"The Brasilia stadium will be a jewel and an example."

Brasilia 247 – The visit of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the 2014 World Cup and representatives from FIFA to the Mané Garrincha National Stadium in Brasília should reassure those who had doubts about the arena. Everyone left very impressed with the tour. "It's very beautiful and grand," summarized FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke.

According to the Secretary General, there is no doubt that the stadium will be ready to host the opening of the Confederations Cup, scheduled for June 15, 2013, at 16 PM. "This opening of the FIFA Confederations Cup is a great responsibility for us. It will be an opportunity to showcase Brazil to the world in this great tournament. We are working with great dedication, with great care, with great effort, to make this the best FIFA World Cup and the best FIFA Confederations Cup. The collective effort will allow us to achieve all our objectives," declared the Governor of the Federal District, Agnelo Queiroz, who accompanied the delegation.

"The Brasília stadium will be a jewel and an example of sustainable architecture," stated Valcke. The delegation also liked the sustainable design of the arena. On Twitter @fifaworldcup_pt, the proposal was considered a source of pride. Besides the Brasília arena, FIFA believes that 80% of the construction will be completed in time for the 2014 World Cup. The Brasília Stadium, budgeted at over R$ 800 million, is approximately 60% complete. The arena will have a capacity of 70.064 people and is seeking LEED Platinum certification for sustainability.

COL Meeting

Immediately following the visit, the delegation held another meeting of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) board. The meeting was attended by directors from FIFA and the LOC, as well as the Minister of Sport, Aldo Rebelo, the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Sport, Luis Fernandes, and the president of the São Paulo Football Federation and member of the FIFA Executive Committee, Marco Polo Del Nero. The meeting served to update important points in various areas of the FIFA World Cup.

It was announced at a press conference following the meeting that the final draw for the 2014 World Cup groups will be held in Costa do Sauípe, Bahia, in December 2013. The draw for the FIFA Confederations Cup is confirmed for December 1, 2012, at the Anhembi Complex in São Paulo.

The rules for public screenings of FIFA World Cup matches for large gatherings outside of FIFA Fan Fests were also defined. During the press conference, Valcke also announced an agreement between FIFA and Rede Globo de Televisão to broadcast the World Cup on large screens for audiences of up to 5 people, with a small fee that will be donated to a charity chosen by the event organizers. Those interested should register on Globo's website, and the requests will be forwarded to FIFA, which will decide which ones will be granted.

Regarding the sale of alcoholic beverages in stadiums, Valcke assured that negotiations will be conducted with each host city where the practice is prohibited. According to the General Law of the Cup, the decision is up to each state. FIFA also stated that it hopes the Recife stadium will be ready in time for the city to be one of the host cities for the Confederations Cup. The city has until the first week of November to define the situation, due to the advance ticket sales for the competition. The last meeting of this type took place in January in Rio de Janeiro. The next one is scheduled for August 30th, also in Rio de Janeiro.

With information from Agência Brasil and FIFA.