Maracanã CEO explains rain-hit pitch, full turf switch planned for December | OneFootball

Flamengo beat Corinthians in round 27 in heavy rain on a poor Maracanã pitch. Chief executive Fred Nantes has addressed the state of the surface and outlined the next steps.

"The amount of rain in the last 24 hours is remarkable, it has not stopped," Nantes said to Flamengo TV. "In weather like this you cannot take heavy machinery onto the pitch because the surface turns soft and everything gets marked."

"At times we went almost four days without using heavy machines," he added. "It is not for lack of will, equipment or staff. Taking heavy machinery onto a soaked field would do more harm than doing nothing."

"In December we will replace the pitch entirely. We will switch to Celebration Hybrid, more modern, more resistant and easier to handle in refurbishments. It is the most advanced available on football pitches today."

Work is scheduled to begin right after the Brasileirão ends on 2 December. Flamengo are due to host Chapecoense at the Maracanã in round 38.

Players have publicly complained about the surface, including Samuel Lino and Léo Pereira. The Fla-Flu consortium dismissed operations chief Severiano Braga on 20 August, then named Nantes to the role.

Flamengo now face Independiente del Valle in the Libertadores quarter-final second leg at 21:30 Brasília time on Thursday 17. The match will be on ESPN and Disney+.

Source: Coluna Do Fla

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”