The Organising Committee for the 2014 FIFA World Cup approved the procedures for the Final Draw, which will take place in Costa do Sauipe, Bahia on Friday 6 December 2013.
Hosts Brazil, together with Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Switzerland, and Uruguay are in pot one.
Pot two contains Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Chile, and Ecuador.
Pot three is occupied by Australia, Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, and the USA.
In Pot 4, there is Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Russia.
Work is still going on in Brazil; the Local Organizing Committee had presented the latest stadium assessment, reporting that four of the six stadiums yet to be completed for football’s flagship event were currently preparing to stage their first events in January 2014. Cuiabá, Manaus, Natal and Porto Alegre are currently finalising their event schedules.
In the case of Curitiba, the technical teams reported that the stadium could be inaugurated in January, with the first match planned for late February or early March. In regard to the Arena Corinthians, it is too early to provide a concrete assessment as the technical report and the investigation into the recent accident by local authorities have not yet been completed.
Due to the reduced timeline, FIFA, the LOC, government and stadium authorities are adjusting the stadium operational programme to ensure that the stadiums are delivered and host events prior to the FIFA World Cup without compromising on safety or quality.