Exclusive: Two Brazil 2014 World Cup stadiums in "critical situation" warn FIFA

By David Owen

March 31 – Two 2014 World Cup stadiums are struggling to meet FIFA’s construction deadline, world football’s governing body has indicated.

Responding to questions put by Brazil Confidential, a fortnightly research report published by the Financial Times, FIFA said: “Based on the latest stadium reports that we have, the construction and refurbishment for the majority of the stadiums are well in progress, even if there is still a lot of work to do.”

FIFA said that “only two stadiums are currently marked as in a more critical situation to reach the deadline”.

It declined, however, to identify the two stadiums.

FIFA also revealed that the final decision on venues for the 2013 Confederations Cup, the warm-up tournament for the World Cup, would be “discussed by the Organising Committee of the FIFA World Cup on 29 July”.

It admitted that the Maracana Stadium, one of the most iconic venues in world sport, may be unable to host Confederations Cup matches, saying: “For the time being it could be that Maracana is not ready for the [FIFA Confederations Cup].”

FIFA’s response was elicited before this week’s assurance by Ricardo Teixeira, President of the Brazil Football Confederation, that both Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo would be ready to host Confederations Cup games.

The tournament could certainly cope without the famous Rio de Janeiro arena (pictured): as FIFA also pointed out, the Confederations Cup requires only four or five stadia, “whereas for the FIFA World Cup there will be 12”.

However, its absence from the schedule would probably disappoint fans and add to criticism of the country’s World Cup preparations.

Questioned about potential delays to transport projects, FIFA responded: “FIFA and the [Local Organising Committee] are in regular contact with the relevant authorities and stress the importance of the logistical aspects needed to make the event a success, including the local and national transport systems.

“The LOC has always said that the main problem regarding the transport issues is the renovation of the airports.

“The Brazilian Government has stressed recently the importance of the renovation of the airports as a high priority in its programme.

“It is vital for the teams, the fans, the media and the officials to have a well organised and structured transportation infrastructure.”

A detailed analysis of Brazil’s World Cup preparations, published by Brazil Confidential, states that the government has already raised the World Cup budget from R$24 billion to R$33 billion and adds: “Continued overspending and delays mean that this figure may be revised upwards.”

It warns that the World Cup could be a “missed opportunity for infrastructure upgrades, with airports likely to rely on temporary structures to meet increased demand”.

With the first South American Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Rio in 2016, progress on the World Cup is likely to be monitored closely by the International Olympic Committee.

The full Brazil Confidential report may be accessed here. A subscription charge applies.

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