Brazil will be ready for World Cup, says FIFA
Confederations Cup to help in testing facilities in Rio.
FIFA Secretary General J r me Valcke, Hublot Chairman Jean-Claude Biver (C) and Brazil's football legend Pel (R) talk during the ceremony of the unveiling clock to mark the one-year countdown to next year's World Cup in Copacabana Beach. PHOTO: AFP
RIO DE JANEIRO:
Three days before the start of the Confederations Cup and exactly a year before the World Cup kickoff, Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke dismissed concerns that Brazil will not be ready for the bigger tournament.
Flanked by football great Pelé, who urged Brazilian fans to stand unified behind their still evolving national team, Valcke unveiled a clock in Rio de Janeiro counting down the days until the World Cup starts.
Valcke said that 12 months is enough time to finish work at airport terminals and the 12 stadiums that will play host to the event.
Aldo Rebelo, Brazil’s Sports Minister, has said repeatedly that the stadiums will be completed by a December deadline.
“That is going to happen,” said Valcke, echoing the comments by Rebelo, who was also at the unveiling of the clock.
“There is no Plan B. There is no solution other than having those 12 stadiums.”
Six of the stadiums, including in Rio, Brasília, Belo Horizonte and three cities in Brazil’s northeast, are mostly completed and are gearing up for the two-week Confederations Cup.
The smaller tournament, an eight-team competition that starts tomorrow, will serve as a World Cup warm-up and will help organisers test facilities ahead of the marquee event.
Meanwhile, Pelé urged Brazil fans to be patient.
The three-time World Cup winner said the team’s play is still a work in progress because the squad is predominantly made up of younger players including Neymar, the forward who recently joined Barcelona from Pele’s former club Santos.
“Barcelona is the best collective team in recent memory,” he said. “This full year that he spends with Barcelona will be great training before coming back to the national team.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2013.
Three days before the start of the Confederations Cup and exactly a year before the World Cup kickoff, Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke dismissed concerns that Brazil will not be ready for the bigger tournament.
Flanked by football great Pelé, who urged Brazilian fans to stand unified behind their still evolving national team, Valcke unveiled a clock in Rio de Janeiro counting down the days until the World Cup starts.
Valcke said that 12 months is enough time to finish work at airport terminals and the 12 stadiums that will play host to the event.
Aldo Rebelo, Brazil’s Sports Minister, has said repeatedly that the stadiums will be completed by a December deadline.
“That is going to happen,” said Valcke, echoing the comments by Rebelo, who was also at the unveiling of the clock.
“There is no Plan B. There is no solution other than having those 12 stadiums.”
Six of the stadiums, including in Rio, Brasília, Belo Horizonte and three cities in Brazil’s northeast, are mostly completed and are gearing up for the two-week Confederations Cup.
The smaller tournament, an eight-team competition that starts tomorrow, will serve as a World Cup warm-up and will help organisers test facilities ahead of the marquee event.
Meanwhile, Pelé urged Brazil fans to be patient.
The three-time World Cup winner said the team’s play is still a work in progress because the squad is predominantly made up of younger players including Neymar, the forward who recently joined Barcelona from Pele’s former club Santos.
“Barcelona is the best collective team in recent memory,” he said. “This full year that he spends with Barcelona will be great training before coming back to the national team.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2013.