Brasilia vows top stadium conditions

Posted Tuesday, April 09, 2013 by Goal.com

The governor of the Brasilia federal district on Monday pledged that the city's stadium would offer optimal conditions to host the World Cup next year.

The 71 000-seat Mane Garrincha national stadium, rebuilt at a cost of $500 million , will be delivered on April 21 – the city's 53rd anniversary – and will be totally ready for June's Confederations Cup, a dry run for the World Cup, governor Agnelo Queiroz said.

Brasilia "will offer optimal conditions for the World Cup," he added.

After its handover, the stadium will be used for two events, an unspecified one on April 18 and on April 25 the Santos-Flamengo game for the opening of the Brazilian national league, in line with demands set out by Fifa.

"After the Confederations Cup we will have one year to make adjustments and complementary work to be completely prepared for the World Cup," Queiroz added.

More than 5 000 workers are engaged in trying to complete the project.

Last week, President Dilma Rousseff inaugurated the arena in the northeastern city of Salvador, the third host stadium to be completed after those of Belo Horizonte and Fortaleza.

Still under construction along with Brasilia are: Rio's iconic Maracana arena, where the World Cup final is to be played and which will be completed on April 27, and Recife's stadium expected to be finished on April 14.

The Confederations Cup will be held from June 15 to 30 in six Brazilian cities. The contenders are Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Uruguay, Japan, Italy, Nigeria and Tahiti.