FIFA warns Brazil hosts cities ahead of 2014 World Cup

London: World football governing body FIFA has reportedly issued a warning to the host cities of the 2014 Brazil World Cup that they cannot afford to `sit back and relax`.

FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke, who will arrive in Brazil on Sunday in order to assess the readiness of venues for this summer`s tournament, will include the city of Curitiba, where work on the Arena da Baixada is well behind schedule, in his tour. According to the BBC, Valcke warned the host city officials not to `sit back and relax` as there is still plenty of fine-tuning to be done in the final constructions of the venue. The report mentioned that the five of the 12 host stadiums are still under construction, including the Sao Paolo venue due to stage the opening match of the tournament, which begins on June 12. FIFA is reportedly exploring alternatives to Curitiba if its stadium fail to be completed on time, with Valcke saying a final decision on the city`s involvement will be made on Tuesday as they are still monitoring the works in Curitiba in order to assess the situation. The report further said that the likeliest alternative would see the four matches scheduled for the Arena da Baixada shared around Brazil`s 11 other host venues. England begin their 2014 World Cup campaign in the northern city of Manaus, where they play Italy, and their Group A fixture will take place on 14 June at the Arena da Amazonia, where the construction has also been fraught with disaster and delay, the report added