FIFA World Cup 2014 and Brazil’s preparations for this big event have become a growing worry for all. Just two months before the World Cup kicks off, FIFA raised concerns over Brazil’s preparations. The host country Brazil is yet struggling with excessive spending and delays.

Jerome Valcke, FIFA secretary-general, made a truthful evaluation of Brazil’s World Cup arrangements last week.”If you want me to summarize, we are not ready,” he told at an African Football conference in South Africa.

Preparations for the World Cup have been beset by problems. Two stadiums are incomplete–one in Porto Alegre and the other in São Paulo.Three construction deaths have delayed the work at the Itaquerão in São Paulo. The 68,000-seat stadium is thought to host the inaugural match between Croatia and Brazil on June 12.It was supposed to be completed in mid-April, but FIFA says there’s no way it’ll open before May 15.

That took the number of fatalities at the site to three after two people killed in November following a partial crane collapse of the stadium at the Corinthians Arena. A total of eight men have already died working on World Cup stadiums.

Mayor of Porto Alegre said the city may drop out if additional funding was not found to build facilities for fans, media and sponsors. The city’s Beira Rio stadium is due to host five matches during the tournament.

Brazil was only required to have eight stadiums but in an overly ambitious attempt to spread the FIFA World Cup experience throughout the country, they dedicated themselves to 12. The costs of these big plans are starting to be counted in human lives.

Concerning over FIFA World Cup 2014 and Brazil’s preparations, in a Local Organizing Committee board, the FIFA secretary-general stated that in many cities, there is still a huge work to do.

On the other hand, the stadium in the city of Cuiaba had its official opening match last Wednesday with 50 percent installed seats and construction work still in progress. The Arena Pantanal opened on Wednesday with a Brazilian Cup match between Mixto and Santos. The October blaze caused more damage than was primarily thought and prompted prosecutors to open a safety investigation at the arena.

The match between Mixto and Santos in the Brazilian Cup on Wednesday was open to only 20,000 fans; about half of the stadium’s planned capacity. The construction started four years ago and has so far cost $251.34 million.

The stadium was one of the six that were not finished by the end of last year as expected by FIFA. As in other World Cup stadiums in Brazil, construction work around the Arena Pantanal goes on at full swing, with cranes, bulldozers, and dump trucks still at the site as hundreds of workers try to complete sidewalks, temporary structures and access roads.

Lots of infrastructure plans initially included in the master plan have been abandoned. Transport initiatives such as the planned monorail in Manaus and a Bus Rapid Transit project in Belo Horizonte have been called off while others are no longer likely to be completed before June.

Security will be tight during the World Cup in Brazil. The authorities have said that 150,000 troops and police will work to secure the World Cup. The number is three times bigger than the 50,000 officers deployed in the Confederations Cup period, which took place in half of the World Cup cities last summer.

Police and armed forces, 20,000 private security staff will also be trained to work at World Cup venues and inside stadiums.

FIFA World Cup 2014 and Brazil’s preparations for it may not worry that much the football fans. Italy’s first group matches against England have already sold out. FIFA, in total, received 3.5million ticket requests. Portugal against the USA in Manaus also sold out. Just fewer than 160,000 tickets remain for the final sales phase after 1.5 million tickets were sold in some lottery and first-come-first-served phases.

By Rahad Abir

Sources:

The Independent

EUROSPORT.COM

CBC Sports

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