Valcke was speaking as he and local organising committee (LOC) board member Ronaldo kicked off an inspection visit at the Ministry of Sports in Brasilia on Monday. Brazil’s Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo welcomed the FIFA and LOC delegation with the trip marking the legendary Brazil forward’s first official inspection visit since his appointment as a member of the LOC. The issue of the ‘2014 World Cup Law’ has been one of the major sticking points in Brazil’s preparations for the tournament. The new law would regulate commercial rights, alcohol sales and advertising rules for the tournament and rubber-stamp the final commitments Brazil’s federal government made to FIFA in its bid to host the World Cup and the 2013 Confederations Cup.
“It is time to sign, we are very close,” Valcke told reporters. “On Thursday, we will meet again in Rio with the Minister of Sports, (federal congressman) Romario and other high representatives of the governmental stakeholders to work out the last issues and wordings. The liability is important for us because you will understand that FIFA cannot be responsible for security and safety and consequences of natural catastrophes or other threats.”
Valcke added: “This is one of the basic powers of the state, one of the responsibilities of government. But I am sure we will manage to solve the basic two open issues, namely liability and ticketing, in all our interest.” Rebelo echoed Valcke’s comments and added that concerns over development of the Beira-Rio stadium in Porto Alegre have been addressed. The Sports Minister stated last year that the venue was the only stadium out of the 12 set to host the World Cup that had fallen behind schedule.
“The last point about stadia to be solved was Porto Alegre, which now has a date for resuming construction on January 25,” said Rebelo. “We are also proceeding with urban mobility and we also have a strong commitment from the Congress to vote on the 2014 bill in the first part of March. Yes, there are still one or two points to be solved, but it will be done.”