As the World Cup 2014 nears, it appears that organizers are still having a lot of last-minute problems which may result to delays and even put fans and players at risk, a report by Bloomberg shows.
FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke commented that the organizing body has to make improvements to ensure the success of the tournament in Brazil, which is set to launch on June 12, 2014.
Some of the issues that surfaced include cost overruns, determining the persons or bodies liable to pay for various elements, public disputes and several delays. The committee has less than three months to complete construction and provide facilities for the games, although it normally requires around 90 days to install features like marquees for sponsors, cabling for TV broadcasters and security screens.
For one, the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo is not yet finished. There were also further troubles in Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo when local stadium managers indicated that they will not assume the expenses of setting up temporary facilities.
In March, the local government of Porto Alegre shed some light by letting Internacional, the owner of Beira-Rio stadium, to pay for the construction, which involves 140,000 square meters of paving outside the stadium. They are currently looking for a contractor to undertake the task.
The Guardian reported that high-priced tickets were also a concern as thousands of Brazilian fans demonstrated for cheaper tickets. Over 2.3 million of the 3.3 million tickets have already been sold by FIFA. FIFA officials are also wary of terrorism attacks and large protests. 150,000 from the police and military will aid in creating exclusion zones outside of stadiums to prevent vandalism and violence that happened during the Confederations Cup in 2013.
According to The Telegraph, Jerome Valcke and other FIFA officials have learned a lot from the experience, although they remain optimistic that they will overcome the problems in the next few months. They further expect the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be better-planned and executed.