A FIFA delegation inspecting the progress of construction on the 2006 World Cup stadia, has confirmed that it is pleased with the progress made so far.

There had been concerns that the work would not be completed in time, but the FIFA delegation is confident that work is on schedule.

“I’ve learned over the last 40 years that if there’s one thing the Germans do, it is that they do what they promise,” UEFA President Lennart Johansson said after inspecting Frankfurt’s rebuilt Wald stadium on Tuesday.

“Our duty is nevertheless to visit regularly to see if the construction is going according to schedule.”

The stadium is due to be finished in May in time for the Confederations Cup tournament a month later.

Urs Linsi, FIFA general secretary, praised the speed of the work.

“The speed of the construction work has been indeed impressive,” Linsi said. “They’ve done a great job. The stadium is a jewel.”

Wolfgang Niersbach, vice president of Germany’s 2006 organising committee, added: “Our goal was to have all the stadiums finished in time to have one full Bundesliga season before 2006 as a test run.

“We’re on schedule. I can promise there won’t be any headaches or headlines saying: ‘Will they be finished in time?’.”