List of FIFA World Cup stadiums
[2] In addition, stadiums must have a minimum number of television camera stands and media areas and also be free of advertising throughout the World Cup.[8] Early matches were played at smaller stadiums usually used by Montevideo football clubs Nacional and Peñarol, the 20,000 capacity Parque Central and the Pocitos.During the 1934 FIFA World Cup the number of supporters travelling from other countries was higher than at any previous football tournament, including 7,000 from the Netherlands and 10,000 each from Austria and Switzerland.[10] When doubts arose about whether funding would be forthcoming for rebuilding the Ullevi and Malmö Stadion, the organisers considered stadiums in Copenhagen and Oslo as contingency measures.Originally, eight stadiums were selected to host the World Cup matches in eight different cities: Santiago, Viña del Mar, Rancagua, Arica, Talca, Concepción, Talcahuano and Valdivia.With over 50,000 casualties and more than 2 million people affected, the earthquake forced the organising committee to completely modify the World Cup's calendar.Aside from the Estadio Luis Dosal, all the stadiums had only been constructed during the 1960s, as Mexico prepared to host both the World Cup and the 1968 Summer Olympics.As a result, in contrast to the previous tournament staged in England, most teams arrived in the region well in advance of their opening fixtures to prepare for this factor.This particular World Cup was organised in such a way where all of the matches of each of the six groups of four were assigned stadiums in cities close in proximity to each other; reducing the stress of travel on the players and fans.All of the venues listed hosted knockout round matches except the ones in Nezahualcoyotl, Irapuato, Zapopan, Toluca and the Estadio Tecnológico in Monterrey.The remaining ten venues all underwent extensive programmes of improvements in preparation for the tournament, forcing many of the club tenants of the stadiums to move to temporary homes.All matches, typical of a World Cup in Europe were played in the late afternoon or the evening to avoid the intense heat of an Italian summer.The England national team, at the British government's request, were forced to play all their matches at Stadio Sant'Elia in Cagliari on the island of Sardinia.The Italian authorities' heavy presence proved to be justified as there were several riots during the time England were playing their matches in Cagliari, leading to a number of injuries, arrests and even deportations.Some teams in Groups A and B had to travel from Los Angeles or San Francisco all the way to Detroit and back again, covering 2,300 mi (3,700 km) and three time zones one way.The teams in Groups E and F's travel was a bit easier – they played exclusively in East Rutherford (New York City), Washington and Orlando.[28] Dallas was not much different: in the semi-arid heat of a Texas summer, temperatures exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) during mid-day, when matches there were staged in the open-type Cotton Bowl meant that conditions were just as oppressive there as they were in Orlando.[31] When the finals were originally awarded in July 1992, none of the regional club grounds were of a capacity meeting FIFA's requirements – namely being able to safely seat 40,000.[33] As Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac successfully negotiated a deal with Prime Minister Édouard Balladur to bring the Stade de France – as it was named now, to the commune of Saint-Denis just north of the capital city.[35] FIFA and CFO monitored the progress and quality of preparations, culminating in the former providing final checks of the grounds weeks before the tournament commenced.The local city and regional authorities in particular had invested heavily into football the previous two decades and were able to measure economic effects, in terms of jobs as early as in 1997.In 2006, Germany had a plethora of football stadiums that satisfied FIFA's minimum capacity of 40,000 seats for World Cup matches.The altitude of several venues affected the motion of the ball[72] and player performance,[73][74] although FIFA's medical chief downplayed this consideration.[80] During the World Cup, Brazilian cities were also home to the participating teams at 32 separate base camps,[81] as well as staging official fan fests where supporters could view the games.[102] Qatar aspired to be compliant and certified by the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) for all the World Cup stadiums.[103] Leading football clubs in Europe wanted the World Cup to take place from 28 April to 29 May rather than the typical June and July staging, due to concerns about the heat.[104] A report released on 9 December 2010 quoted FIFA President Sepp Blatter as stating that other nations could host some matches during the World Cup.[106] Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan told the Australian Associated Press that holding games in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and possibly Saudi Arabia would help to incorporate the people of the region during the tournament.[110][111] In January 2019, Infantino said that FIFA was exploring the possibility of having neighbouring countries host matches during the tournament, in order to reduce political tensions.