World Cup venue awaits final security trials as squads prepare to arrive

The World Cup venue for the first match has yet been awaiting its final security and safety trials as squads have prepared to arrive for practice sessions.

With less than three weeks until the tournament begins, the venue for the first match at Sao Paulo's Itaquerao stadium should have ideally been renovated a year ago. They have continued until the last moment and the safety trials of the facilities are yet to be conducted.

The delays in the reconstruction have apparently been caused by deaths of construction workers, protests, strikes and overspending.

According to the Guardian, the most pressing concern among the 12 venues is the Itaquerao stadium, which will stage the opening ceremony. Fifa normally insists on three trial events before a World Cup, but the Itaquerao has only had one.

Reports have further revealed that additional seating used during the World Cup was not yet in place, metal detectors were not operational and mobile phone coverage was poor. To rectify these problems, a second test event has been scheduled for 1 June, 11 days before the start of the World Cup.

Jerome Valcke, the FIFA General secretary, disclosed that the FIFA World Cup has potentially arrived in Brazil but preparations were not completed yet.