By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has arrived in Brazil for the final time to oversee the run-up to the start of the World Cup, saying he expects “busy days ahead” to make sure everything is ready on time. Valcke arrived 24 hours after Brazil held the last two test events at its delayed stadiums, notably at the Sao Paulo venue that will host the opening game, and will visit all 12 host cities one last time “to see that the finishing touches” are completed.
Before he left for Brazil – he doesn’t return until after the final – Valcke stressed that all the recent negative headlines about local opposition to the World Cup did not reflect public opinion in general despite a resurgence of street protests.
“Headlines are screaming that Brazilians don’t want the World Cup. This is not reflected in public opinion polls nor by what we have witnessed on the ground in Brazil during the on-going FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour,” Valcke wrote in his latest column on FIFA’s website.
“Some 300,000 people have so far stood in line to gain a glimpse of football’s most coveted prize during its tour of Brazil’s 27 states, which will continue until June 1. Surely that shows a groundswell of support for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.”
Valcke also pointed to the fact that a record 11 million-plus tickets have been requested.
From Wednesday, all stadia will be officially transferred to FIFA control from the local organisers and whilst the fans may be gearing up, a heap of infrastructure issues still remain. “We have busy days ahead of us with still a lot to be done,” Valcke said, calling for a collective effort by FIFA, the local organising committee and the governmental authorities.
“We will be focusing primarily on ensuring that all is in place for the 32 teams, the approximate 3 million fans watching the matches live in the 12 arenas and the billions watching the event on TV.”
Valcke began his tour in Sao Paulo, where the Itaquerao stadium held its first – and only – official test event on Sunday with a Brazilian league game though the stadium was far from full. FIFA specialists analysed the entire match on and off the pitch looking for clues in terms of what might still need doing. “A test event does not compare to the scale, needs (and) global attention of the opening match of the World Cup,” was Valcke’s realistic appraisal.
Organisers insist the incomplete roof will not be a problem but many of the 40,000 inside the stadium on Sunday reportedly could not seek cover elsewhere when it started to rain.
“The only aspect of the roof which will be unfinished is the inner liner, not impacting the effective protection of the stands,” said a local organising committee statement.
“It is important to highlight that there is no obligation, neither from FIFA nor from the local organising committee, that FIFA World Cup stadia offer roofs protecting 100% of the stands.”
The Itaquerao Stadium, which will have a capacity of nearly 70,000 when it holds the tournament between Brazil and Croatia on June 12, has been dogged by problems from the start with the cost of construction rocketing from €115 million to an estimated €390 million.
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