By ANDREW SANTIS
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Oct. 30, 2007, FIFA, soccer’s world-governing body, selected Brazil to be the host of the 2014 World Cup—in the most interesting of circumstances. After Colombia withdrew its bid to host the soccer tournament, Brazil became the only official candidate left in the bidding. Brazil became the fourth sole bidder to be awarded the World Cup after Spain in 1982, Argentina in 1978 and West Germany in 1966.
Brazil had about seven years to prepare for the tournament, the longest any host country has ever had. Now, with less than three months to go until the World Cup begins, the question on everyone’s mind is: “Will Brazil be ready to host?”
The answer? “Let’s hope so.”
STADIA
It took two years for Brazil to choose the 12 host cities for the tournament. After that, 12 stadiums in the 12 host cities had to be either constructed or renovated. The deadline for all stadia completion was Dec. 2013. Only six were finished. Two more were inaugurated in the past month.
Arena Pantanal and Arena Corinthians, called Itaquerao by locals, are still behind schedule despite FIFA giving them a two-month deadline extension. Constructers of Arena Corinthians said they will finish work by April 15, but the team building the Corinthians arena said that the VIP areas, the roof and installation of large screens will not be fully ready by then. Back in November, two people were killed and one injured when a crane crashed on top of the stadium. Construction was subsequently delayed for 30 days. The Arena Corinthians is set to host the opening match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12. FIFA expects this stadium to be completed just a month before the tournament starts. Arena Pantantal should open next month.
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke has not hesitated to show his frustration with the host country’s delays. At one point, Valcke was temporarily suspended as the 2014 World Cup liaison after saying Brazil’s World Cup organizers needed “a kick up the backside”. He also threatened to get rid of host city Curitiba because of its serious delays in renovating Arena de Baixada (Valcke announced in February that Curitiba will host its four World Cup matches, and has a new deadline of mid-May).
Besides delays in construction and concerns over stadium infrastructure, another worry is how much the stadiums are going to cost. In 2010, the twelve stadiums had an estimated $2.2 billion price tag. In 2012, the estimate was $3.4 billion. The most recent numbers show the cost is $3.8 billion.
INFRASTRUCTURE
When Brazil was awarded the World Cup in 2007, politicians promised that $8 billion would be spent on nationwide projects to transform Brazil from an emerging economy to a world superpower.
Seven years later, construction plans are, like the stadiums, behind schedule or cancelled altogether. Only seven infrastructure projects have been completed as of this year.
Government regulations found a monorail system for the Amazonian city of Manaus unviable and therefore cancelled it. Plans to build a subway system in the city of Belo Horizonte has been replaced with bus lines; a subway system in Salvador will not be started on until after the World Cup; a new runway for Rio de Janiero’s Galeão International Airport will not be built in time. One airport will welcome passengers in canvas tents because new terminals will not be ready; the addition of bus lanes was abandoned in five cities and a light-rail system linking the airport to downtown Cuiaba was started, but is basically abandoned now with only a half-mile of track put down. These are only a few of Brazil’s many infrastructure problems. With about 600,000 people expected to arrive from around the world for the World Cup, many wonder if transportation is the only issue to be worried about. The protests during the Confederations Cup last year show that security will be extremely important to protect people from violent political demonstrations as well as terrorist threats this year.
The clock is ticking, and there is still a lot to do. While some Brazilians are embarrassed their country might not be ready to host the World Cup, there are still a few hopeful people who believe Brazil will deliver.
After the World Cup, Brazil will be gearing up for another big event: the Summer Olympics. With so many delays and failed projects for the upcoming soccer tournament, it isn’t hard to believe the country will face the same problems preparing for the Olympics.