The Edgardo Baltodano Briceno football stadium in Liberia, province of Guanacaste, is now ready to make Costa Rica the proud host of the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Stadium staff recently announced that they have completed putting the final touches on the illumination system for night matches, which will actually exceed FIFA requirements and thus become the brightest football field in Costa Rica.

According to Fiorella Masis of national newspaper La Nacion, the football stadium in Liberia is ready to welcome the U-17 National Women’s Teams of Ghana and North Korea as they play their first match, followed by Germany versus Canada. It is important to note that the North Korean U-17 National Women’s Team has been the most successful of this female youth World Cup, which has been played since 2008.

The new illumination system at the Liberia stadium is even brighter than required. Eduardo Martinez from Grupo Cicadex, the contractor in charge of the installation, explained the need for super-bright lighting:

“FIFA requires an illumination of 1,500 lux (lumens per square meter) for the purpose of filming and broadcasting matches in High-Definition (HD) format. The system currently installed is actually emitting nearly 1,600 lux, which makes it an example that other stadiums in Costa Rica should follow.”

The new lighting system also brings other benefits to Guanacaste, such as increased energy efficiency and an overall reduction in maintenance costs of about 50 percent. There are now four towers at the stadium for a total of 180 special lamps. In order to bring the stadium to FIFA standards, more than $560K were received from the organizers and professional sporting associations in Costa Rica.

A recent press release by FIFA summed up the excitement in preparation for the World Cup:

In just a month’s time Costa Rica will welcome the world with open arms. On March 15th the country will host the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2014, and the home side are using every minute to make sure they are ready to meet expectations.