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FIFA unsure of World Cup stadium delay

Part of the Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo collapsed on Wednesday. © Getty Images

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FIFA have said that until it finds out the extent of the damage of Wednesday's stadium collapse in Sao Paulo it cannot assess how much the venue will be delayed.

All 12 World Cup stadiums in Brazil were scheduled to be completed by the end of December. However, following a crane collapse at the Itaquerao Stadium it is expected to face delays and work has been indefinitely suspended until Monday following the disaster.

Due to the sale of almost one million tickets for World Cup there are no alternative plans in place to switch venues.

''It is too premature to make any detailed assessment on the situation of the Corinthians Arena as we are still awaiting the technical report to be able to evaluate the scale of the damage,'' FIFA said in a statement sent to the Associated Press.

''We will be able to provide an update earliest next week following the FIFA Organising Committee of the FIFA World Cup.''

The resort city of Costa do Sauipe will host the World Cup draw next Friday when the tournament's schedule will be determined, placing a clearer emphasis on the need to complete work on the stadium.

Ricardo Trade, CEO of the local World Cup organising committee said the need to delay construction would be determined by local authorities. However, with the World Cup not due to start until June 12 he doesn't ''believe this is going to cause delays''.

Meanwhile, FIFA released a statement on Wednesday insisting that the safety of the stadiums' construction workers is their top priority.

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