South America

Brazil’s Deputy Sports Minister Luis Fernandes is confident that the country will host a “fantastic” Fifa World Cup this summer despite admitting mistakes were made during the preparations for the national team football tournament.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has announced that the Chinese city of Kunshan will host the 2016 Thomas & Uber Cup Finals, while the Peruvian capital of Lima has secured the rights to the 2015 World Junior Championships.

Sanzar’s bid to establish a Super Rugby expansion franchise in the Asian market has suffered a blow with Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) president Trevor Gregory stating the continent is not ready to host a team.

Football’s world governing body Fifa and Brazilian football club Corinthians have agreed to cancel a test event at a key World Cup stadium in Sao Paulo due to concerns over traffic congestion.

SportAccord Convention has announced it is closing in on a decision over the host of its 2015 event, adding that “strong interest” has been received from multiple Brazilian cities to stage a future edition of the Convention in the country for the first time.

Brazilian football club Corinthians has organised a second test event at its Arena Corinthians in a bid to meet Fifa’s demands for the World Cup, while organisers have maintained that unfinished work will not pose a problem during the upcoming national team tournament.

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has said it may conduct independent water-quality tests in Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay as concerns mount over pollution levels at the sailing venue for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Brazilian state environmental officials have acknowledged that previously set water pollution targets will not be met in time for Rio de Janeiro’s hosting of the 2016 summer Olympic Games.

Organisers of the Rio 2016 Olympics have moved to quell criticism of their preparations for the Games by announcing 38 per cent of competition venues are ready for the event.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has welcomed the appointment by Rio 2016 of IPC vice-president Andrew Parsons as chair of the Games’ Paralympic Integration Committee and insisted that it is ‘encouraged’ by developments in preparing for the event.

Pressure appears to be mounting on organisers of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after the International Olympic Committee (IOC), for the second time in less than a week, had to deny a report that the event could be switched to another city.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has rejected English media reports that the 2016 summer Olympic Games could be moved from Rio de Janeiro to London, the host city of the 2012 Games.

Under-fire organisers of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games have received a welcome boost after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) revealed that National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) are “impressed” by progress made towards staging the Games.

Reform of the Super Rugby model is set to move forward with a four-conference setup in 2016, according to Australian Rugby Union (ARU) chief executive Bill Pulver.

The organising committee for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 summer Olympic and Paralympic Games has insisted it will deliver the event on time and within budget after International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president John Coates labelled preparations as “the worst I have experienced”.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president John Coates has hit out at Rio de Janeiro’s preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games, stating they are “the worst I have experienced.”