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| Arena da Baixada Concept |
A month ago, the city of Curitiba, Brazil was close to being stripped of
its World Cup hosting rights because its stadium, the Arena da Baixada, was so
far behind schedule that it was expected not to be ready in time.
On Tuesday, those concerns were put to bed. Four group stage matches
will take place in the south Brazilian city after FIFA assessor Charles Botta
declared that sufficient progress had been made to give Curitiba the green
light for hosting its allocated share of World Cup games.
FIFA made the decision not to look for an alternative stadium - the
venue at Porto Alegre was being touted as a replacement - after receiving
financial guarantees for the work still to be done in Curitiba.
The stadium is 91 percent complete, according to its owners, the soccer
club Atletico Paranaense. Hundreds of extra workers have been brought in to
ensure that construction will conclude well in time for the first kick-off
on June 16.
The revised estimate provides a mid-May completion date. Ricardo Trade,
the CEO of the local organizing committee, said that this estimate would leave
enough time for proper testing of the stadium, but stressed that there is “no
time to lose,” as Curitiba races towards its most important deadline.
The club’s president, Mario Celso Petraglia, admitted “they did not have
a realistic view” of the time frames they would need to undertake a project of
this magnitude when they commissioned the build.
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| LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan |
One player who is unlikely to see the Curitiba pitch is United
States’ Landon Donovan. The 31 year-old striker and U.S.’s leading goal scorer
said he expects the 2014 World Cup to be his last tournament. His team will not
play in the city, which would mean Donavan is unlikely to have an opportunity
to play at the Arena da Baixada.
Donavan has indicated that his retirement from international football is
not far off and has all but ruled out the possibility of playing in the 2018 edition
in Russia. “It’s hard for me to imagine, sitting here, that I’ll be able to
walk in four years, much less play soccer,” he said “If it is my last World
Cup, I want to make sure I enjoy every minute.”
Donavan’s career may have its cutoff date set, but there is nothing
similar in sight for the civil unrest in Brazil with protests continuing steadily
over the last week. Brasilia was the latest to play host to the wave of unrest
sweeping the country, which saw 15,000 people from the Landless Worker Movement
march from the Mane Garrincha football stadium to the office of President Dilma
Rousseff.
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| Protests outside the State Building, Brasilia |
The workers held the demonstration in commemoration of 30 years of their
union’s existence, which aims to campaign for agrarian reform. They want some
of what they call “unproductive” land, owned by the state or big businesses, to
be allocated to landless farmers and they are making a lot of noise about it.
They erected a tent under the World Cup stadium and stayed there for four days
before heading to the state building.
Aggressive clashes ensued as protesters threatened to invade the
building. They were dispersed by riot police, with injuries on both sides,
ending with 30 police officers and 12 protesters needing medical treatment.
-Firdose Moonda
Firdose Moonda is The Atlantic Post's South Africa Correspondent and covers sports news. She is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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