Three Brazil 2014 Stadiums to Miss FIFA Deadline

December 4, 2013

The organisation of the Brazil 2014 World Cup was called into question again after reports emerged that three stadiums being built for the tournament would miss FIFA’s end of the year deadline.

Cuiaba’s Arena Pantanal, Arena da Baixada in Curitiba and Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians are all going to miss the 31 December deadline.

The news is another set-back after two workers died after a crane accident at the stadium in Sao Paulo last month.

Arena Pantanal has abandoned its plan to have a retractable roof whilst the 41,000 capacity Arena da Baixada is also behind schedule.

FIFA General Secretary, Jerome Valcke said: “We don’t know when the green light [to resume work] will be given [in Sao Paolo].

“We are not in a crisis mood, looking at an alternative to Sao Paulo but Curitiba is facing the most problems and clearly won’t be delivered before February 2014.

“The people from Curitiba attended a meeting [on Monday] and promised to organise themselves to get the stadium ready by the end of February 2014.”

On the deaths in Sao Paulo, FIFA President Sep Blatter said: “We’re feeling sad for the families. Sao Paulo will be ready for the opening match.

“We deplore the loss of the two people who lost their lives.”

{jcomments on}