It’s the latest and perhaps most worrying stadium situation that Brazil has faced yet in the build up to this year’s World Cup in terms of completion of venues: Curitiba’s Arena da Baixada is so far behind its targets that it has been described as an “emergency” by FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke.
It is true that there have been issues elsewhere along the road to hosting football’s biggest event, but in Curitiba, things are looking ominously dangerous.
According to insideworldfootball.com, Valcke has said of the Baixada: “The stadium is not only late, it’s very, very late. If you don’t have a stadium, you can’t have games. It is an emergency situation.”
Four group matches are due to be played at the 43,000 stadium and it is getting too late logistically to think about moving them elsewhere. Tickets have been purchased, as well as accomodation for fans and indeed players.
There is allegedly a paucity of the necessary monies to finish the Baixada, with FIFA facing the prospect of injecting the funds needed to complete a venue that should have been ready months ago.
Curitiba, and indeed Brazil, need to find a solution to this latest debacle as soon as poosible.
