Will Brazil be ready for the WC?

“We have also had to demolish the upper and lower tiers as well, but we are now on schedule and we expect to finish the work by December 2012.”

Struggling airports
One of the big challenges for Brazil is to transport the spectators between the 12 host cities across the country.
The burgeoning middle class in the country has been taking to the air in ever increasing numbers. The number of internal flights has risen by 80 million in the past five years and the same increase is predicted by 2014.

The government is selling shares in the state operator, Infraero. It hopes the cash injection will speed work to be completed in nine of the airports.

“Sao Paulo is an international airport but it has only two terminals but has a population of over 20 million people - it’s ridiculously badly served,” says HSBC bank chief economist for Latin America, Andre Loes.

But despite all the concerns about the speed of the preparations for the World Cup, Mr Loes says it will act as catalyst for Brazil’s greater infrastructure development.

“The World Cup and the Olympics will force us to have major projects ready on time. The tough thing will be to make sure it does not have any inflationary effects.”

Spectacular goal
“When people meet me in the street they still call me captain,” says Carlos Alberto, the leader of Brazil’s World Cup winning side in 1970.

Surrounded by pictures of him scoring a spectacular goal in the final of the tournament, Mr Alberto is sanguine about all the concerns.

“This is the Brazilian style. Fifa always come to Brazil, and they go to look at stadiums and ask what’s going on, and we say, ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to be ready before the World Cup,’” he says.

Brazilians have always had their own style on the pitch and it seems that is the same for their preparations for the World Cup.

After all, they have already won the tournament five times. Most people in Brazil believe it will not be beyond them to host it in 2014.

Mark Broad
Economics reporter, BBC News