Top 10 Facts about the Maracanã Football Stadium

Top 10 Facts about the Maracanã Football Stadium

By Adam Jones – Wikimedia

Located in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is the most prominent football stadium, Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. This stadium was built in 1950 to host the FIFA World Cup.

Brazil lost to Uruguay that year and many football fans were left heartbroken. That was just the beginning of remarkable and memorable events that have been hosted in this stadium.

The 2016 Rio Olympics was held in this stadium too.

This stadium has a seating capacity of about 78,000 people. The seating space was increased during the renovation work that was done between 2010 and 2013.

Being the largest football stadium in Brazil and the second largest in the continent, the stadium has hosted music concerts by famous local and international artists other than sports.

Let’s now take a look at the top 10 facts about the Maracanã Stadium.

1. Maracanã Football Stadium hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1950

By Leandro Neumann Ciuffo – Wikimedia

When Brazil won the rights to host the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the government decided to build a new stadium befitting the sport.

Construction of the stadium begun in 1948 but was not complete in time for the tournament. Despite it being incomplete, the stadium hosted the FIFA World Cup.

The construction of the stadium was marred with a controversy of its cost. It was completed 15 years later in 1965.

Although Brazil was the host of the 1950 World Cup, they were beaten 2-1 by Uruguay. More than 200,000 spectators watched the game that year.

2. This Stadium is owned by the government

Unlike most stadia in many countries that are owned by clubs, Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro is owned by the government.

Whenever sports clubs use the stadium, they pay rent. The seating capacity of the stadium was reduced from 200,000 to 80,000 due to the several renovations it has undergone.

Instead of terraces, the stadium has sections with seats. Most of the clubs that use this stadium are teams from Rio such as Botafogo, Fluminense, Flamengo, and Vasco da Gama.

This stadium has also hosted the Brazilian national football team. 

3. Maracanã Football Stadium is the largest in Brazil

By Arthur Boppré – Wikimedia

Although it has been here for more than seven decades, Maracanã stadium remains to be the largest stadium in Brazil. It is also the second-largest in South America.

The highest number of spectators the stadium has ever had was 199,850. This was during the FIFA World Cup in 1950 during the match between Brazil and Uruguay.

This stadium has also hosted other major football tournaments in Brazil including Copa America in 1989, 2013 Confederation Cup and 2014 World Cup.   

The 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were also held at this stadium.

4. Maracanã Football stadium was a bit controversial

Just like most major projects, Maracanã stadium was involved in a major controversy. This was during its initial construction phase when FIFA gave the green light for matches to be played in an incomplete stadium.

There were no proper amenities and the entire stadium still looked like a construction site. The other controversy was the estimated cost of the stadium from start to finish.

In 2013, the stadium was still getting renovated, there were safety concerns. Despite this, the management opened it up for a match between Brazil and England. The two teams drew.

5. Maracanã is not the official name of the stadium

Photo of Mario Filho by Wikimedia

You probably did not know this but the official name of the stadium is Mário Filho. This name was given in honour of an old Pernambuco journalist who strongly supported the construction of the stadium.

However, its popular name was borrowed from the Maracanã river. This is an indigenous name from the Tupi-Guarani tribe for a parrot from that region.

The nickname has stuck such that it is widely presumed to be the official name.

6. The most recent match played in Maracanã Football stadium was in 2016

The 2016 Summer Olympics was hosted at Maracanã stadium. This stadium has been the hub of both sports and music concerts in Rio de Janeiro.

During the Summer Olympics, Brazil beat Germany 5-4 through a penalty shootout. The major sport that is played in this stadium is football, which is Brazil’s popular sport.

In 2014, Brazil lost to Germany during the FIFA World Cup.

7. Maracanã Stadium was vandalized

After the 2016 Summer Olympic games, the stadium was poorly maintained. This led to a takeover by new managers who are said to be in charge for the next 35 years.

The stadium had been neglected for months and photos surfaced on the internet of a dilapidated football field. Seats were ripped out while the windows and doors were damaged.

There were wrangles between the stadium owner and the Rio Olympics organizing committee over who was responsible for the maintenance of the stadium.  

Valuable items were looted from the stadium such as fire extinguishers, televisions, and a bronze bust of journalist Mário Filho.

8. It is a tourist attraction

By Adam Jones – Wikimedia

As a gem in Rio de Janeiro, Maracanã stadium offers both locals and foreigners a chance to tour the stadium.

These tours include transportation to the stadium as well as tickets for the game. After the stadium was vandalized, tours were halted due to robberies reported in the area.

9. A concert held by Tina Turner broke the Guinness Book of World Records

Other than sporting events, Maracana has been home to music concerts. One of the memorable ones was by Tina Turner and Paul McCartney.

This duo made the Guinness Book of World Records with performances at the stadium. Both concerts attracted crowds of over 180,000 people.

Another rock band, KISS, attracted over 137,000 fans to the stadium.

10. It is a popular venue for concerts

By U.S. Army – Wikimedia

As a popular venue for concerts, it attracted pop-stars like Michael Jackson who cancelled his concert last minute.

Sting, Madonna and the Rolling Stones are some of the international pop stars that played at Maracanã on different occasions.

During their concerts, they attracted well over 100, 000 fans. The stadium will host Ultra Brazil in October 2021.