I will try to compile information on the World Cup 2014 in Brazil, separated by each of the host cities, showcasing their respective arenas.

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The passion for soccer seems to be one of the few universal national traits in Brazil. Social, political and economical differences, so stark in the country's everyday life, become blurred when the green-yellow team steps on the field and sings the national anthem. Somehow, the Brazilian nation sees itself as whole only during the FIFA World Cup.

For Brazil, the World Cup of 2014 represents an opportunity to achieve a modernization leap and show the world not only its organizational capacities, but also its economic strength to attract investments and the many attractions that could transform the country into one of the main tourist destinations in the world in the near future.

With the preparations for the 2014 World Cup, Brazilian state capitals are in a rush to ready their arenas. But even stronger than the competition among the cities is the competition among teams who plan to renovate existing stadiums or build new ones in time to be designated as official World Cup arenas.

Brazil Data

•Total Surface: 8.514.876 km2
•Length of Coastline: 10.959 km (IBGE)
•Population: 193 million inhabitants (IBGE, 2008)
•Number of Municipalities: 5.507 (IBGE, 2000)

Soccer Stats

•Clubs: 29.208
•Registered players: 2,1 million
•Non-registered players: 11,2 million
•State Championships: 27
•Professional games: 5,000 a year
•Annual competitions: over 100
•Registered referees: 61


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Starting from the Southernmost city, Porto Algre will be the first to be featured:

Porto Alegre

Population (2008)
- Municipality 1,436,123 (10th in Brazil)
- Density 2,815.6/km2 (7,292.4/sq mi)
- Metro 4,063,886

Arena: Beira-Rio
Capacity: 65,000
Investment: USD 130 million



[img]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y37/gutooo/copa%202014/beira%20rio/giganteparasempre02.jpg/img]







Next to follow: Curitiba.

Thanks for doing this. I forgot how many clubs there are, for example. This thread will be a great addition to our knowledge.

well thanks for this nice information. do you guess that who will win the match of world cup 2014?

Welcome to FlyerTalk specials_daily. Certainly Brazil should be the winner, we have not won for some years so it should be our time again. Just because we are not doing too well at the moment is not much of an indicator anyway. After all, all our old men have retired so most of the new team can still run, at least.

Looking forward to Curitiba...

Well, it is hard for me, as we will not stop in Florian�polis. I think this was a very unfair decision by the Brazilian National Committee to have excluded Florian�polis, which was a candidate city, to host the World Cup. Why? Because it has 2 football teams (ie Avai and Figueirense) playing in the Brazilian First Division (Premiership) besides de island has good infrastruture and accommodation options. But Natal took the place instead, and now the arena is Natal is the one which showing serious delays. Natal has no tradition in terms of football whatsoever, but at least its proximity to Europe/US and better climate in July when the Word Cup will take place has probably weighted on its favour...

Anyway, lets continue...now Curitiba...

Curitiba

Capital of State of Paran�

Population (2008)
- Municipality 1,746,896 (8th in Brazil)
- Density 4,062/km2 (10,523/sq mi)
- Metro Population 3,168,980

Arena: Arena da Baixada (Atl�tico Paranaense)
Capacity: 41,000
Investment: USD 150 million









Rgs,

Thanks very much for Curitiba, one of the exceptional cities in Brazil. You did leave out the single most important thing about Curitiba that makes it the most important city in the World! The love of my life was born there!

Seriously, Curitiba is a very livable convenient city and should prove to be one of the more congenial venues IMO.

Thanks again. Where is next?

There is a nice report by CNN Cities of the Future on Curitiba: The Green City which appeared on Quest Means Business -

http://questmeansbusiness.blogs.cnn....he-green-city/


Next is Brazil Mid-West: starting with Brasilia.

Rgs,

Bras�lia

Federal District (D.F.)

Population (2009)
- Municipality 2,606,885 (4th in Brazil)
- Density 435.98/km2 (1,129.17/sq mi)
- Metro Population 3,451,549

Arena: Est�dio Nacional
Capacity: 71,000
Investment: USD 600 million









Official video of the new arena (Est�dio Nacional - Bras�lia)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFyLn...layer_embedded

Next to follow: Cuiab�!

Rgs,

Argentina.

Messi should be at his peak and I fear (with the memory of 1950 still lingering in the national psyche) that the pressure on the Brazilian team will be overwhelming. Depends on how malleable the officials are in favour of the host nation though.

Thanks for posting this thread.

I promised my two kids that I will take them to the 2014 WC. So this will come in handy when deciding the cities to visit.

My hope is to secure our flights using miles...don't know how realistic that will be.