PICHA:hivi ndivyo viwanja kumi na mbili vya kombe la dunia 2014 Brazil

Stadium :	Maracana (official name: Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho)
City :	Rio de Janeiro
Opened :	1950 (major renovations 2006, 2013)
Capacity :	78,838

Home ground of :	None (sometimes used by Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama)
Matches :	7 (Final, Quarter final, Second round, 4 group matches)
Match days :	15 – 18 – 22 – 25 – 28 June and 4 – 13 July 2014

Trivia : Once the biggest stadium in the world; during the 1950 World Cup in Brazil it could hold 200,000 (!) soccer fans. Considerably smaller than before (also a lot more comfortable!), Maracana will still be the largest venue of the 2014 World Cup.

Stadium :	Arena Corinthians
City :	Sao Paulo
Opened :	2013
Capacity :	65,807 (20,000 temporal seating)

Home ground of :	S.C. Corinthians Paulista
Matches :	6 (Semi-Final, Second round, 4 group matches (including opening game)
Match days :	12 – 19 – 23 – 26 June and 1 – 9 July 2014

Trivia : This soccer stadium will be the long awaited large new home ground of Corinthians, after Flamengo from Rio the most popular team in Brazil. It was more likely the famous Morumbi stadium, home of FC Sao Paulo, would be included in the 2014 World Cup venues. However, the management of FC Sao Paulo did not want to cover the expenses necessary to adapt its soccer stadium to meet FIFA requirements.

Stadium :	Estádio Nacional
City :	Brasilia
Opened :	2013
Capacity :	70,042

Home ground of :	Legiaõ F.C
Matches :	7 (Third Place, Quarter-Final, Second round, 4 group matches)
Match days :	15 – 19 – 23 – 26 – 30 June and 5 – 12 July 2014

Trivia : The old soccer stadium at this site was Estádio Mané Garrincha. The new stadium will be entirely rebuild. The National Stadium in Brasilia will be the second largest soccer stadium in Brazil.

Stadium :	Mineirão (Official name: Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto)
City :	Belo Horizonte
Opened :	1965 (renovations 2013)
Capacity :	66,805

Home ground of :	Clube Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro EC
Matches :	6 (Semi-Final, Second round, 4 group matches)
Match days :	14 – 17 – 21 – 24 – 28 June and 8 July 2014

Trivia : After renovating Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo – which is not a World Cup venue – Mineirão became the second largest soccer stadium in Brazil. However, the stadium in Belo Horizonte will lose this rank at the start of the World Cup 2014 to Estádio Nacional in Brasilia.

Stadium :	Castelão (official name: Estádio Plácido Aderaldo Castelo)
City :	Fortaleza
Opened :	1973 (major renovations 2002)
Capacity :	64,846

Home ground of :	Fortaleza
Matches :	6 (Quarter-final, Second round, 4 group matches)
Match days :	14 – 17 – 21 – 24 – 29 June and 4 July 2014

Trivia : Castelão translates as ‘Big castle’. The soccer stadium is located in a city which name means ‘Fortress’...

Stadium :	Arena Fonte Nova (official name: Estádio Octávio Mangabeira)
City :	Salvador
Opened :	2013
Capacity :	48,747

Home ground of :	None (sometimes used by Bahia and Vitoria)
Matches :	6 (Quarter-final, Second round, 4 group matches)
Match days :	13 – 16 – 20 – 25 June and 1 – 5 July 2014

Trivia : The official name of this soccer stadium is after the governor of Bahia at the time the preceding stadium was inaugurated (1951). Fonte Nova (‘New Fountain’) comes from the location which is close to a lake with some large fountains.

Stadium :	Estádio Beira-Rio (official name: Estádio José Pinheiro Borda)
City :	Porto Alegre
Opened :	1969 (renovations 2013)
Capacity :	48,849

Home ground of :	S.C. Internacional
Matches :	5 (Second round, 4 group matches)
Match days :	15 – 18 – 22 – 25 – 30 June 2014

Trivia : Only in Porto Alegre there was a fierce debate which soccer stadium would become venue at the World Cup 2014. The other big stadium is of Inter’s arch rival Grêmio FC, which construction was finished in 2012 and is bigger and some say more suitable for the World Cup tournament than the Beira-Rio stadium...

Stadium :	Arena Pernambuco (also known as Arena Cidade da Copa)
City :	Recife
Opened :	2013
Capacity :	44,248

Home ground of :	None
Matches :	5 (Second round, 4 group matches)
Match days :	14 – 20 – 23 – 26 – 29 June 2014

Trivia : Like in the old days, Recife and Olinda were quarrelling over who would be one of the host cities of the World Cup 2014. Ultimately, the city of São Lourenco da Mata was chosen as a compromise, inconveniently at 25 km/ 15 miles from the city centre of Recife.

Stadium :	Arena das Dunas
City :	Natal
Opened :	2013
Capacity :	42,086

Home ground of :	América F.C.
Matches :	4 group matches
Match days :	13 – 16 – 19 – 24 June 2014

Trivia : This soccer stadium in Northeast Brazil was named after the huge sand dunes which the area of Natal is famous for.

Stadium :	Arena Amazônia (official name: Estádio Vivaldo Lima)
City :	Manaus
Opened :	2014
Capacity :	42,374

Home ground of :	None
Matches :	4 group matches
Match days :	14 – 18 – 22 – 25 June 2014

Trivia : Manaus has hardly a football tradition; local soccer teams only attract a few thousand fans. Hence the name, this soccer stadium is more of a marketing tool in promoting the Amazon as a tourist destination. Arena Amazonia is destined to become one of the ‘white elephants’ of the World Cup 2014 (probable others are the ones in Natal and Brasilia).

Stadium :	Arena Pantanal
City :	Cuiaba
Opened :	2014
Capacity :	42,968

Home ground of :	None
Matches :	4 group matches
Match days :	13 – 17 – 21 – 24 June 2014

Trivia : Located in an eco-conscious part of the country, the construction of the Arena Pantanal is carried out completely environment friendly. After the tournament the soccer stadium will be altered into a multipurpose complex.

Stadium :	Arena da Baixada (official name: Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães)
City :	Curitiba
Opened :	1999 (renovations 2013)
Capacity :	41,456