The second stage of the "Battle of Cities"—an international project by the Russian Judo Federation and the "Cradle of the Fatherland" charity program, supported by title sponsor Fonbet—kicks off this week with competitions at the "Pyotr Bagration" legion in Krasnoyarsk. Ahead of the start, the host cities abroad for the head-to-head matches between Russian and international teams—contested for a spot in the international Superfinal—have been announced.
As a reminder, the "Battle of Cities" features teams of judokas under the age of 18 from all of Russia's federal districts. The project's first stage took place this year during April and May. Based on the results of eight tournaments held across the federal districts, 64 teams qualified to advance to the second stage. These teams were organized into eight "legions"—one for each federal district. Each legion comprises four "home" teams that topped their groups in the first-stage tournaments, along with four additional squads—selected via a draw—that finished second in their respective groups at tournaments held in other federal districts.
The winners from each legion will compete in the "Battle of Cities – Grand Final," an all-Russian tournament taking place in Moscow from November 8 to 10. Subsequently, the "Battle of Cities – Super Final"—an international tournament—will be held in the Russian capital from December 3 to 17; participants will include the top two teams from each legion, eight international teams invited by the organizers, and eight teams determined through international qualifying tournaments.
The tournament for the "Pyotr Bagration" Legion will take place in Krasnoyarsk (Siberian Federal District) from September 3 to 7. Next, competitions for the "Dmitry Donskoy" Legion (Southern Federal District) will be held in Armavir from September 10 to 14. Following that, the top contenders from the "Alexander Suvorov" Legion will be determined at a tournament scheduled for Stavropol (North Caucasian Federal District) from September 17 to 21. The second stage of the "Battle of Cities" will reach its midpoint in Chelyabinsk (Ural Federal District), where teams from the "Fyodor Ushakov" Legion will face off from September 24 to 28.
The competition continues in Saratov (Volga Federal District), where teams from the "Georgy Zhukov" Legion will compete from October 1 to 5. The sixth tournament of this stage will take place from October 15 to 19 in Khabarovsk (Far Eastern Federal District), featuring squads from the "Pyotr Nakhimov" Legion. The second phase’s penultimate stop is Vyborg (Northwestern Federal District), where the "Alexander Nevsky" Legion tournament will be held from October 21 to 25. Finally, the concluding leg of this stage is scheduled for Moscow from October 25 to 29, where the top teams from the "Mikhail Kutuzov" Legion will be determined.
International playoff matches will begin on September 23. The first tournament will take place in Astana (Kazakhstan), featuring the third-place team from the "Pyotr Bagration" Legion and the fourth-place team from the "Dmitry Donskoy" Legion representing Russia. A week later, on September 30, the fourth-place team from the Bagration Legion and the third-place team from the Donskoy Legion will head to Minsk (Belarus). Subsequently, on October 10 in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), playoff matches will be held between the third-place team from the "Alexander Suvorov" Legion and the fourth-place team from the "Fyodor Ushakov" Legion. Finally, on October 14 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), the fourth-place team from the Suvorov Legion and the third-place team from the Ushakov Legion will compete.
Next, the "Battle of Cities" matchups will move to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, where the third-ranked team from the "Georgy Zhukov" Legion and the fourth-ranked team from the "Pyotr Nakhimov" Legion will compete on October 21. The fourth-place team from the Zhukov Legion and the third-place team from the Nakhimov Legion will travel to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) to face their opponents on October 26. The penultimate international matchup will take place on November 4 in Istanbul (Turkey), featuring the third-ranked team from the "Alexander Nevsky" Legion and the fourth-ranked team from the "Mikhail Kutuzov" Legion. Finally, the series concludes in Belgrade (Serbia) on November 11, where the fourth-place team from the Nevsky Legion and the third-place team from the Kutuzov Legion will compete.
Source: Russian Judo Federation
