The Brazilian football federation rejected criticism from FIFA President Sepp Blatter over delays in preparations for the 2014 World Cup, saying Tuesday that the country is on track to successfully host the tournament Federation president Ricardo Teixeira said preparations are going as planned and wants Blatter to personally visit the country to see the improvements. "Again, I would like to invite FIFA's president to come to Brazil to see the progress from up close," Teixeira said in a statement. Teixeira said he was surprised to hear the criticism because Blatter had lauded the preparations after a meeting with the local organizing committee in Zurich earlier this month. Blatter urged Brazil on Monday to speed up preparations. He said Brazil's project is "not progressing very quickly" and even lags behind South Africa, which fell behind with its construction schedule for last year's tournament. Teixeira said there is no need to put pressure on local authorities because construction work is going as scheduled. Blatter claimed plans for World Cup stadiums are still in the process of being discussed between city mayors and state governors and run the risk of facing delays, but Teixeira dismissed such concerns. "I'm not aware of any conflict between mayors and governors in any of the 12 World Cup host cities," the Brazilian official said. Teixeira also dismissed Blatter's worries regarding the "slow progress" in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, which could be left off the program for the 2013 Confederations Cup. "I affirm again that it was never announced that Maracana (Stadium) would not be delivered on time," he said. "Regarding the stadium in Sao Paulo, although the construction work hasn't started yet, we are working to solve the technical issues and we have guarantees from everyone involved that the stadium will be delivered as scheduled." Brazil Sports Minister Orlando Silva also downplayed Blatter's criticism, but acknowledged that the country would likely face difficulties if some projects scheduled to begin this year end up being delayed. "Seventy percent of the urban mobility projects need to start in 2011," he said. "It's crucial for the success of the World Cup that they get underway now."
