Dilma Rousseff, the president of Brazil, had a “positive meeting” with FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke to discuss the 2014 World Cup, Brazil’s Sports Minister Orlando Silva said Tuesday.
The meeting was organized at the behest of the Brazilian authorities due to disagreements about a bill submitted for approval by the Brazilian Congress on September 19.
The bill seeks to limit FIFA control over image rights for the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup, both of which will take place in Brazil.
“We re-examined preparations for the World Cup in Brazil and the Brazilian government reaffirmed their commitments … and the president personally confirmed her intention to prepare the country to offer suitable conditions,” said Silva.
Valcke said that both sides were committed to ensuring that work progressed on schedule to ensure the best tournament possible.
“We never said that if Brazil didn’t do this or that the World Cup wouldn’t take place in Brazil,” the FIFA secretary general said Monday.
“Either we work together and arrive at a situation where everyone is a winner or we don’t work together and we’re all losers.”
The Brazilian government gave their commitment mid-September that nine of the 12 World Cup stadiums would be ready by December 2012.
