With World Cup a month away, a lot to be done in Brazil

SAO PAULO: It´s all coming down to the final 30 days. Brazil had seven years to get ready for the World Cup, but it enters the final month of preparations with a lot yet to be done. There are three stadiums still under construction, some of the temporary structures needed for matches are delayed, and it remains unclear if all cities will have time to organize the fanfests required by FIFA.

It´s already known that not all infrastructure work will be completed no matter how much organizers rush ahead of the June 12 opener. The government admits communications inside stadiums won´t be perfect, unfinished airports remain a concern and there are widespread threats of violent protests by Brazilians complaining about the billions of dollars spent to organize the tournament.

Brazilian officials guarantee everything will be fine. FIFA remains concerned."All arrangements are being made to guarantee a successful tournament," affirms Brazil´s sports ministry, which is in charge of getting the country ready for the World Cup.

The local governments have the responsibility of making sure everything is working to receive the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected for the monthlong tournament, from transportation to public services to security.

FIFA is worried mostly about the stadiums where the 64 matches will be played. Football´s governing body wanted all venues completed by the end of last year, but Brazil was not able to get half of them ready in time. Many will not host all the test events that were planned for the tournament.

Among the three stadiums under construction is the Itaquerao, where the high-profile opener between Brazil and Croatia will be played.

There will be some 14,000 guests among the nearly 70,000 people in attendance, including many heads of state. Some of the 20,000 temporary seats needed for the opener are still being installed, and the only official test event planned for the Itaquerao will take place on Sunday, about three weeks before the opener. It won´t even happen in front of a full crowd, as only 40,000 fans will be allowed into the venue.

There is also concern with the temporary structures at the Beira-Rio Stadium in southern Porto Alegre, and the other incomplete venue is the Arena Pantanal in the western city of Cuiaba, which is only expected to host an official test event at the end of the month.

Cuiaba is one of the cities where authorities admit some of the infrastructure work planned for the World Cup will not be ready.
Projects also won´t be done in many other cities, including at airports that will be crucial for the travel of teams and fans.

In the northeastern city of Recife, local authorities still haven´t found private partners to host the fanfest, which allows fans without tickets to watch matches for free on large screens in public areas.

FIFA has threatened to sue the cities that don´t organize the event.
Brazil was a sole candidate when it was picked host in 2007, but it took a long time before any work for the World Cup got under way. (AP)