On the radio programme Bom Dia Ministro this week, sports minister Orlando Silva and cities minister Márcio Fortes discussed the work that is being carried out ahead of the 2014 football World Cup.

Fortes emphasized that construction work and other infrastructural projects in the twelve cities that will be hosting matches will need to be completed at least a year before the beginning of the tournament, and that the new infrastructure will be designed so as to be of lasting benefit to those cities.

Silva pointed out that while the World Cup constitutes a great opportunity to advertise Brazil as a tourist destination, it also offers the chance to promote a positive image of the country in a wider sense – something he felt Germany had achieved with its hosting of the last World Cup in 2006.

Silva also mentioned the importance of improving air links between the twelve host cities, some of which are many hundreds of miles apart. He pointed out that Brasília is currently the only host city that has direct flights to all the other eleven venues, but that Brazil’s civil aviation authorities are already taking steps to ensure this is rectified well before 2014.

As for the question of which Brazilian cities will host the opening game and the final of the competition, Silva said no decision would be taken before the end of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Brazil was chosen by FIFA to host the 2014 World Cup in October 2007. The twelve host cities, confirmed earlier this year, are Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo.

Source: Office of the President and Embassy of Brazil in London