FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke on Thursday said work on the Sao Paulo stadium which will host the opening match of the World Cup remains a concern.
A fatal accident at the stadium in November and worries over who is responsible for temporary facilities has held up progress at the Sao Paulo ground where Brazil take on Croatia on June 12 in the World Cup opener.
“We don’t yet have a solution,” Valcke said following a local organizing committee meeting in Rio, though he added he was “quite confident” one would emerge by Friday.
“We will have 12 host cities; we will have 12 stadiums,” he stressed. “But there is work to do. Time is flying.”
Earlier this week, Brazil’s Development Bank released the first two-thirds of a $160 million loan to complete the Sao Paulo stadium.
Sao Paulo was one of six venues to miss an initial FIFA deadline of December 31 and the Corinthians Arena is only set to be handed over to organizers in mid-May.
Despite the tight timetable, Valcke said on the basis of his visits to Brazil and talks with constructor Odebrecht he was confident Sao Paulo would make it.
“I have full trust in Odebrecht to deliver on time for the opening game,” Valcke told reporters at the Maracana Stadium, which will host the July 13 final.
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