t very comfortable,” said Gulnaz Sharipova, who was playing football for the very first time.

The winning team was awarded a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy, made of flowers.

The 5-a-side fixture was held prior to the start of the Round-of-16 clash between France and Argentina, which the former won by 4 goals to 3 courtesy a scintillating brace by French forward Kylian Mbappe.

Russia is hosting the soccer World Cup for the first time, holding matches in 11 cities.