FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke admits South Africa would not be ready to host the World Cup if the tournament started tomorrow.
Valcke is happy with progress in the construction of stadiums and training camps but there have been concerns this week over England's camp at Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus near Rustenburg, while the Soccer City venue in Johannesburg is not completed.
"If the question is 'could we host the World Cup tomorrow morning?' the answer is 'no'," Valcke said at FIFA's Team Workshop in Sun City.
"At this stage, we couldn't play the World Cup because Soccer City isn't ready. At this stage, we couldn't play the opening game. That's a fact. At this stage, we have 700,000 tickets still to sell, at this stage I can make a list of things that aren't ready for the World Cup.
"We have 108 days - it seems short, it is short, but even if we have to stay awake all night, every day, we will be ready by the time of the World Cup."
Selling remaining tickets is another problem for organisers, although FIFA deny they will drop prices for supporters to watch matches live.
"We would never discount any tickets for the World Cup," Valcke said.
Another problem for organisers is the state of the pitches for the tournament, but Valcke added: "We are sure that we will not see the pitches we saw at the Confederations Cup.
"We will have the right level of pitches, not like the Emirates Stadium but at the level of World Cup requirements."
"If the question is 'could we host the World Cup tomorrow morning?' the answer is 'no'," Valcke said at FIFA's Team Workshop in Sun City.
"At this stage, we couldn't play the World Cup because Soccer City isn't ready. At this stage, we couldn't play the opening game. That's a fact. At this stage, we have 700,000 tickets still to sell, at this stage I can make a list of things that aren't ready for the World Cup.
"We have 108 days - it seems short, it is short, but even if we have to stay awake all night, every day, we will be ready by the time of the World Cup."
Selling remaining tickets is another problem for organisers, although FIFA deny they will drop prices for supporters to watch matches live.
"We would never discount any tickets for the World Cup," Valcke said.
Another problem for organisers is the state of the pitches for the tournament, but Valcke added: "We are sure that we will not see the pitches we saw at the Confederations Cup.
"We will have the right level of pitches, not like the Emirates Stadium but at the level of World Cup requirements."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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