By Mark Baber
January 28 – In the wake of the nightclub fire in southern Brazil, FIFA have announced that they will no longer be holding a celebration, due on Monday in Brasilia, to mark 500 days until the start of the 2014 World Cup.
The announcement comes after more than 230 people lost their lives in the tragedy in Santa Maria. The fire is believed to have been started by a flare or pyrotechnic display of the band, and most of the victims were students of the city’s university who died of smoke inhalation. The venue’s fire certificate had reportedly expired and a fire extinguisher and emergency exits failed to work.
Jerome Valcke, FIFA Secretary General, was in Brazil and said: “I am a father. And on behalf of FIFA send my sympathy to the relatives of the victims. I cannot imagine the pain they are suffering now, it is not natural for a parent bury a child.”
The statement was issued by the state football federation on their official website, once the scale of the tragedy began to emerge.
The unveiling of the official World Cup poster was scheduled for Monday but also was postponed as were several state league games.
FIFA expressed full confidence in the security plans of the LOC and local authorities, but there will obviously be increased scrutiny of safety issues ahead of the World Cup 2014.
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