SAO PAULO (AP) ― 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.
Three stadiums are 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 mandatory fanfests.
It’s already known that not all infrastructure will be completed no matter how much organizers rush before the June 12 opener. The government acknowledges that 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.
“Everything will be in place for the World Cup in Brazil to be a success,” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said Tuesday. “The stadiums will be ready, the airports will be ready, we are guaranteeing public safety.”
Jerome Valcke, secretary general for soccer’s governing body, says there’s no time to waste.
“I would not say it’s not ready, but it’s not finished,” he said recently.
“You feel that the competition is coming, so there is an excitement,” Valcke told FIFA.com. “In the meantime, it’s important to test everything and making sure it’s working. The pressure is there to make sure we will be perfectly ready.”
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.
“All arrangements are being made to guarantee a successful tournament,” says Brazil’s sports ministry, which is in charge of getting the country ready for the World Cup. “The meetings to finalize the operational plans in the varied areas involved in the event’s preparations will be concluded this week in all 12 host cities.”
But Joao Augusto Nardes, president of the government’s watchdog group, told Brazil’s official news service, Agencia Brasil, on Tuesday that some of the work still isn’t in place to provide “adequate security to those attending the World Cup.”
FIFA is worried mostly about the stadiums where the 64 matches will be played. It 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.
