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First Posted: 5/7/2013

SAO PAULO (AP) — FIFA again expressed its concern with Brazil’s preparations for the 2014 World Cup after local organizers said Tuesday they are facing challenges to meet the deadline for the stadium that will host the tournament’s opening game in Sao Paulo.

A day after one of the engineers in charge of the stadium’s construction said the venue is not expected to be fully ready by December as FIFA wants, local organizers said they are “looking for solutions” to speed up construction and finish the work on time.

FIFA has stated clearly that it will not tolerate delays with any of the 12 World Cup stadiums. Only two of the six Confederations Cup venues were completed on time. The home of the June 15 opener in Brasilia is yet to be completed.

“The technical teams of FIFA and the local organizing committee have reinforced the tight monitoring on all remaining six FIFA World Cup stadiums not only limited to Sao Paulo,” football’s governing body said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Tuesday.