Sao Paulo World Cup Opening Venue Delayed Further

(WFI) FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke has revealed that the Sao Paulo venue hosting the opening World Cup match may not be ready until mid-May – just one month before kick-off.

Downplaying FIFA’s and his own personal frustrations at delays at some of the World Cup stadium projects still to be delivered, he admitted: "I am not a World Cup specialist but I will say this has not been easy for sure."

"We are almost at 100 days before the first game starts in a stadium in São Paulo which is still not ready and won't be ready until 15 May. And as you know another two stadiums [in Curitiba and Manaus] are quite late," the Frenchman was quoted by Reuters as telling reporters after a meeting of the International Football Association Board in Zurich at the weekend.

Sao Paulo's 68,000-seat Arena Itaquera has been a major headache for FIFA from the outset. Plagued with financing and construction delays, the stadium building was also the site of a crane collapse that tragically killed two people a few months ago.

Valcke said IT infrastructure for commercial, hospitality and media partners still had to be installed in the stadiums not yet opened; 12 host cities are staging the FIFA showpiece, which runs from June 12 to July 13.

"The ball starts rolling on June 12 until July 13 and I think things will work well then but it is also true that whenever you receive something late, it becomes a challenge to make it ready in time," Valcke added.

In March 2011, Valcke was caught off guard when venting his frustrations about World Cup preparations, saying Brazil needed a "kick up the backside" in its World Cup preparations. He quickly apologized for the comments ahead of a Blatter peace-keeping mission to Brazil.

Ahead of the 100 days to go milestone on Tuesday, Valcke was asked if Brazil needed another "kick up the backside". But he said only: "Ask me that when the World Cup is over."

"For sure, the stadiums are beautiful but now it is a challenge for the organisers. And that is not a criticism. It is just a challenge. We have to find the solutions," he was quoted by Reuters.

Work at Curitiba’s stadium is also going down to the wire. FIFA expects it to also be finished on May 15.

On Tuesday, the 12 World Cup cities will stage their own celebrations to mark the year-to-go milestone.

Valcke and Blatter will not be in Brazil to take part in any of the events this week.

Written by Mark Bisson

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