FIFA: Three World Cup Stadiums May Not Be Ready

FIFA is concerned that three World Cup Stadiums are still not be ready just two weeks before the World Cup starts in Brazil.

As ProSoccerTalk noted, FIFA general Secretary Jerome Valcke on Thursday “completed his tour of all 12 World Cup host cities for one final check up. He still has concerns over stadiums in Porto Alegre, Natal and Sao Paulo”:

The stadium at the center of of this latest panic is in Sao Paulo, as the Itaquerao will host the World Cup opener between Brazil and Croatia on June 12. Less than two weeks from now. The venue has yet to be tested fully with a capacity crowd of 70,000. On Sunday a Brazilian league match between Corinthians and Botafogo will only host 40,000 fans because temporary seats recently installed have not yet been certified by local building authorities.

FIFA wanted to play the league match so close to the start of the tournament so it could be fully tested but with the club who owns the venue, Corinthians, not being able to gain the required permits for the temporary seating, there will not be a full test on the stadium the entire world will be looking at in 13 days time.

As NBC noted, the “issues across Brazil have been widespread and problematic for a long period of time — deaths to construction workers, arguments over the financing of venues, workers going on strike, accidents damaging the stadiums and many more infrastructure issues have hampered the progress.”