Washingtonpost. FIFA official says World Cup soccer fans will have hard time in Brazil

Workers stand outside the Arena da Baixada stadium in the southern city of Curitiba, Brazil. (Andrey Heuler/AFP/Getty Images)

First, we heard Olympic preparations weren’t going well in Rio. Luckily, they still have a couple of years to go. Preparations for the World Cup, on the other hand, are now the main focus, and with just 34 days until the competition begins, we’re learning it’s not Rio that might have the most problems, but the other 11 cities slated to host World Cup games. This spells trouble for everyone but particularly the fans, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke told Reuters. The biggest problem, he said, is the lack of infrastructure:

“I know it’s difficult to speak without creating a number of problems…but my message to the fans would be just make sure you are organized when you go to Brazil.
“You cannot sleep on the beach, firstly because it’s winter. … Make sure you organize your accommodation, you cannot just arrive with a backpack and start walking, there are no trains, you cannot drive [from one venue to another].
“Don’t just turn up thinking it is in Germany, that it’s easy to move around the country. In Germany, you could sleep in your car, you can’t do that [in Brazil].”

Unlike the Olympics, where all the events take place near each other, the World Cup is different. It’s usually held in eight venues spread around the host country. This year, that spread is even bigger. Brazil’s World Cup will take place in 12 stadiums spread out over 12 cities that are sometimes thousands of miles apart. To circumnavigate all 12 cities, starting in Rio de Janeiro and traveling counterclockwise by land, you’d have to venture roughly 10,000 miles, according to Google Maps, on often inhospitable roads.
One may wonder why no one predicted this infrastructural problem. Oh, but they did. World Cup officials just didn’t say anything. Valcke told Reuters: