Valcke: host cities decision will be taken in November

Jerome Valcke, the FIFA Secretary General, underlined on Wednesday 17 October that a final decision on the number of host cities for the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 will be announced in the first week of November. According to Valcke, this deadline is necessary to ensure the logistics of ticket sales can be put in place ahead of the final draw for the tournament’s group phase, an event scheduled for 1 December in Sao Paulo. “We’ve got this deadline because it’s necessary to decide which team will play in which city and also about ticket sales,” said the official. “We need to start sales at the right time and we need to have that settled ahead of the draw for the group stage of the Confederations Cup.” Currently, there are expected to be six host cities: Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. In accordance with the match schedule announced by FIFA, all of these cities, with the exception of Brasilia, will welcome three matches. The Brazilian capital will only host the opening match, which is set to feature A Seleção, on 15 June 2013. Brazil aside, there are three other FIFA World Cup winners set to take part, in the shape of Spain, Uruguay and Italy. Joining them will be Mexico, Japan, Tahiti and, last but not least, the African champions, whose identity will be confirmed in 2013. During Tuesday’s press conference that followed the visit to Belo Horizonte’s Mineirao stadium, Valcke would only state that – at this moment in time – not all of the six cities’ proposed venues were ready to host the FIFA Confederations Cup.   “We gave the cities time to do the work that needs doing,” he said at Wednesday's press conference in Porto Alegre. “We’ve got a group of experts who will evaluate that alongside the Local Organising Committee, and we’ve always said that the final decision will be taken in the first week of November. We have to put our faith in our technical team to take that decision, which will involve FIFA, the LOC and the government.” FIFA