Brazil Officially Start Countdown until 2014 World Cup

Brazil are officially within 1,000 days before the 2014 World Cup starts after President Dilma Rousseff toasted the landmark.

Ms Rousseff launched the event at a stadium in Belo Horizonte alongside the footballing legend Pele, who is Brazil’s World Cup ambassador. She promised the new stadiums and other infrastructure required would be ready on time, despite major difficulties and delays.

The tournament will kick off on 12 June 2014. Before then, Brazil must build or upgrade 12 stadiums. Many of them are behind schedule and over budget.

At some, construction workers have been on strike – including the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro where the final will be played and the Mineirao ground in Belo Horizonte where President Rousseff started the countdown.

The opening game hosted in the new Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo began its construction only in May.