SAO PAULO: The stadium hosting the World Cup opening match on June 12 will hold a second test event next week after its first major test laid bare a host of problems.
Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena, plagued by budget overruns, construction delays and accidents that have killed three workers, will host a Brazilian league match between home team Corinthians and Cruzeiro on May 29, said the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).
Organizers are still scrambling to get the stadium finished in time for the World Cup opening ceremony and kick-off match between Brazil and Croatia.
On Sunday it held what was originally scheduled to be its only major test event, when Corinthians lost 1-0 to underdogs Figueirense.
But the local organizing committee overseeing Sao Paulo’s preparations for the World Cup said the match had revealed the venue, also known as the Itaquerao, needed another test.
“Given the worldwide attention the opening match of the World Cup will attract, there will be a second test,” the committee said, adding it would focus particularly on “operational and service” issues.
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, the world football governing body’s top task-master for host country preparations, said Monday the stadium “still needs 100 percent from everybody” to be ready in time.
The stadium, which Brazil is due to hand over to FIFA today -- repeatedly delayed from an original deadline of December 31 -- was Valcke’s first stop on a tour to oversee final preparations in all 12 World Cup host cities.
“A test event does not compare to the scale, needs and global attention of the opening match of the World Cup,” he wrote on Twitter after the visit. “The opening World Cup match attracts 65,000-plus watching live in the stadium and a billion on TV. Twenty-four days to go.” AFP
