Russia have suffered a blow after their World Cup preparations were hampered by a fire at one of its stadiums.

The blaze broke out on Thursday at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, one of the 12 host venues for the 2018 World Cup, with local officials stating the fire was quickly put out.

Stroytransgaz, the contractor building the 45,000-seat venue, said in a statement the blaze started at 1.30pm GMT in the stadium's stands after a welding spark ignited polystyrene debris.

Russia suffered its third stadium blaze of the year as the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium catches fire

'The incident has no impact on construction and the deadline for the stadium's completion,' the statement said.

A spokeswoman for the local branch of Russia's emergencies ministry also stated they were probing the cause of the blaze, which she said had been put out rapidly and did not lead to any casualties.

Pictures and video footage of the fire circulated by Russian media showed thick smoke rising from the venue, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

A blaze in the stands saw black smoke rise but officials claim it was quickly dealt with

The fire is the third blaze reported to have hit World Cup venues under construction in Russia since June and came hours after FIFA said Russia was on track with its preparations to host the World Cup.

In June, a similar fire broke out at the Volgograd Arena in southern Russia, also being built by Stroytransgaz.

The authorities attributed that blaze to lax safety regulations.

August also saw a fire break out at the Cosmos Arena in Samara, which has been plagued with delays over the past months.