Brazil's World Cup preparations come under scrutiny

While there is still nearly three months remaining before the opening of the 2014 World Cup, FIFA has dispatched inspection teams to the stadiums being constructed in the 12 cities throughout Brazil that will be hosting the games.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Of particular concern for the organization is the stadium that will host the opening match between Brazil and Croatia, the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The locals call the unfinished stadium Itaquerao, and is not expected to be finished until about a month before the June 12 opening match.

A major accident delayed construction in November, after a crane fell onto part of a structure attached to the facade which killed two people, but officials for the stadiums construction maintain that the Itaquerao will be finished by April 15, There is still a lot of required work that isn't done yet, including V.I.P. areas, the roof, and installation of large video monitors. A major accident has delayed construction

Two other stadiums are also not finished yet, and there is still last minute work that needs to be done on some of the other stadiums.
The secretary general of FIFA, Jerome Valcke has been critical of Brazil's preparedness, or lack thereof. He is due to arrive in the country next week to discuss the preparations with the organizing committee in Rio de Janeiro.

"This is the last occasion for the organizers to take stock of the operational preparations before the respective FIFA World Cup installations begin to be implemented in all 12 host cities," said Valcke.

The United States is scheduled to play Ghana on June 16, followed by Portugal on the 22, and Germany on the 26.

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