Fans will be able to attend the Belarus Cup football final for free

May 22, Minsk / Igor Khadasevich - BELTA /. The final match of the Belarus Cup 2008-2009 will be held on May 31 at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk. The game between Shakhtyor Soligorsk and Naftan Novopolotsk will start at 6:00 PM, and admission to the stands will be free, Vladimir Nesterovich, head of the press service of the Belarusian Football Federation, told a BELTA correspondent. Decisive cup matches are almost always held at the country's main sports arena - out of the 17 previous finals, Dinamo hosted 16. Only once was the final held outside the capital: in 2002, Gomel footballers became Cup holders at the Dinamo Stadium in Vitebsk, defeating BATE Borisov 2-0. The largest number of spectators - 15,500 - gathered for the 2005 final, when MTZ-RIPO Minsk defeated BATE 2-1. The lowest attendance - 2500 spectators - was recorded twice: in 1992, Dinamo (Minsk) - Dnepr (Mogilev) - 6:1 and in 1995, Dinamo-93 (Minsk) - Torpedo (Mogilev) - 1:1 (7:6 on penalties). For Shakhtyor Soligorsk, the upcoming final match will be the fourth in its history. However, the miners achieved success only once, in 2004, defeating Gomel 1-0 in the decisive match. But in 2006 and 2008, the Soligorsk footballers lost to BATE (1-3) and MTZ-RIPO (1-2). Naftan Novopolotsk has reached the final for the first time and is eager to win the honorable trophy. The winner of the Belarus Cup will receive the right to participate in the Europa League, which this season replaces the UEFA Cup.-0-