Six residents of Leningrad who lived through those terrible times came to meet Sergei Semak and the team at the Gazprom Training Centre. Pavel Petrovich Vinokurov aged 101,Natalia Stepanovna Bull aged 85, Maria Ivanovna Gromyko aged 86, Ekaterina Vasilyevna Trofimova aged 89, Maya Fedorovna Kadysheva aged 91, and Tamara Nikolaevna Morozova aged 87 were all guests of the club. 

Our VIP visitors were given a tour of the facilities, attended first team training and met the Zenit players. 

The coaching staff and players congratulated the veterans on the upcoming national celebration and presented them with flowers and gifts from the club, including the limited edition Zenit anniversary shirt, produced in January 2024 to mark 80 years since the lifting of the Siege of Leningrad.