FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke will begin an inspection visit to Brazil amid a series of concerns about the country’s readiness for soccer’s 2014 World Cup.
Valcke will visit three host cities after Brazil’s sports minister said the country needed to speed up construction pace on five of six stadiums that have to be completed by December.
Monday’s visit also comes just days after government concerns with price hikes of hotels listed on FIFA’s website, something that could prompt an investigation into the FIFA-appointed agency in charge of accommodation.
Valcke is making his first visit to Brazil since the Confederations Cup, the World Cup warm-up tournament. He will check preparations in three of the 12 host cities – Sao Paulo, Curitiba and Manaus. The cities are among the six that have to finish their stadiums by the December deadline established by FIFA. The other six venues were completed, despite many delays, just in time for the Confederations Cup.
FIFA has made it clear it won’t tolerate the same problems. Only four stadiums were completed by the original deadline.
Valcke’s first stop is in Sao Paulo, host of the World Cup opener on June 12. There had been concerns if the stadium was going to be ready by December, but constructors picked up the pace and the Brazilian government said it’s not worried anymore.
That is not the case for the other five venues, and the delays prompted Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo to say last week that the host cities were “facing a tight deadline” and there was a need “to improve the pace in most of the stadiums” to make sure they are completed this year.
Four of the stadiums were less than 80 per cent finished, including in Curitiba and Manaus. The secretary-general’s trip will end after a local World Cup organising committee board meeting on Thursday in Rio.
FIFA and the government want the stadiums ready so local organisers can host the necessary test events before the World Cup. FIFA usually wants at least three test events at each venue, but that wasn’t possible in most of the Confederations Cup stadiums.
Brazil is facing a scramble to get its notoriously crowded and shabby airports into shape, with experts saying there is no room for error.
Upgrade work in nearly all sites isn’t expected to be finished before March. Deadlines have already been pushed back at several airports, and further delays could make it hard to handle the expected 600,000 international visitors and almost three million Brazilians expected to travel during the month-long tournament.
Luis Niederauer
Guest
The greeat majority of brazilians are isolated of the world. Globo which is the major "public tv" controls, with the government, a shadowoed dictatorship. It is an open society but there is a network of power, burocracy, money and interests that keeps the money being extracted from the people in the form of taxes, and then its goes to the pockets of the coruptors instea to the public services, infraestructure and more ad for the dictators. This circle repeats itself, and the few scandals caught are enough to make the older scandals been forgotten in a matter of days. More than that, this makes all the systems of the government stop working, just profiting. In one year they are busy in local elections, campaigns, the other year they are defending themselves while the world cup os soccer are on, next year to the presidential and state elections, next year olympics. This never ends. =(
Planet Football
Guest
Canada (Montreal), not West Germany, hosted the 1976 Olympics.
Ballfuss
Guest
Mates in brazpol tell me this is all normal - you simply lack the requisite sophistication to understand the fee structure.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Dunno where to put this info so here we go: it has just been confirmed that the France v Australia game on 11 October will be played at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
mahonjt
Guest
Inkow a slum youcan stay in for $1400US a night and you 1st born....
Towser
Guest
Nothing astounding about it Avon River. One Brazil does not have a Football League amongst the top Leagues in the World & two after realising that check FIFA World cup stadium requirements. Its all about prestige,practicalities,your avin a laf ,otherwise we would never have seen Qatar given the 2022 World Cup. Believe me as far as that decision goes a truckload of stuff hitting the fan is yet to come.
Australian Rules
Guest
On the one hand, the fact that Brazil will be able to re-use all these facilities and infrastructure upgrades in 2 years time may mean that there's more bang for buck. On the other hand, it's likely to mean that Brazil gets hit twice in quick succession by the host city "curse". For me, I can't possibly see how a country benefits from hosting a WC & Olympics 2 years apart. Mexico (68, 70), Germany (74, 76), and the US (94, 96) are the only other countries to have done it, but in today's climate, the cost outweighs the upshot.
Midfielder
Guest
I priced some accommodation and air fares ... OMG compared to normal .. we are thinking of flying to another city and flying in for matches ...
Avon River
Guest
It astounds me that the 'World Game' in such an international powerhouse as Brazil should require so much tax payer funded new infrastructure. Well, the Athens Olympics sure solved Greeces economic stagnation.....I'm sure Brazil will only benefit!!
Towser
Guest
As Kellet said FIFA rules. Just type in google FIFA World Cup stadium requirements,whole heap of info. Whether its necessary, that's another debate.
Cameron
Roar Guru
FIFA standards, thencharge ridiculous amounts for people to attend, which they then keep the $$$.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Im still confused as to why a footy tournament needs anything more than the grounds regularly used by the local leagues.
Cameron
Roar Guru
Maybe if FIFA didn't suck the life out of hosting nations then the hosting countries may be able to develop further, and goes without mentioning football.
Marcel
Guest
When have we not heard this story before a WC or Olympics.