June 12th 2014 is the date football fans all over the world would have bookmarked a really long time ago! With just 10 days to go for the start of the World Cup, Footieculture is kicking off a 10 day countdown, enlightening you each day about everything there is in this year’s grand football festival!
We start off the 10 day countdown with today’s article giving you an idea about all the stadiums in which the World Cup games are going to be played.
Here are the stadiums:
Estádio do Maracanã
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Capacity: 78,838
Matches to watch out for: Spain vs Chile (Group B), Finals.
Opened in 1950, this stadium presently serves as the home ground for both Flamengo and Fluminense, this majestic stadium will be hosting the grand final of the World Cup this year. This stadium is where the finals of the Confederations Cup 2013 was held, where the capacity crowd watched in awe as the home team swatted aside Spain 3-0.
Arena Corinthians
Location: São Paulo
Capacity: 68,034
Matches to watch out for: Brazil v Croatia (opening match), Uruguay v England.
Located in São Paulo, the Arena Corinthians is the stadium of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. It is the fifth-largest stadium in the top flight of the Brazilian League. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the stadium will be known as Arena de São Paulo and will host six matches, including the opening match. Due to the request of at least 65,000 seats for the World Cup opening match, 19,800 temporary seats were added to the stadium, especially for the tournament.
Mineirão
Location: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais
Capacity: 62,160
Matches to watch out for: Costa Rica v England, Argentina v Iran
The stadium, established in 1965 in Belo Horizonte, is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The stadium has also been known to have hosted music concerts by the likes of Paul McCartney and Beyoncé. In addition to this, the stadium will also host some matches of the football tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Arena Castelão
Location: Fortaleza, Ceará
Capacity: 67,037
Matches to watch out for: Germany v Ghana, Brazil vs Mexico
The Castelão or Gigante da Boa Vista is a football stadium that was inaugurated on November 11, 1973 in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, with a maximum capacity of 67,037 people. Its formal name honors Plácido Aderaldo Castelo, who served as the Governor of Ceará, and was a leader in getting the stadium built.
Arena Fonte Nova
Location: Salvador
Capacity: 50,000
Matches to watch out for: Spain v Netherlands, Germany vs Portugal
The Arena Fonte Nova stadium was built in place of the older Estádio Fonte Nova. A group of architects from Brunswick, Germany, which also redesigned the old Hanover stadium into a modern arena for the 2006 Cup was selected the redesigning after bidding. The stadium was inaugurated on April 7, 2013, with a Campeonato Baiano game in which Vitória defeated Bahia 5-1.
Estádio Nacional de Brasilia
Location: Brasília, DF
Capacity: 68,009
Matches to watch out for: Portugal v Ghana, Cameroon v Brazil
Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha was built in 1974. It is named after famed Brazilian footballer Garrincha. This stadium is one of several structures comprising the Ayrton Senna Multisport Complex. At a cost of US$900 million, this stadium is the second-most expensive football stadium in the world after England’s Wembley Stadium.
Estádio Beira-Rio
Location: Porto Alegre
Capacity: 51,300
Matches to watch out for: France v Honduras, Nigeria v Argentina
Estádio José Pinheiro Borda, better known as Estádio Beira-Rio (Riverside Stadium) due to its location beside the Guaíba River, is located in Porto Alegre. It serves as the home stadium for Sport Club Internacional. It is named after José Pinheiro Borda, an elderly Portuguese engineer who supervised the building of the structure but died before he could see its completion. The stadium has gone through restoration and developments that make it fit to host matches during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The stadium has been altered to an international standard, ready to host any national or international game.
Arena Pernambuco
Location: São Lourenço da Mata, Pernambuco
Capacity: 46,154
Matches to watch out for: USA v Germany, Italy vs Costa Rica
Itaipava Arena Pernambuco is a new multi-use stadium in the Western suburbs of the Recife metropolitan area, in São Lourenço da Mata, Brazil. Beginning from July 2013, Clube Náutico Capibaribe have been playing all of their home games at thus stadium. The fully finished structure will include a university campus, indoor arena, hotel and convention center, plus commercial, business and residential units and a large entertainment complex with shopping centers, cinemas, bars and restaurants.
Arena da Amazônia
Location: Manaus, Amazonas
Capacity: 42,374
Matches to watch out for: England v Italy, USA v Portugal
Arena da Amazônia is located on the former site of the Vivaldão stadium. The stadium has an all-seater capacity of 46,000 and was constructed from 2010 to December 2013. England Manager Roy Hodgson initially criticized the location of the stadium saying the extreme heat of Manaus would make it very difficult for players. The Mayor of Manaus later went on to claim that anyone who criticized the stadium or the city would not receive the best welcome. England were later coincidentally drawn to play their opening game against Italy in Manaus.
Arena Pantanal
Location: Cuiabá
Capacity: 42,968
Matches to watch out for: Chile v Australia, Japan v Colombia
The Arena Pantenal has been built to serve as one of the playing venues of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It replaced the old Estádio José Fragelli (Verdão), which used to be the main football stadium of the city of Cuiabá. The Arena Pantanal first hosted a football match on 2 April 2014 when Mixto and Santos squared off in a Copa do Brasil match. The architects of the stadium have focused strongly on sustainability and one of the stadium’s noticeable features are the plants and trees that will fill the four corner areas.
Arena das Dunas
Location: Lagoa Nova, Natal
Capacity: 45,000
Matches to watch out for: Italy v Uruguay, Mexico v Cameroon
The Arena das Dunas (“Dunes Arena”) is a football stadium designed by leading sports architect, Christopher Lee of Populous under construction since January 2011. It has been described by Mr. Lee as “the most perfect stadium in South America”. It has been built in the city of Natal in the capital of Rio Grande do Norte Brazilian state. The stadium has been built in place of the Machadão stadium the Machadinho gym, whose buildings were demolished in 2011.
Arena da Baixada
Location: Curitiba, Paraná
Capacity: 37,634
Matches to watch out for: Australia v Spain, Iran v Nigeria
Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães, commonly referred to as Arena da Baixada, is a stadium in the Água Verde neighborhood of Curitiba, Paraná. Opened in 1914, it is the home stadium of Atlético Paranaense, who also own and operate it. The stadium was built at the previous location of a Brazilian Army powder depot. In 2005, the stadium was renamed Kyocera Arena, after the Japanese company Kyocera purchased the naming rights. The contract with Kyocera that gave the company naming rights expired in early 2008. It was not renewed, and no new partnership was announced. The stadium went back to its old name, Arena da Baixada.