Curitiba, Brazil narrowly avoided losing its spot as a 2014 World Cup venue city on Tuesday, after the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football—FIFA) threatened to exclude the city from the tournament. The news comes one month after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said that the delays in construction of Curitiba’s Arena da Baixada amounted to a “emergency situation.”
With less than four months before Iran and Nigeria play the first group stage match in Curitiba on June 16, organizers have imported hundreds of extra workers to complete the 43,000-capacity stadium. After speaking with representatives the city of Curitiba, its local football club Atlético Paranaense, and the State of Paraná, Valcke confirmed yesterday that the stadium will be ready for the tournament, calling the Curitiba “a special city in terms of sustainability and passion for football” and confirming that it will remain part of the FIFA World Cup lineup.
However, Valcke made clear that the remaining construction must continue at the “highest pace,” and that the process will require “regular monitoring.”
Of the six stadiums that missed the December 31 construction deadline set by FIFA, Curitiba’s was the furthest behind schedule. Construction still has to be completed on four other stadiums, including the Arena de São Paulo, which will host the World Cup opener on June 12, even though the stadium is not expected to be finished until April.
In addition to the June 16 match, the Arena da Baixada is scheduled to host four group stage matches, including Honduras vs. Ecuador (June 20), Australia vs. Spain (June 23) and Algeria vs. Russia (June 26).
