The regional football association in Rio de Janeiro has called for urgent action to prevent further damage to the Brazilian city’s Maracana stadium after it became the target of vandals and looters.
The famous stadium, which has undergone extensive renovation work in recent years, hosted the 2014 Fifa World Cup final between Germany and Argentina and was also the centrepiece of last year’s summer Olympic Games.
The facility is owned by Rio’s state government, but the authority is reported to have financial troubles. The venue currently lies empty as authorities and clubs squabble over who should manage it and has not hosted an event since September.
The local association said that “the worries over the present and the future of the stadium are only increasing,” according to the O Globo newspaper.
The report added that copper wiring, fire extinguishers and televisions have been stolen from the stadium and the playing area is in a state of disrepair. A bust of Mario Filho, the journalist after whom the stadium is named, has also been taken.
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