The Brazilian FA (CBF) confirmed that Brazil will play its "World Cup qualifier against Colombia in September in Manaus," according to Samindra Kunti of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL.
The Arena Amazonia in the jungle city of Manaus cost $300M to construct and "hosted several matches during the 2014 World Cup." It "will host six matches in the group stages of the Rio 2016 Olympic games before the crucial World Cup qualifier."
The hosting agreements "throw a lifeline to the Manaus stadium." Manaus does not boast a topflight club in the Brazilian leagues and "its remote location has made other commercial exploitation of the stadium."
The "reasons for shifting the game so far east, away from Brazil’s traditional Rio-Sao Paulo football axis are twofold." The state government of Amazonas "had requested the CBF to host the game to support the ailing stadium." While Brazil’s technical staff, "including coach Carlos Dunga and technical director Gilmar Rinaldi, approved the decision as logistical commonsense with Brazil playing Ecuador in Quito a few days earlier" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 5/3).
