By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – Brazilian legend Pele says the delays that have plagued the World Cup in his country have been “a disgrace” as FIFA called for a further test event at the stadium that is hosting the opening game. Sao Paulo’s Itaquerao, Cuiaba’s Arena Pantanal and Curitiba’s Arena da Baixada are all unfinished despite the tournament starting in less than a month, and Pele is dismayed.
“The political situation is difficult,” he told the German sports magazine Sport Bild. “The situation worries me. There has been sufficient time to bring the stadiums to completion. It’s unacceptable. It is a disgrace.”
Pele believes the widespread street protests across Brazil, linked to the high cost of staging the tournament, are because of political corruption.
He added in Sport Bild: “The protests against the corruption at the construction sites are understandable; violence is not. I blame the evil people who have stolen all the money.”
At a separate news conference in Mexico, Pele, special advisor of the World Cup organising committee, sympathised with the demonstrators – up to a point.
“People should have demonstrated when Brazil was chosen to organise the World Cup and not now that the World Cup is very soon,” he said.
But agreed with many of the protesters’ grievances and again blamed the Brazilian authorities. “We have nothing to do with corrupt politicians and thieves,” he said. “It is not our fault.”
Meanwhile, FIFA have called for another test event in Sao Paolo to make sure safety and security meet with their approval. The stadium held its first official match on Sunday in what was supposed to be the final test event before the start of the tournament, but FIFA and the local World Cup organizing committee want another match at the venue.
“FIFA and the local organizing committee requested to stage another test event in order to ensure the entire infrastructure is tested at full capacity ahead of the opening match,” football’s governing body told The Associated Press in an email sent on Tuesday.
A capacity 70,000 crowd is expected for the high-profile inaugural match between Brazil and Croatia, but less than 40,000 were at the Itaquerao stadium on Sunday because of safety concerns. As a result, Corinthians will now host Brazilian champion Cruzeiro in newly-scheduled final test event on May 28.
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