Sao Paulo: The opening ceremony and opening match of the 2014 football World Cup in Brazil is expected to take place in Sao Paulo.
Ricardo Teixeira, president of the World Cup organising committee, met Monday with Sao Paulo's outgoing Governor Alberto Goldman and with Mayor Gilberto Kassab, and said he would recommend to football governing body FIFA that the opening ceremony and match be played in a yet unbuilt stadium being planned by the city's Corinthians football club.
Teixeira said he was confident that Corinthians would provide the necessary financial guarantees. Goldman and Kassab, like Sao Paulo governor-elect Geraldo Alckmin, have vowed to do all they can to give Sao Paulo to have a major role in the World Cup.
"The opening ceremony will be in Sao Paulo," Goldman said.
The two politicians emphasized that neither the state - the richest in Brazil - nor the city will provide money to build the new stadium.
"A large part of the financial question has been settled," an unconcerned Teixeira said.