2014 World Cup: first tour of Jérôme Valcke (FIFA) in Brazil since the Confederations Cup

FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Secretary-General Jérôme Valcke has started his first tour in Brazil since the Confederations Cup (from the 15/06 to the 30/06/2013) on the 19/08/2013, less than 300 days before the beginning of the 2014 Brazil World Cup (from the 12/06 to the 07/13/2014).

The program includes visits to inspect three of the six stadiums that are still under construction, out of the 12 that will be used in 2014. Starting with the Arena de Sao Paulo, the venue of the opening match featuring host country Brazil on the 06/12/2014.

Valcke will also visit the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba and the Arena Amazonia in Manaus, the less advanced stadium with only three-quarters having already been built.

This tour, scheduled for a long time, occurs only a few days after Brazilian Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo stressed out the difficulties his country will face in meeting deadlines for the construction of the infrastructures: "We can get everything done in time, but we will need to speed up the pace of the construction work (...) if we want to deliver them by…