The Arena de Baixada is reportedly set to be removed from World Cup program after construction issues.
The World Cup has been regularly plagued by claims that the construction of several marquee venues is running well behind schedule with less than four months to go until kick-off.
Brazilian media has reported that the city of Curitiba will no longer host a game following a raft of construction issues at the city’s World Cup stadium.
Curitiba’s World Cup secretary, Reginaldo Cordeiro, last week denied claims by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper that the stadium would not be ready for the June 13 start.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, however, said that his organisation “are seeking and finding solutions to help them catch up and hopefully make sure” the stadium will be ready in time.
Australia are due to play world champions Spain at the Arena de Baixada on June 23 but Football Federation Australia (FFA) said have not been informed of any change of venue for the third clash of the Socceroos’ World Cup campaign.
“We are aware of rumours surrounding Curitiba being cut as a #Brazil2014 venue but have received no confirmation from FIFA #GoSoccerroos,” wrote the federation on their official Twitter feed.
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou is unfazed by the possibility of having to change venues.
“I’ve put absolutely zero thought into that. I’ve got more important things to worry about. We’ll play in the car park if we have to; we’ve just got to be ready to play. When I was there in December, the stadium was almost complete so I’m really surprised that they’re still having some issues,” he said on Monday.
