(Reuters) – FIFA backed down from its warning that 2014 World Cup matches could be moved away from Sao Paulo, saying yesterday it was “out of the question” to stage the tournament without South America’s biggest city.
Secretary general Jerome Valcke had said on Tuesday that delays in the building of Sao Paulo’s Itaquerao stadium would not be tolerated and warned that FIFA could had until Aug 1 “to change the stadiums.”
But he toned down his comments after visiting Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana, which will stage the World Cup final next year.
“A World Cup without Sao Paulo is out of the question,” he told reporters, adding that he was due to hold a meeting with stadium owners Corinthians in the next few days.
“The World Cup will be held in 12 cities and one of them will be Sao Paulo.”
FIFA has demanded that all World Cup stadiums are completed and handed over to organisers by December, but the chief engineer working on the Itaquerao told Brazilian media last week that he expected work to over-run by two months.
Brazilian Minister of Sports Aldo Rebelo said he was confident the December deadline would be met by all stadiums, including Sao Paulo. “The Itaquerao is within the calender,” he said.
Meanwhile, Valcke said he was impressed with the progress made at the Maracana which was officially opened last month, four months behind schedule.
“There was a lot of work to do and, since we came in March, it’s incredible what has been done,” he said.
The first match to be staged at the stadium will be the friendly between Brazil and England on June 2.