Brasilia, May 6 (IANS) Brazil’s Arena Pantanal World Cup stadium has suffered another setback with the late arrival of seats forcing organisers to further postpone the venue’s opening.
Authorities had promised football’s governing body FIFA that the stadium would be ready Monday, just over five weeks before the World Cup begins. But Mato Grosso state Governor Silval Barbosa said a final batch of 11,000 seats had only just been delivered, Xinhua reported.
“The final seats have been delivered and will be fitted by May 10 at the latest,” Barbosa said.
Despite being incomplete, Arena Pantanal has already hosted three test events.
The 41,000-capacity venue will stage four World Cup group matches: Chile vs Australia, Russia vs South Korea, Nigeria vs Bosnia and Colombia vs Japan.