Manaus pitch is in bad condition

Arena da Amazonia, the 270 million dollar stadium built in Manaus, in the middle of the Amazonian rain forest sparked heavy controversy and it's not over. A few photographs sneaked in and got a look at the pitch which is in terrible condition.

Manaus Arena is scheduled to host the first match on June 14 between England and Italy, second game of the group D. The grass was literally burned by extreme temperatures. When the first journalist arrived in Manaus when the arena was still under construction said “There are two seasons here, summer and hell”. The hot weather is so extreme that grass has trouble growing so the pitch is cut by brown marks across.

“Frankly, Manaus is in bad shape. The maintenance has been complicated. There are no roads. All the machinery and materials had to be brought by ship, There was no fertilizer and no seeds. We will increase the fertilizing process with biostimulants and seeds to try and get the most out of the grass,” said Carlos Botella, head groundsman for Royal Verd, the company in charge for the stadium's turf.

FIFA is aware of the problem but confirmed all scheduled matches will go as planned. “The pitch in Manaus has been undergoing treatment in preparation for the World Cup. Over the last three months, mitigation procedures have been pun in place and there continues to be significant improvement,” said a FIFA spokesman.

The stadium's cost were 270 million dollars and it was finished last year. It will only host 4 games at the World Cup, England – Italy on June 14, four days later Cameroon – Croatia, on the 22nd of June USA vs Portugal and finally Honduras – Switzerland on June 25.