Thursday, May 30, 2013

World Cup Tickets Will Go On Sale In August, FIFA Says

Tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will go on sale on August 20.

FIFA confirmed fans will have the chance to buy tickets from the organisation's website during the first phase of sales.

Ticket prices are scheduled to be confirmed on July 1, the day after the Confederations Cup final in Rio de Janeiro. 

FIFA has previously said it expects around 3.3 million tickets to be available for the 64-match flagship tournament which runs from June 12 to July.

The first round of ticket sales will be allocated in a worldwide lottery with further briefs available after the 32-team lineup is confirmed in November.

The World Cup draw will be conducted on December 6 in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Partner Program for 2014 World Cup in Brazil Sold Out


Bloomberg : The partner program for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil has sold out, Jerome Valcke, general secretary of soccer governing body FIFA, said. Latin American sports retailer Centauro was the final company to join FIFA's commercial program, Valcke said.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Clive Richardson Ltd won contract for six football pitches

A company from County Armagh has won a contract to work on six football pitches, which are to be used during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The contract, which is worth more than £1m, was awarded to Clive Richardson Ltd (CRL) from Craigavon.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster made the announcement as she arrived in Brazil for a trade mission. CRL recently took part in an Invest NI trade mission to Brazil.

The contract will involve preparing football pitches at the Gremio in Porto Alegre, Forteliza in Forteliza, Barradao in Salvador, Belo Horizonte, International, Porto Alegre and Corinthian's, Sao Paulo.

Speaking about the deal, Ms Foster said: "This very substantial announcement today follows CRL's success in preparing pitches for other global competitions including those used during recent UEFA European Championships.

"As a result of these successes, CRL is now firmly established as a world leader in the construction, preparation and maintenance of sports grounds.

"By enhancing their reputation through a commitment to innovation, the company has pioneered the development of unique technology that enables them to offer high profile clients expertise in the management of grass in extreme climates such as the Ukraine and now Brazil."

Clive Richardson Ltd specialise in Sportsground Construction and Civil Engineering Works. Its previous projects include building the pitches at Dublin's Aviva Stadium.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Bomb-detecting robots at WC 2014

To increase the security at the upcoming Football World Cup in Brazil in 2014, the Brazil government will reportedly use a fleet of robots that are usually used to neutralize roadside bombs and inspect areas for traces of explosives.

The battle-tested remote controlled iRobot 510 Packbots are able to climb stairs, submerge in a metre of water and have multiple high-resolution cameras and are the same robots which examined the car allegedly hijacked by the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, Sky News reports.

According to the report, the Brazilian authorities are spending 7.2 million dollars to deal with any security threat from a distance at the World Cup show and also will be setting a precedent for the Olympics to follow two years later.

The government will also be spending additionally millions of dollars on face-scanning glasses which can scan 400 faces a second at a distance of 45 metre to spot potential hooligans based on a criminal database, the report added.