On December 11, 2024, FIFA officially announced the host venues for the 2030 World Cup. Among them was Paraguay, which, despite hosting just one match, earned a historic selection and a source of national pride. However, despite the official schedule stating that construction would begin on June 22, the future Osvaldo Domínguez-Dibb Stadium remains exactly as it was: an empty plot filled with mud, water, and sand.

The original announcement

On the very same day as FIFA's announcement, Paraguayan club Olimpia unveiled its project to the world with a minute-and-a-half promotional video, presenting it as the future largest and most modern stadium in the country. With a capacity of 46,000 spectators, 338 executive boxes, numerous VIP areas, and premium hospitality facilities, the project generated enormous excitement.

The decision was not only fantastic news for Paraguay but also for the club itself. Despite being the country's most successful club, Olimpia's stadium was in poor condition, often forcing the team to play its biggest matches at a different venue. The stadium's name also changed, going from Manuel Ferreira Stadium to Osvaldo Domínguez-Dibb Stadium—a move that came as little surprise considering who made the decision: Alejandro Domínguez, president of CONMEBOL and son of Olimpia's former president.

© Club Olimpia | Paraguay is set to host one match at the 2030 World Cup, but preparations for the new Estadio Osvaldo Domínguez-Dibb are raising more and more questions. Despite the announced restart of works, the stadium site still remains an empty plot.

Constant delays

Alongside the announcement came the projected completion date: 2027. Everything initially seemed to be on track. Demolition of the old structure began at the end of that same year and was completed in early 2025. Excavation work followed, also progressing according to schedule.

But that's when the problems began. The project came to a standstill, and it wasn't until November that we heard about it again. On the 4th of the month, the club released a statement reassuring supporters and accusing those questioning the project of attempting to discredit the institution, insisting that construction had not been halted.

Even so, the statement included a revised timetable that pushed the completion date back to 2028. A minor delay, you might say—if construction resumed according to plan, there would be no real issue. The problem is that, once again, work stopped.

© Club Olimpia | Olimpia’s new stadium was meant to become a symbol of Paraguay’s pride ahead of the 2030 World Cup. However, repeated schedule changes, a new 2029 completion target and the lack of recent updates have increased uncertainty around the project.

Months passed until we reached May. Along the way, the club announced an agreement with Arena events+venues, a prestigious international company that had previously been involved in the organization of other FIFA World Cups, including Brazil's.

Then, yet another construction schedule was announced, delaying completion by two years compared to the original plan—until June 2029, exactly one year before the World Cup. Construction was scheduled to resume on June 22.

However, if you search online for news related to Los franjeados, the only major headlines from recent weeks concern the signing of Tim Payne—a topic widely discussed for obvious reasons, but one that is clearly far less significant than Paraguay's World Cup preparations.

The media silence and the lack of statements from the club, the Paraguayan Football Association, or CONMEBOL are both surprising and, above all, worrying. Twenty-four months of delays—and likely more to come—raise one important question: Is Paraguay ready to host a World Cup match?