Sao Paulo: The Sao Paulo Stadium hosting the opening match of the World Cup staged a second test game on Sunday but well below capacity, with one section temporarily closed and another at half capacity on firefighters’ orders.
The new Corinthians Arena remains an unfinished addition to the skyline in Brazil’s stylishly affluent business hub, with the two incomplete seating sections unable to accommodate fans as owners Corinthians met Botafogo for the test game before a crowd of 37,119 paying guests.
They witnessed a 1-1 draw, Jadson on target for the hosts and Edilson for the visitors from Rio.
Fifa had expected that, with just 11 days to go before Brazil open their Cup extravaganza against Croatia, the stadium would be able to hold a full capacity test for 65,000 fans.
Instead, two temporary seating areas are unfinished, the scaffolding betraying the fact that the venue is still a building site. Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke had tweeted after visiting the stadium on May 21 that “it is vital for us that all facilities will be tested under full match conditions including the temporary seats & associated facilities.”
