World NewsHavelange Calls for Maracana Demolition |
Former FIFA president Joao Havelange has called for the world famous Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro to be demolished and replaced with a new facility ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
Brazilian Havelange, who was president of FIFA from 1974 to 1998, believes both the Maracana and Sao Paulo's Morumbi stadium are out of date and it would now be better to start again rather than refurbish them."The Maracana should be demolished," Havelange told the O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper. "The Morumbi too. We have two options - we can enter into a period of evolution or stay where we are and not organise a World Cup."
The Maracana opened in 1950 for the World Cup and had an original capacity of almost 200,000 - the largest stadium in the world.
However, such a structure has proved too costly to properly maintain, an issue brought sharply into focus when disaster struck in 1992 - an upper stand in the stadium collapsed during a match, killing three fans and injuring 50.
That led to the closure of large parts of the stadium, and work to make it all-seater further reduced the capacity to 99,500, although that is still enough to make it the 11th largest stadium on the planet.
The stadium is used regularly by Flamengo and Fluminese, as well as for major matches involving Vasco de Gama and Botafogo.
The Morumbi stadium, home to Sao Paulo, once held 120,000 fans but now has a capacity of 80,000.
Havelange, 92, called on private companies to step up and finance the construction of new facilities for the World Cup.
"We must evolve," he said. "We must enter the 21st century and stop thinking about the past."
Copyright (c) 2008 Press Association
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