Soccer

World Cup stadium delayed as workers go on strike

About 50 workers have gone on strike over unpaid salaries, according to a Brazilian soccer club that is renovating its stadium in Curitiba for the World Cup. Atletico Paranaense said Tuesday that the electrical technicians at the already-delayed Arena da Baixada went on strike on Monday.

50 workers striking taking place in Brazilian city of Curitiba

An aerial view of the construction of the Arena Pantanal soccer stadium, which will host several matches of the 2014 World Cup, in Cuiaba. It's set to host its first match with only half of the stadium's seats installed. (Stringer/Reuters)

About 50 workers have gone on strike over unpaid salaries, according to a Brazilian soccer club that is renovating its stadium in Curitiba for the World Cup. Atletico Paranaense said Tuesday that the electrical technicians at the already-delayed Arena da Baixada in the southern city went on strike on Monday. The club says the strike is not significantly affecting renovation at the stadium, which has about 1,300 workers on-site.

Atletico says the company employing the technicians expected them to resume work on Wednesday.

FIFA expects the Arena da Baixada to be fully ready in mid-May, about a month before the June 12 opener in Sao Paulo.

Soccer's governing body nearly excluded Curitiba from the World Cup because of the stadium delay.