FIFA has expressed concerns about Brazil’s readiness for the event, with stadia and airports being the particular areas of concern. However, just days before the qualifying draw for the 2014 World Cup is held in Rio de Janeiro on July 30, Silva said that upgrades would be completed with at least half a year to spare.
“Brazil will be ready as agreed with FIFA in terms of infrastructure,” Silva said, according to the BBC. “Eight stadia will be ready by the end of 2012; 10 by the start of the Confederations Cup in 2013; and all 12 by the end of 2013.”
Last month, FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke warned: “There is a lot of work to deliver.” He added: “We don't have stadia, we don't have airports, we don't have a national transportation system in place and we are one month away from the preliminary draw. In São Paulo they will not even be able to play the Confederations Cup in 2013 because the stadium will not be ready.”
However, Silva is confident that the US$13 billion investment in the country’s infrastructure will guarantee a successful event. “FIFA will be here next week and they will see personally the progress Brazil has made recently and I believe they will be pleased with the information they will be getting,” Silva added, according to The Guardian.
“They will probably be surprised by the data and information they will receive and the things they will see because they are following the progress from far away,” he said. “It is certain that Brazil is much more attentive to the preparations for the World Cup than FIFA, and this attention will persist until the very last day of the World Cup, because we want to have a very successful event.”
