Stadium guide: Crumbling grounds, crumbling bid

The Maracana once held over 200,000 people

A nation as besotted with football as Brazil is sure to have an abundance of large stadiums - Brazil's problem is the sorry state that many of them are in.

The Maracana, after Wembley, is probably the most famous stadium in the world.

It was built for the 1950 World Cup and once held 200,000 people.

It has twice been closed for repairs in recent times, once after a fence on the edge of the upper tier collapsed and dozens of fans crashed on to the seats below. Three people died.

The Morumbi: used in the World Club Championship

It is now undergoing huge redevelopment but, like Wembley, it may have been better to raze it to the ground and start all over again. When it is completed it will hold 90,000 spectators.

The Maracana was used for last year's World Club Championship along with the Morumbi stadium in Sao Paulo which has 80,000 seats.

Brazil had also put forward the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte, the Mangueirao stadium in Belem, the Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador and the Castelao stadiums in Fortaleza and Sao Luis, all of which have capacities of more than 70,000.

Brazil have a number of other stadiums with the requisite capacity, including the Vivaldao stadium which is located in the Amazon Rainforest, and where it is said "the rain falls during almost every game for five or 10 minutes refreshing players and supporters".

Mind you, that's nothing compared with Old Trafford.