Blatter and Brazilian President to meet
Friday, 16th March 2012 at 10:21am
Fifa President Sepp Blatter and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff are set to meet for talks today (March 16) to try and resolve the breakdown of the relationship between football's governing body and the 2014 World Cup hosts.
The pair will be joined by Brazil legend Pele and Brazilian Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo.
The talks were requested by Blatter when he wrote to apologise for the comments made by Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke who criticized the speed of Brazil's preparations for the 2014 finals.
"We will discuss the status of preparations and what needs to be done over the next few months to achieve the common goal of FIFA and the Brazilian government," Blatter said in a statement.
Valcke raised his concerns about the progress being made with the stadiums and infrastructure, and also about the World Cup bill that is under consideration of Brazil's lower house of Congress.
One of the sticking points is the sale of beer in stadiums, something currently banned in Brazil.
Passing of the bill will also provide Fifa with the required legal and financial guarantees to organize the month-long football extravaganza.
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