Amazon state officials have declined to comment, saying that a formal proposal had not been made. Manaus’ World Cup venue is not the only one to come under fire. Speaking earlier this month, Brazil’s Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo was forced to maintain that Natal’s Estadio das Dunas will not become a white elephant following the tournament. The Estadio das Dunas will also host four group stage games having been rebuilt on the site of the old stadium to a capacity of 42,000. This capacity will be scaled back to 32,000 following the tournament, but question marks have been asked of its long-term viability. The three leading teams in the North Eastern city, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte state, are ABC, Alecrim and America, who last appeared in Brazil’s Serie A in 1985, 1986 and 2007 respectively.