Brazil won’t be ready for World Cup football
Brazil won’t be “100 per cent ready” to host football’s 2014 World Cup, as work on two of the stadiums won’t be completed in time, former World Cup winner Romario said in an interview published on Wednesday.
“I think that (Brazil) won’t be 100 per cent ready. Of the 12 stadiums (that are to stage World Cup events), maybe 10 will be ready,” the retired football star said in his interview with the magazine Istoe, which was carried on social networks.
“As to work on public transportation, none of the cities involved will be able to complete it fully,” said Romario, who is a lawmaker with Brazil’s Socialist Party (PSB).
He also warned that the total cost for staging the World Cup could jump from an estimated $US44 billion ($A42.8 billion) to $US55.5 billion ($A54 billion).
Brazil is racing to build or renovate 12 stadiums in time for the 2014 event, and Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo late last year pledged that work on the venues largely would be completed ahead of schedule.
A controversial figure on and off the park when he played as a striker for Brazil and a number of top clubs in Europe and South America, Romario has been critical of World Cup organisers and FIFA – world football’s governing body.
© AFP 2013
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The Crowd Says (4) | Page 1 of Comments
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January 12th 2012 @ 7:59am
Kasey said | January 12th 2012 @ 7:59am | Report comment
Blah, blah, blah…Apparently South Africa wasn’t going to be ready either, what a load of old tosh that turned out to be. Can’t wait to see the start of the “don’t go to Brazil, its dangerous dontcha know” stories. So glad I didn’t listen to the scare tactics regarding South Africa. Brazil will get it together, it is the home of beautiful football, I doubt they will drop the ball this close to the event. Romario’s comments and position sound like the opposition leader carping about anything to get his/her name into the papers.
January 12th 2012 @ 4:15pm
pete4 said | January 12th 2012 @ 4:15pm | Report comment
+1
January 12th 2012 @ 8:57pm
jamesb said | January 12th 2012 @ 8:57pm | Report comment
+2
January 12th 2012 @ 9:07pm
The Cattery said | January 12th 2012 @ 9:07pm | Report comment
Brazil is well on the way to becoming an economic powerhouse, so I’m sure they will be ready, even if not exactly 100% complete.
Of course such optimism should be tempered with the knowledge that there is a very good reason why Brazil 2014 represents a 36 year gap since the last time South America hosted it.