The new team will be based at the Bolshoi Ice Dome in the Black Sea Resort, which will host the ice hockey tournament during the Olympics, due to get underway on February 7.

Delfin Sochi, which takes its name from the bottlenose dolphins that can be seen swimming close to the shore of the Black Sea city, is set to join the Russian based Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), generally recognised as the strongest tournament in the world behind the National Hockey League (NHL) in North America.

"It will be called Delfin and it will play at this arena," Mutko told Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy.

While ice hockey is one of the most popular sports across Russia, the south of the country - where Sochi is situated - has not had a top level ice hockey team before with football tending to be the most popular sport.

Delfin Sochi is the first permanent sports team to be situated in the city and is a key part of the Games' legacy, it is claimed.

Last year, the Kuban Krasnodar franchise was set up in Sochi's home Krasnodar Region, but it competes in the Vysshaya Hockey League (VHL) which is one of the minor leagues in Russia.

The Bolshoi Ice Dome will be the new home of KHL ice hockey side Delfin Sochi
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