World Cup 2018: The secret lives of Russian goalposts - in pictures

Away from Russia's state-of-the-art World Cup stadia, a look the eclectic settings of spartan goalposts and pitches

A boy hangs from a goalpost in St Petersburg, Russia. Anton Vaganov / Reuters

Goats walk near goalposts in the village of Pervomayskoye, Crimea. Pavel Rebrov / Reuters

Hay fills a goalpost during the traditional Cossack games outside the village of Arkhonskaya in North Ossetia, Alania, Russia. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

Children play at a goalpost during the traditional Cossack games in North Ossetia, Alania, Russia. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

A boy rides a scooter near a goalpost on a football pitch in the Siberian town of Divnogorsk, Russia. Ilya Naymushin / Reuters

A man rides a horse near a goalpost in the village of Bolshaya Dzhalga in Stavropol region, Russia. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

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

People and dogs walk near a goalpost on the Ostrov Otdykha (the Island of Rest), located in the middle of the Yenisei River in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Ilya Naymushin / Reuters

Self-made goalposts in Verkhnyaya Biryusa village, located in the Taiga area near the Russian Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Ilya Naymushin / Reuters

A cadet holds a model of a sword in front of a goalpost as he trains in Stavropol, Russia. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

A goalpost stands in the village of Pribrezhnoye, Saksky region, Crimea. Pavel Rebrov / Reuters

A goalpost stands in Yevpatoria, Crimea. Pavel Rebrov / Reuters

A goalpost stands in front of an Orthodox church in the Siberian village of Tyulkovo in Krasnoyarsk. Ilya Naymushin / Reuters

The sometimes ramshackle goalposts give a glimpse of life away from the fervour of the World Cup finals that will be watched by fans from around the world.

Young Russians do pull-ups on the crossbar and run around on pitches in the shadow of the golden domes of Orthodox churches, 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.

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