Brazil have been unveiled as hosts of the 2014 World Cup and now
face the daunting task of refurbishing their stadia for the
tournament.
FIFA's inspection report has identified 18 grounds with more than
40,000 capacity that could host matches and these will be whittled
down to nine or 10.
However, of the 18 four would have to be built from scratch and all
of the other 14 undergo substantial renovation.
FIFA inspectors said the Brazilian football federation had
estimated £550million (1.1billion US dollars) as the budget for
building and renewing the grounds but that figure appears very
optimistic.
So basic are the facilities at the moment that most of the stadia
are not even equipped for television commentary.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said however that he had been impressed
by Brazil's plans for 2014 despite the fact they were the only
bidders.
He also said hosting the World Cup could encourage more Brazilian
players to stay in their own domestic football.
Blatter said: "The task was not easy - for us it was a real big
challenge to have the same list of requirements and the same
conditions for only one candidate than if we had two and perhaps we
put the bar higher than if we had two.
"There was an extraordinary presentation by the delegation and we
witnessed that this World Cup will have such a big social and
cultural impact in Brazil.
"This the country that has given to the world the best football and
the best footballers, five times world champions, and if we don't
stop the invasion of Brazilian footballers then in years to come we
may have only Brazilians in all the national teams!
"That's why the executive committee has decided unananimously to
give the right and the responsibility to organise the 2014 World
Cup to Brazil."