"We are confident about Pernambuco."

Raphael Coutinho _PE247 – “I left Zurich worried. Now I leave Pernambuco calm.” With this statement, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and the Local Organizing Committee (COL) for the 2014 World Cup, José Maria Marin, assessed the situation of the Arena Pernambuco works. The head of national football inspected the works of the Pernambuco stadium this Wednesday (4) and minimized the concerns expressed by FIFA at the entity's last meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.

"After seeing and hearing the assurances given by the local authorities, we are confident about Pernambuco," said Marin. According to the CBF president himself, at no point did the entity that controls football in the country doubt the state's ability to meet the deadlines for the 2013 Confederations Cup.

Governor Eduardo Campos took advantage of Marin's presence in the state to explain what led FIFA to be concerned about the progress of the works. “The initial deadline for the Arena's completion was December 2013. After the possibility of hosting the Confederations Cup in 2013 arose, we managed, through negotiations with the project's construction company, to bring the deadline forward to April, which was the date stipulated by FIFA. Then, FIFA demanded that the stadiums for the Confederations Cup be ready in February. We changed the schedule again, but FIFA had not been informed,” he said.

In a moderate tone, Eduardo took the opportunity to guarantee the fulfillment of the stipulated deadlines. “We have much larger projects in Pernambuco and we are delivering them on schedule. We will meet this deadline of February 2013,” he stated. José Maria Marin also said that he will send an official letter to FIFA regarding his impressions of the Arena Pernambuco. On the 27th, inspectors from the governing body of football are expected to visit the state for another inspection.