No one doubts that the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the country of football and the nation of partying, will be memorable. But there are doubts over how well organised it will be.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reacted angrily to concerns voiced by officials from football's governing body Fifa, after the end of this year's World Cup, that Brazil was still far from ready to host the tournament in four years' time.
"There are already people asking where are Brazil's airports, buses, railways and stadiums? They talk as if we were a bunch of idiots who don't know what we have to do nor how to define priorities", said President Lula at the launch of a high-speed train set to link Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
But the fact is that Brazil does not have much to show more than 30 months after it learned it would host the 2014 World Cup.
There have been severe delays in all 12 cities chosen to stage matches, particularly in the construction of stadiums and upgrading of airports. Brazil is experiencing one of its best economic periods in decades, so there are resources to carry out the necessary works.
However, there is a lot of red tape to cut through, as well as politics, as most of the investment will be made with public money.
Expensive delay
"I am not so worried about the arenas because you can build a stadium in 30 months after you have an engineering project ready, and we have 47 months to the World Cup," says Jose Roberto Bernasconi, president of the National Association of Engineering and Architecture Companies.
"But airports are a more complicated matter and I think that is our main problem nowadays," he said.
Brazil has won the World Cup five times (including in 1970, above) "The problem is all airports are state run. We should have established long ago public-private partnerships to invest in the airports."
Mr Bernasconi points out that the longer the delay, the more expensive the construction will be.
"The PanAmerican Games in Rio de Janeiro (in 2007) had an initial budget of some $270m but ended up at least three times as expensive because things were left to the last moment."
In Brazil most people believe that the county will be able to organise the World Cup but there are concerns about how well the money will be used.
"We always hear so much about corruption in politics, in Brazilian football. And there is so much money involved in a World Cup that it will tempt many people," says student Daniela Mendes.
"But if South Africa managed to do it, why wouldn't we?"
But the fact is that Brazil does not have much to show more than 30 months after it learned it would host the 2014 World Cup.
There have been severe delays in all 12 cities chosen to stage matches, particularly in the construction of stadiums and upgrading of airports. Brazil is experiencing one of its best economic periods in decades, so there are resources to carry out the necessary works.However, there is a lot of red tape to cut through, as well as politics, as most of the investment will be made with public money.
Expensive delay
"I am not so worried about the arenas because you can build a stadium in 30 months after you have an engineering project ready, and we have 47 months to the World Cup," says Jose Roberto Bernasconi, president of the National Association of Engineering and Architecture Companies.
"But airports are a more complicated matter and I think that is our main problem nowadays," he said.
Brazil has won the World Cup five times (including in 1970, above) Mr Bernasconi points out that the longer the delay, the more expensive the construction will be.
"The PanAmerican Games in Rio de Janeiro (in 2007) had an initial budget of some $270m but ended up at least three times as expensive because things were left to the last moment."
In Brazil most people believe that the county will be able to organise the World Cup but there are concerns about how well the money will be used.
"We always hear so much about corruption in politics, in Brazilian football. And there is so much money involved in a World Cup that it will tempt many people," says student Daniela Mendes.
"But if South Africa managed to do it, why wouldn't we?"
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