It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várzea Grande.

The capital is among the fastest-growing cities in Brazil, followed by the growth of agribusiness in Mato Grosso, despite the recession that is affecting Brazilian industries.

The city is the seat of the Federal University of Mato Grosso and the largest football stadium of the state, Arena Pantanal.

Cuiabá was founded on January 1, 1727 by Rodrigo César de Menezes, then the "captain" of the captaincy of São Paulo in the aftermath of the discovery of gold mines.

[9] It was officially called the Vila Real do Senhor Bom Jesus de Cuiabá, a name taken from the district founded two years earlier.

Dom Antônio Rolim de Moura Tavares (1709–1782), the first Count of Azambuja, arrived in 1751 to serve as governor of the newly created Captaincy of Mato Grosso by King John V of Portugal.

It became the capital of the Province of Mato Grosso in 1835 under the Empire of Brazil, replacing Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade.

The war, however, brought some infrastructure and a brief period of economic boom, with Cuiabá supplying sugar, foodstuffs, and timber to the Brazilian troops.

After the war, the town was once again forgotten by the rest of the country, to such an extent that the Imperial and later the Republican governments of Brazil used to use it as a site of exile for troublesome politicians.

[12] In the 1970s and 1980s, the pace of growth would continue to increase as agriculture became commercialized, using the roads to transport soybeans and rice produced in the state in order to be sold abroad.

[12][13] Cuiabá borders the towns of Chapada dos Guimarães, Campo Verde, Santo Antônio do Leverger, Várzea Grande, Jangada and Acorizal.

However, more accurate measurements in the 1990s located the exact center about 45 kilometres (28 mi) northeast of Cuiabá, near the town of Chapada dos Guimarães.

It is also close to the mountain range known as Chapada dos Guimarães (which blocks polar masses and causes the extremely hot weather) and the city is also known as the Southern gate to the Amazon.

The municipality contains 11% of the 3,534 hectares (8,730 acres) Rio da Casca Ecological Station, a strictly protected conservation unit created in 1994.

Rainfall is concentrated from October to April, the mass of dry air over the center of Brazil inhibiting the rain formation from May to September.

[16] The Massairo Okamura State Park provides a green space with typical cerrado vegetation in the centre of a highly urbanized area.

[21] The city also includes the 77 hectares (190 acres) Mãe Bonifácia State Park, created in 2000, also with typical cerrado trees.

"Cerrado" trees have characteristic twisted trunks covered by a thick bark, and leaves which are usually broad and rigid.

Even though it is located in one of the most agriculturally focused states of Brazil, Cuiabá itself only grows small vegetable farms, mainly family- or cooperative-based.

Higher educational institutions include Cuiabá has a rich local culture based on Portuguese, African and Amerindian influences.

In 1996, Marechal Rondon Airport, located 10 km (6.2 mi) from the city center,[25] started receiving international flights.

[30] Thermal electric and hydroelectric plants located in the greater Cuiabá metropolitan area expanded in 2000 after the completion of the Pantanal Pipeline.

The architects GCP Arquitetos have focused strongly on sustainability and one of the stadium's noticeable features are the plants and trees that fill the four corner areas.

Negative because it is a relatively small, remote city with no great footballing tradition, best as its inclusion shows that the World Cup, geographically speaking at least, will be an event for all of Brazil and not just in the east coast capitals.