FIFA president Sepp Blatter has stated that he is confident that the stadiums will be ready in time for the World Cup 2014. FIFA has also confirmed that there will be no speeches by officials in the opening match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12. This has been done in order to prevent unnecessary protest from starting inside the stadium. During the Confederations cup, Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff gave a speech and he was booed off by the crowd due to allegations about corruption.
There has also been a lot of discontent amongst the Brazilian public that the government had spent a huge amount of money on unnecessary aspects like developing the stadium rather than improving the infrastructure, which is a major doubt on the nation. Due to the large amount of supporters who are expected to travel for this tournament, it has been suggested that Brazil’s infrastructure like road and air transported will not be able to handle the volume. Blatter, meanwhile, attempted to once again put an end to the rumours that the stadium may not be ready in time for the World Cup.
The Arena Corinthians, which will hold the opening match, is still undergoing construction and is not expected to be handed to FIFA until a few months later.
“Everything with the stadiums will work out. This is not my first World Cup. In the end, all the stadiums will be ready. Friends of Brazilian football, where is the respect and the fair play, please? We hope that the World Cup will play a part in calming down the social unrest that we experienced during the Confederations Cup,” said the FIFA president. Brazil is estimated to have spent more than £ 8 billion in improving all aspects across the country, but it has been mostly spent on stadiums.