ZURICH, May 27 (Reuters) - Sao Paulo, South America’s largest city, will miss out on the Confederations Cup tournament in 2013 while other cities were warned by FIFA they could be overlooked for the following year’s World Cup if they do not improve transport.
The Confederations Cup is regarded as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup and Friday’s announcement, following a meeting between soccer’s world governing body FIFA and Brazilian organisers, is a huge blow for Sao Paulo’s hopes of staging the opening match in 2014.
“It was made clear that only cities with a stadium ready in early 2013 will be eligible as FIFA Confederations Cup venues,” said FIFA in a statement.
“Consequently, the cities of Sao Paulo and Natal are not eligible for the FIFA Confederations Cup.”
Sao Paulo is planning to stage matches at the Itaquera stadium, to be built by the Corinthians club, but the start of work on the planned arena has been repeatedly delayed.
It has previously planned to use the Morumbi but this was rejected last year after local organisers failed to obtain financial guarantees to cover the cost of refurbishing the stadium.
FIFA said that work at the other 10 of the 12 planned World Cup stadiums was “well on track.”
Brazil was also given a warning over its creaking transport systems, which in most cities consist mainly of over-crowded, crime-ridden buses and semi-legal “pirate” mini-vans.
“It is crucial that any venues which host the FIFA World Cup have adequate infrastructure to be able to cater for the tens of thousands of spectators and allow them to move around the city for a particular match,” FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke was quoted as telling the meeting.
“If this is not the case, we cannot stage matches in those cities,” he said.
FIFA’s statement added: “Concerns remain with regard to airport operations and capacities as well as transport infrastructure, which have been addressed with the highest authorities in Brazil.”
Rio de Janeiro was chosen to host the international broadcast centre ahead of Sao Paulo and Brasilia.
“Rio de Janeiro was chosen for many reasons, including the quality of the infrastructure, the variety of accommodation and activities available in the city as well as its strongly expressed willingness to provide all possible support for the IBC and its users,” said FIFA.
The Confederations Cup is regarded as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup and Friday’s announcement, following a meeting between soccer’s world governing body FIFA and Brazilian organisers, is a huge blow for Sao Paulo’s hopes of staging the opening match in 2014.
“It was made clear that only cities with a stadium ready in early 2013 will be eligible as FIFA Confederations Cup venues,” said FIFA in a statement.
“Consequently, the cities of Sao Paulo and Natal are not eligible for the FIFA Confederations Cup.”
Sao Paulo is planning to stage matches at the Itaquera stadium, to be built by the Corinthians club, but the start of work on the planned arena has been repeatedly delayed.
It has previously planned to use the Morumbi but this was rejected last year after local organisers failed to obtain financial guarantees to cover the cost of refurbishing the stadium.
FIFA said that work at the other 10 of the 12 planned World Cup stadiums was “well on track.”
Brazil was also given a warning over its creaking transport systems, which in most cities consist mainly of over-crowded, crime-ridden buses and semi-legal “pirate” mini-vans.
“It is crucial that any venues which host the FIFA World Cup have adequate infrastructure to be able to cater for the tens of thousands of spectators and allow them to move around the city for a particular match,” FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke was quoted as telling the meeting.
“If this is not the case, we cannot stage matches in those cities,” he said.
FIFA’s statement added: “Concerns remain with regard to airport operations and capacities as well as transport infrastructure, which have been addressed with the highest authorities in Brazil.”
Rio de Janeiro was chosen to host the international broadcast centre ahead of Sao Paulo and Brasilia.
“Rio de Janeiro was chosen for many reasons, including the quality of the infrastructure, the variety of accommodation and activities available in the city as well as its strongly expressed willingness to provide all possible support for the IBC and its users,” said FIFA.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire