By Paul Nicholson
February 26 – Adidas has fallen foul of the Brazilian government and, following a formal complaint, has pulled a range of World Cup products that were using sex appeal to promote Brazil-themed T-shirts.
February 24 – Public demonstrations in Sao Paulo, Brazil, again turned violent this weekend with police moving in swiftly to disperse rioters. The protest started peacefully with about 1,000 people, but the police stepped in when protestors set barricades alight and started smashing shop windows.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 19 – Brazil’s World Cup organisers are breathing a sigh of relief after FIFA gave the host venue of Curitiba a deadline-day reprieve by announcing that local authorities had done just about enough to warrant retaining its status.
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.
February 14 – FIFA and local officials have dismissed reports that contingency plans are being made to move World Cup matches away from Curitiba if authorities there fail to meet a February 18 deadline for completing the stadium.
February 11 – Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has condemned the latest violent protests against hikes in public transport fares as a news cameraman injured whilst covering last weekend’s demonstrations was declared brain dead after falling into a coma.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 10 – Television pictures of violent Rio demonstrations plus the accidental death of yet another stadium worker in the Amazon city of Manaus have heaped yet more unwanted publicity on Brazil’s World Cup organisers.
February 5 – FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke says all Brazil’s World Cup stadia, most notably Curitiba, will be completed by April even though that is only two months before the start of the tournament.
February 3 – The base camps for all the 32 teams at the World Cup have been confirmed by world federation FIFA, with two thirds choosing the more developed south of the country despite the fact that they have to travel huge distances for matches.
January 31 – There is no let-up in the demand for tickets for Brazil 2014 as the five-time world champions battle against infrastructure delays to stage the tournament for the first time in over half a century.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 28 – Brazil’s assistant coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has added his voice to growing concerns over delays in World Cup preparations, saying it’s “a joke” that it took so long to start work on some of the infrastructure projects and blasting the authorities for “total neglect”.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 27 – The staging of this year’s World Cup in Brazil has come under renewed intense scrutiny following fresh street protests over the cost of hosting the tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 24 – Two days after one of Brazil’s 12 World Cup stadia learned it may have to be scrapped from the schedule because of construction delays, Brazil’s leader Dilma Rousseff and FIFA president Sepp Blatter presented a joint charm offensive following a courtesy meeting at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
January 21 – FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke at last had some good news after his latest visit to the new Sao Paulo stadium in Brazil which will host the opening game of the World Cup.
By Paul Nicholson
January 16 – Fans who are being priced out of attending the Brazil World Cup because of the high rates of accommodation should take a look at a campsite option launched by two Englishmen in Recreio, in the west of Rio de Janeiro. For £35 a day per person, campers can turn up and get the full World Cup experience in one of Rio’s safer districts and in an area of outstanding natural beauty.