FIFA president Sepp Blatter has blasted Brazil for its slow progress in preparing for this summer’s World Cup.
Brazil will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup in June, but has constructed only six out of 12 stadiums that were supposed to be completed by the end of 2013. In an interview Saturday with Swiss newspaper 24 Heures, Blatter said the country’s preparations were the worst he’d seen since starting at FIFA in 1998, the Associated Press reports.
“They started a lot too late,” he said. “It is the country which is the furthest behind since I’ve been at FIFA and moreover, it’s the only one that had so much time — seven years — to prepare itself.”
According to the Associated Press, the delays are primarily related to financial problems as well as worker safety. Three workers died on construction projects for the tournament last year.
Brazil Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo has said that everything will be ready in time for the tournament, which kicks off Jun. 12.
[AP]