The Sao Paulo stadium slated as the venue for the World Cup's opening game in 51 days will be "completely ready," dpa ctied FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke as saying on Tuesday. "Sao Paulo will be ready for the World Cup, even if not in the initially planned timeframe," Valcke said after visiting the newly built Corinthians Stadium. A friendly game would be played in mid-May to ensure everything is ready, he said. "The event will give us the opportunity to see what works and what does not, and then we will have three weeks to fix any possible problems," Valcke said. World Cup hosts Brazil are due to face Croatia in the opening match of the tournament on June 12. Valcke met with officials from Corinthians, the local club that owns the stadium, and representatives of the lead construction company. The FIFA official insisted that "not a single minute" can be wasted. "We have a lot of work ahead. It is a race against the clock, but I can guarantee that the opening game will take place here, at the Corinthians stadium," he said. Building the stadium has cost at least 430 million dollars, financed mainly through public loans. The project was delayed by two accidents, in which three workers died. According to the construction company in charge, temporary grandstands - which are to add 20,000 seats to the stadium to comply with FIFA demands for at least 68,000 seats - are set to be ready on May 10. After the opening match between Brazil and Croatia, the Arena Corinthians is set to host Uruguay-England, Netherlands-Chile and South Korea-Belgium, along with a round-of-16 match and a semi-final. Sao Paulo was the first stop on Valcke's latest inspection tour in Brazil. He was due later Tuesday in Curitiba, where the Arena da Baixada is behind schedule. Valcke is also set to visit host cities Cuiaba and Fortaleza, whose stadiums are ready. -- SPA 21:43 LOCAL TIME 18:43 GMT تغريد
