The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014.[1]
This will be the second time the country has hosted the competition, the first being the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Brazil will become the fifth country to have hosted the FIFA World Cup twice, after Mexico, Italy, France and Germany. It will be the first World Cup to be held in South America since the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, the first time two consecutive World Cups are staged outside Europe and the first time two consecutive World Cups are staged in the Southern Hemisphere (the 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa).
Qualification
The allocation of places for the final tournament was decided on 3 March 2011, with the distribution of the 31 places determined through the qualification process unchanged from that for the 2010 World Cup.[2]
The qualification draw for the 2014 World Cup was held at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro on 30 July 2011.[3] As the host nation, Brazil automatically qualifies for the tournament.
According to current FIFA practice, no more than one city may use two stadiums, and the number of host cities is limited between eight and ten. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) requested permission to assign 12 cities hosting World Cup Finals.[5] On 26 December 2008, FIFA gave the green light to the 12-city plan.[6]
Even before the 12 host cities were selected, there were few doubts that the chosen venue for the final match will be the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, which also hosted the decisive match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Originally the CBF's intentions were to have the opening match at Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil. However, on 14 June 2010 the stadium was excluded from hosting games in the tournament due to a failure to provide financial guarantees for the improvements needed to have it as an eligible venue.[7] At the end of August 2010, the CBF announced that the new Corinthians Stadium would host the matches in São Paulo.
The 12 host cities for the 2014 World Cup were announced on 31 May 2009.[8] Belém, Campo Grande, Florianópolis, Goiânia and Rio Branco were rejected. Half of the chosen host cities will have their games in brand new venues built specifically for the World Cup, while the stadium for the capital Brasilia was demolished and will be rebuilt, and the remaining five are upgrading their current stadia.
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