FIFA waits to discover extend of Brazil stadium damage

FIFA is trying to determine the extent of the damage caused by the collapse at the stadium hosting the 2014 World Cup opener and until then it won’t be able to assess how much the accident will delay the venue’s completion date.

Two workers were killed when a crane crashed into a metal structure that toppled over part of the stadium in Sao Paulo on Wednesday.

FIFA wanted all 12 World Cup stadiums ready by the end of December but in the light of recent events it will probably have to accept the Sao Paulo venue after its original deadline. The governing body has said it has no Plan B for the host cities should Sao Paolo not be ready in time.

”It is too premature to make any detailed assessment on the situation of the Corinthians Arena as we are still awaiting the technical report to be able to evaluate the scale of the damage,” FIFA said in a statement. ‘

‘We will be able to provide an update earliest next week following the FIFA Organizing Committee of the FIFA World Cup.”

Next week FIFA heads to the resort city of Costa do Sauipe for the eagerly awaited World Cup draw.

Work at the Corinthians Arena was progressing well, but all activities have been stopped at least until Monday. Workers were given a three-day mourning period and those who went to the stadium on Thursday were turned back.

Former Corinthians President Andres Sanchez said that the accident didn’t cause any major structural damage, but added that getting the stadium delivered on time was the least of the club’s concern for the time being.

”I don’t want to know about FIFA right now; we are worried about the families of the victims,” he said.

FIFA released a statement on Wednesday saying that ”the safety of workers is the top priority” for football’s governing body.

Which will have elicited wry smiles amongst the migrant labour force currently toiling away in Qatar.

Engineers and technicians are conducting inspection visits at the venue to try to determine when it will be possible to reopen the construction site.

Wednesday’s accident wasn’t the first problem with World Cup stadiums in Brazil. Three workers have died in accidents at three construction sites over the past two years, and one stadium had work halted for nearly a week this year because of safety concerns.