Brazil enlists UN help to ready World Cup stadium

A Showcase for Brazil

A spokeswoman for Federal District of Brasilia's Governor Agnelo Queiroz said the governor as a rule does not comment on the city's contracts.

Brazil hopes the Confederations Cup, World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games will be an opportunity to showcase its status as an emerging power and the world's seventh largest economy.

Getting the event off without hitches and on time is such a priority for the President Dilma Rousseff's government that "political pressure" was brought to bear on local authorities in Brasilia to get it right with outside help if necessary, an official source involved in the negotiations said.

Brazil has tapped the organizational experience of UN agencies before, for last year's Rio+20 world climate change conference where the UNDP helped to ensure transparency in the procurement process, as well as accessibility for people with disabilities, environmental sustainability and social inclusion.

FIFA has warned Brazil that it cannot afford any further delays in getting the venues ready.

Brasilia's new 70,000-capacity stadium will be the second-largest venue for the World Cup in 2014. But its roof is not finished, fittings must still be added and the grass has yet to be planted on the pitch.  

The stadium will be tried out with two test games, the final of the local Brasilia soccer tournament on May 18 and a second to be played on May 25.

($1 = 1.9873 Brazilian reais)