Brazil's Maracana stadium must be modified to host World Cup qualifier

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Brazil's famous Maracana stadium must be modified if the country wants to play qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup there this year.

Walter Gagg, FIFA's director of security, inspected the legendary stadium Wednesday. He took notes and snapped photographs of areas he felt must be altered if Brazil expects to host Ecuador there in a World Cup qualifier on Oct. 17, the Brazilian Soccer Confederation (CBF) said Wednesday on its Web site.

Among the changes he felt necessary was increasing the size of each team's bench, where coaches and reserve players sit, from 15 to 20 seats.

Other, simpler modifications must be completed before Sept. 15, when FIFA determines the site of the Brazil-Ecuador match.

The changes don't represent a major problem for Brazil, said Eduardo Paes, the Rio de Janeiro state Secretary of Tourism, Sports and Leisure.

"They are minimal things that will be resolved even before the deadline," Paes said in a statement. "The change that requires the most work is increasing the reserve bench, but that also will be finished in time for the qualifying games."

Gagg examined the field and praised Maracana, once the world's largest stadium with a capacity of more than 200,000, and the site of the final of the 1950 World Cup, when Uruguay defeated Brazil.

"Maracana is the most beautiful stadium in the world, fitting for a country that is a five-time world champion," he said in a statement.

Gagg and the FIFA commission will also visit stadiums in the Brazilian cities of Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre, the CBF said.

Updated on Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 8:02 pm EST