It's no surprise Brazil got the World Cup for 2014 because they were the only country in South America bidding for it. It would have been a huge surprise had it not gone to them!Brazil staged the World Cup once before, in 1950, when they lost 2-1 to Uruguay in the final and it will be the first time the event has happened in South America since Argentina hosted, and won, the 1978 tournament. Brazil is setting aside approximately £550m to update their stadiums, including the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro which hosted the 1950 World Cup final.
FIFA's inspection report has identified 18 grounds with more than 40,000 capacity that could host games. These will be whittled down to no more than 12. We're not going to be following the news in Brazil just yet but will every now and then look at how things are developing.
