FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke has arrived in Brazil today to begin a 12-day tour of each of the venues.

His first visit is to the Arena de Sao Paulo, which is due to stage the opening game of the World Cup between Brazil and Croatia on June 12.

Its test event yesterday, a Brazilian league game between Figueirense and Corinthians, was reportedly hit by problems.

Rain during the game left fans sitting under an unfinished roof drenched, and the 3G network was "saturated", leaving mobile phone communication impossible.

The venue, with a capacity of 68,000, admitted 36,000 for the event, which was the last of the test events for the 12 venues.

On Wednesday (May 21), it will be the first stadium to be handed over to FIFA and the Local Organising Committee.

Curitiba, Natal and Salvador will be the last stadiums to be handed over on Sunday (May 25).

FIFA had set a deadline of December 31 for all the venues to be completed.

But repeated delays saw that deadline pass long ago, with several workers being killed at multiple venues as construction continued into the New Year.

FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke has today begun a tour of all 12 World Cup stadiums to ensure the "finishing touches" are completed ©FIFA via Getty Images



In a statement today, Valcke said there was a "groundswell of support" across Brazil for the tournament, apparently dismissing recent anti-World Cup protests.

He said: "I arrived in Brazil just this morning and will now remain in the country until after the final is played.

"At the moment, I am here to see that the finishing touches for the FIFA World Cup operation are completed in time for kick-off.

"Over the coming days I will - together with Vice-Sports Minister, Luis Fernandes, and the CEO of the Local Organising Committee, Ricardo Trade - visit once again all 12 host cities.

"We will be focusing primarily on ensuring that all is in place for the 32 teams, the approximate three million fans watching the matches live in the 12 arenas and the billions watching the event on TV."

He added: "We have busy days ahead of us with still a lot to be done in a collective effort by FIFA, the LOC, the federal government, the host cities and states.

"Our operational teams have begun fanning out to the venues for the final installations such as media tribunes, broadcast compounds - the places where the TV stations from all over the world set up their temporary offices - the satellite parks to ensure that the images are transmitted around the world, the hospitality catering tents, all established with the look and feel of the FIFA World Cup.

"I can't wait to see first-hand the progress made since my last visit."

Australia are due become the first of the teams to arrive in Brazil on May 28.

Last month, Corinthians President Mario Gobbi said there was "still a way to go" before the Arena de Sao Paulo was completed, with areas outside the stadium, as well as temporary stands, not finished.

In a statement to the Press Association, the Local Organising Committee said the roof at the Stadium would not pose an issue after fans were drenched at yesterday's test event.

"The only aspect of the roof which will be unfinished is the inner liner, not impacting the effective protection of the stands," it said.

"A glass finishing will also not be concluded, which similarly does not jeopardise the effectiveness of the roof.

"It is important to highlight that there is no obligation, neither from FIFA nor from the local organising committee, that FIFA World Cup stadia offer roofs protecting 100 per cent of the stands."

The World Cup, the first to be held in Brazil since 1950, is scheduled to take place from June 12 to July 13.

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