By Andrew Warshaw
February 17 – Twenty-four hours before the FIFA-imposed deadline for Curitiba’s World Cup stadium to meet completion requirements, tension is growing as to what, if any, contingency plans are in place for ditching the venue which is due to stage four group games.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, who has been working against the clock to ensure all 12 World Cup stadiums are ready on time, is back in Brazil to assess the readiness of venues ahead of this week’s two-day team workshop at which the 32 finalists are being briefed on tournament logistics.
Organisers have been at pains to insist that Curitiba will meet Tuesday’s deadline and that none of the matches, for which thousands of tickets have been sold, will have to be rescheduled.
But Valcke addressed the Curitiba issue in his monthly column on FIFA’s website.
“We are closely monitoring the works in Curitiba [and] will communicate the final decision to the teams as promised on February 18 when the Team Workshop starts in Florianopolis,” he wrote.
“The Brazilian Government, the host city and state of Parana, FIFA and the Local Organising Committee are seeking and finding solutions to help them catch up and hopefully make sure such a special city in terms of sustainability and passion for football will remain part of the FIFA World Cup line-up.”
FIFA gave an ultimatum to local Curitiba officials last month, saying they must prove work at Arena da Baixada can be finished on time and Valcke cautioned in his latest column that “none of the 12 cities can afford to sit back and relax – there’s still plenty of fine-tuning to be done.”
Brazil has completed only seven of its 12 cup stadiums even though the country promised all venues would be ready by the end of last year. Valcke’s latest visit is reported to include a return to Manaus, which last week reported the death of a third construction worker in less than a year, the southern city of Porto Alegre and the capital Brasilia.
In his column, Valcke said “safety and security” will not be compromised for any reason and reports in Brazil suggested it was by no means certain Curitiba, where renovations have been beset by delays, would escape the axe. The stadium south of St. Paolo is due to stage four group games – France v Nigeria, Honduras v Ecuador, Australia v reigning champions Spain and Algeria v Russia.
One compromise suggested in Brazilian and Australian media is that FIFA will allocate the four matches scheduled for the Arena da Baixada to other host venues.
One additional head-ache for Valcke is the extent of damage caused by a fire last October at another World Cup stadium, this time in Cuiaba in western Brazil which is also due to stage four group games.
Reuters reported that the fire at the still-unfinished Arena Pantanal caused structural damage that could “compromise the overall stability of the construction,” according to a previously undisclosed report by local state prosecutors.
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