FIFA plans to pay for Itaquerão's temporary structures

04/04/2014 - 09h50

With FIFA's patience at an end, however much knows that it will be expensive, the organization agreed to pay for the Corinthians stadium's temporary structures, whose costs could reach US$26.3 million.

FIFA is convinced that Corinthians have no way to afford such a great amount, a drop in the bucket compared to what the organization calculates as profit from the World Cup in Brazil, about US$5 billion (R$11.4 billion).

Hence, given the evidence that it's at a point of no return, FIFA should pay what remains to prevent a failure of international repercussions at their biggest event, the opening of the World Cup.

Jérôme Valcke, FIFA's secretary general, is convinced that Andrés Sanchez, former president of Corinthians and construction manager, promised to bankroll the commitment just to be free of charges by the organization.

TENSION

The situation at the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) in Rio is tense. His boss, Ricardo Trade, attributes the waywardness of preparations for the FIFA World Cup to a consultant, American Jim Brown, hired by his weight in gold even with Ricardo Teixeira presiding over the LOC.

What you see now in the World Cup is no different than what we saw on the eve of the Pan American Games in 2007 in Rio, when its organizers appealed to the federal government to avoid an embarrassment, and the final cost was nearly ten times higher than what was predicted.

For this reason, the Brazilian government is preparing to take the Cup as a lesson that can't be repeated at the 2016 Olympics.

FIFA's problems are not limited to the opening game because the agreements with Brazil in the areas of energy and telecommunications are not being fulfilled to the letter, which could lead the organization to also cover its costs and, afterwards, will probably lead to court actions in an attempt to seek a reimbursement.

The mood at HBS (Host Broadcast Services), the company contracted by FIFA to take care of the communications area, is indeed bad, with the delays for finishing the Corinthians and Inter-RS stadiums.

There's no more time left, according to officials at HBS, for installing the paraphernalia necessary for the optimal transmission of images for TV, internet and mobile devices.
It is possible that Oi, one of the organization's sponsors, which was thrown in last minute by FIFA for the World Cup drawing of lots, will have to "save it" again.

FIFA DENIES

FIFA and the LOC (Local Organizing Committee) deny that the football organization wishes to pay for temporary structures at the Itaquerão stadium.
This isn't going to happen, according to the LOC, because the privilege of hosting a World Cup game would become evident, since the other 11 had to bear the costs alone.