One of the World's most famous stadiums, the Maracana stadium which was initially ruled out as a venue for the 2014 World Cup that Brazil is bidding to host, is back in the running again.
Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ricardo Teixeira, who once suggested the historic but troubled stadium should be imploded has now said that he had changed his mind.
"We had tried several times before now to get some sort of confirmation from the state government that the necessary modifications would be made but that did not happen," Teixeira told reporters after a lunch with Sergio Cabral, governor of Rio de Janeiro state which owns the stadium.
"But for the first time, we've spoken to the government and the government is willing to implant a German model," he added, referring to the reconstruction of Berlin's historic Olympiastadion, used for the 2006 World Cup final.
The Maracana, which opened for the 1950 World Cup, is a bowl-shaped arena that for many years was the world's largest football stadium.
A crowd estimated at over 200,000 watched the match in 1950, when Uruguay pulled off one of the great upsets in World Cup history by beating Brazil 2-1 to win the trophy.
The Maracana's capacity was reduced to 103,000 when it was converted to an all-seater stadium for the 2000 Club World championship which Brazil hosted.
The current capacity is 54,000 but this will rise to 96,000 when work is complete
Brazil and Colombia are the only countries to have put forward bids to host the 2014 World Cup, which is due to take place in South America under FIFA's rotation system.
The hosts will be named in November.
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