World Cup Weekly- Curitaba's lack of progress threatens WC schedule

Arena de Baixaba, Curitaba in December 2013. Source: Folha

Last week, Brazil’s largest southern city, Curitiba, was put on notice. Since Curitiba has already missed the deadline for the completion of its stadium, FIFA has given the city until February 18 to provide evidence the stadium will be complete in time for the tournament or if alternate venues need to be found.

The teams directly affected by the stadium’s readiness will be Australia, Spain, Honduras, Ecuador, Iran, Nigeria, Algeria and Russia, who all have group stage matches scheduled in the city. Construction delays are synonymous with major tournaments and have affected everything from the Sochi Winter Olympics to the Korean Grand Prix. The Brazilian hold ups have attracted attention as well as severe criticism this week.

Carlos Alberto Parreira, who coached Brazil to victory at the 1994 event and is Brazil’s assistant coach, told Radio CBN he thinks the Brazilian government “missed an opportunity” to benefit its own population by not starting infrastructure projects earlier. Although Parreira is confident the stadiums will be ready in time for kick-off, he made the point that “fans can’t live in a stadium.”

Carlos Alberto Parreira (right) with former WC winning coach Zagallo. Source: Google

He lashed out at Brazilian administration for not being more timely in its upgrades to public amenities, such as airports and hotels. The bidding process to work on transport hubs only opens in March, even though Brazil has known for the last seven years that it will host the World Cup.

Parriera was particularly critical of Rio de Janeiro, the place he says can become more user-friendly for its own people. “Rio will always continue to attract tourists. It’s a wonderful city. But we all know that it could offer us a lot more comfort, a lot more safety and a better quality of life,” he said.

-Firdose Moonda

Firdose is The Atlantic Post's Correspondent in Southern Africa. She writes and analyzes Cricket and Football news around the world.

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