By Andrew Warshaw
April 17 – The stadium being used for the start of the Confederations Cup, the World Cup warm-up tournament, will only be officially opened a month beforehand. The news is a blow to Brazilian authorities who have pledged that the country will stage a World Cup to remember, but have suffered delays and setbacks in the preparation – this being the latest.
By Mark Baber
March 28 – Joao Havelange stadium, which has been the main football venue in Rio de Janeiro as the Maracana is undergoing renovation, has had to close down due to serious structural problems with the roof and is unlikely to reopen any time soon.
March 25 – FIFA could be forced into making a ruling on when to reschedule the World Cup qualifier between Northern Ireland and Russia, twice postponed because of the unseasonally hostile weather that has ripped through most of Britain.
February 21 – Brazilian customs announced Wednesday that they had seized 200,000 counterfeit Chinese balls which were being smuggled into the country.
By Mark Baber
February 20 – Fresh fears of whether Brazil will be ready in time to host the 2013 Confederations Cup Construction have arisen again, as workers refurbishing the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro went on strike on Monday.
January 31 – The Official Poster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the final visual icon to be launched for the 2014 World Cup, has been unveiled in Rio de Janeiro as part of FIFA’s ‘500-day’ visit to Brazil.
By Tom Degun
December 10 – The magnificent new 60,000 capacity Arena Grêmio has opened in Porto Alegre in Brazil despite the fact that it was controversially overlooked for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 6 – Blighted by an alarming crime rate, Brazil is boosting its 2014 FIFA World Cup security budget to 1.879 billion Brazilian real (£560 million/$900 million/€680 million) to make sure the event is “one of the most protected sports events in history,” the Government has announced.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 5 – Brazilian football authorities should have kept faith with Mario Menezes instead of sacking him just 18 months out from the FIFA World Cup, according to Mário Zagallo, one of Brazil’s greatest names.
By Duncan Mackay
December 1 – A protest march has been held against the privatisation of Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium, which is currently being redeveloped for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 30 – Considerable work still needs to be done to bring Brazil up to speed for both next summer’s Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup, according to FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 27 – All 12 stadiums will be ready to stage the 2014 World Cup despite continuing concerns over construction delays, according to FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 27 – Marco Polo Del Nero, Brazil’s FIFA Executive Committee member, has been interrogated by police investigating financial crimes and extortion – the latest blow to the image of both football’s world governing body and the 2014 World Cup hosts.
By Duncan Mackay
November 26 – Fuleco is the name chosen by the Brazilian public for the controversial cartoon armadillo who will be the official mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, it was announced today.
By Duncan Macaky at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro
November 19 – The Maracanã, the iconic stadium due to host the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympics, will be ready in late February next year although a quarter of the work remains to be done, the chairman of the company building it promised today.