After Curitiba warning, Valcke heads for Natal

A day after warning hosts Brazil that Curitiba risks being dropped as a World Cup venue, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke on Wednesday headed north to inaugurate the stadium in Natal.

Valcke was accompanied by Brazil President Dilma Rousseff, who was later to head to Switzerland for the Davos Economic Forum — but also for a meeting on the sidelines with FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Rousseff this month countered criticism from Blatter over Brazil’s tardy preparations for the event by insisting the country would prove able to host the “Cup of Cups”.

Wednesday she tweeted: Today I inaugurate the #ArenaDasDunas in Natal — another step towards the Cup of Cups.”

But Valcke’s bombshell over Curitiba has again thrown the spotlight on the giant host nation’s ability fully to prepare the venues and revamp creaking infrastructure.

On Tuesday, Valcke said regarding Curitiba: “We cannot organise a match without a stadium, this has reached a critical point.

“Not only is it very behind in its construction, but it has failed to meet any of the deadlines set by FIFA.”

FIFA originally set a firm December 31 deadline for all 12 venues to be completed but had to scrap that date with half of the stadiums still requiring work.

Valcke said FIFA would return and reassess Curitiba warning it faced being dropped if clear progress was not made by February 18.

World champions Spain are due to face Australia in a group meeting in Curitiba and Football Federation Australia indicated it would “seek advice” from FIFA on potential contingency measures.

“The prospect of matches being moved from Curitiba raises serious concerns, particularly for Socceroo fans who have secured tickets and made flight and hotel bookings,” a FFA spokesman said.

“We hope the measures announced will ensure that Curitiba’s readiness will be confirmed by the 18 February deadline.”

Lagging behind schedule along with Curitiba is the Arena Corinthians at Sao Paulo, which is slated to host the opening match on June 12 between Brazil and Croatia.

A fatal accident which saw a crane fall on part of the stands and crush two construction workers in late November pushed back completion there and pre-tournament tests will only take place in mid-April.

Brazil has invested some $4 billion on stadiums for its first World Cup in 64 years — almost double initial projections, prompting public ire — but the clock is ticking down fast as the hosts race to finalise preparations.

Valcke and Rousseff were due to inaugurate the $210 million, 42,000-capacity Natal stadium at 1600 (1800 GMT) before Rousseff left for Switzerland.

Tuesday saw a first test for 1,000 invited fans at the stadium, which came in some 15 percent over its initial budget — one of the smallest increases beyond initial forecasts. Weekend matches between local sides will take place as part of further testing.

Although Natal is now ready for action there are worries the venue may prove a “white elephant” as the northern city lacks a top league club.

Meanwhile, FIFA requested the grass at another venue, the Mane Garrincha national stadium in Brasilia, be left to grow until the tournament starts amid concern over the state of the surface at the $600 million dollar site.

The stadium in the capital was used for last June’s Confederations Cup but some concerns over the surface arose then.

The Brasilia stadium is the most expensive of the 12 but suffered an embarrassing roof leak last month during a women’s international.

After Curitiba warning, Valcke heads for Natal