Brazil’s sports minister defended the preparations for the 2014 World Cup on Wednesday, saying those criticizing them are underestimating their current state and that some of the delays were due to FIFA being slow in approving plans.
Orlando Silva conceded during a conference call that there are no plans yet to build the Sao Paulo stadium scheduled to stage the opening ceremony, but said he has been reassured by local officials that a proposal is due within days.
FIFA has previously criticized Brazil’s readiness, saying the country is behind schedule in several areas, including stadium renovation and infrastructure.
“These are the opinions of those who ignore the reality of the country,” Silva said, adding that FIFA will soon “see the reality close up. They will be surprised with the preparations for the World Cup.
“FIFA will have to do its part. Because projects for the stadiums were approved only this May, and you could not start work on the stadiums without the projects having been approved.”
In May, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke was fiercely critical of preparations.
“I got a report on the status quo of the Brazilian stadiums. I have to say it is not very nice,” Valcke said then. “There are a number (of stadiums) with red lights already, which is amazing. It is amazing how Brazil is already late … I am talking about a number of stadiums.”
Brazilian officials have previously acknowledged they have to pick up the pace. A recent report by a government watchdog outlined the delays and warned that construction in some key areas, such as airports, may not be completed in time.
However, Silva said the lack of progress in building a stadium in Sao Paulo — Latin America’s largest city—is the biggest hurdle.
“Sao Paulo is the only bottleneck in preparing for 2014 World Cup because the other 11 cities are preparing at a very good pace,” he said.
Sao Paulo’s Morumbi stadium was dropped from the original project earlier this year after FIFA said there were not enough financial guarantees for its renovation. Since then, officials have struggled to find an alternative that would keep Sao Paulo as one of the 12 host cities.
There was a proposal to build a completely new stadium, which could later be used by Corinthians, but city officials have said they would not use public funds to construct a new venue.
Silva said the Brazilian bank, BNDES, had opened a $2.7 billion line of financing for the renovation or construction of stadiums, with a credit limit of $226 million for each project.
Earlier this month, the Brazilian government said it would invest nearly $3 billion to renovate and expand airports, and guarantee about $400 million to upgrade ports—news that Silva highlighted as proving the country was on track in its preparations.
But Silva said plans have yet to be finalized for other major areas— primarily in security, a major concern for foreign visitors and what proved to be a bigger spending drain than expected for the organizers of this year’s World Cup in South Africa.
South African officials have agreed to provide a report of the positive and negative lessons learned from hosting the event, Silva said.
By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer
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