Seventeen cities showed interest in being chosen as FIFA World Cup 2014 host cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Brasília, Belém, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Goiânia, Manaus, Natal, Recife (a stadium would be shared by both cities), Rio Branco and Salvador. Maceió withdrew in January 2009.
According to current FIFA practice, no more than one city may use two stadiums, and the number of host cities is limited between eight and ten. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) requested permission to assign 12 cities hosting World Cup Finals. On 26 December 2008, FIFA gave the green light to the 12-city plan.
Even before the 12 host cities were selected, there were few doubts that the chosen venue for the final match will be the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, which also hosted the decisive match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Originally the CBF's intentions were to have the opening match at Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil. However, on 14 June 2010 the stadium was excluded from hosting games in the tournament due to a failure to provide financial guarantees for the improvements needed to have it as an eligible venue. In the end of August 2010, the CBF announced that the new Corinthians stadium will host the matches in São Paulo.
The 12 host cities for the 2014 World Cup were announced on 31 May 2009. Belém, Campo Grande, Florianópolis, Goiânia and Rio Branco were rejected.
