World Cup - Brazil's first 2014 stadium holds inaugural match

The Arena Castelao, the first of Brazil's 2014 World Cup stadiums to be completed, held its first matches on Sunday: a doubleheader in the northeastern Copa do Nordeste.

But despite the inspiration of having World Cup record goalscorer Ronaldo in the stands of the stadium opened by President Dilma Rousseff last month the teams managed only one goal to mark the occasion.

Fortaleza and Sport drew 0-0 before Bahia beat Ceara 1-0 with a goal from former Brazil and Manchester United midfielder Kleberson.

The matches were preceded by a ceremony attended by Ronaldo, Brazil's sports Minister Aldo Rebelo, FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke and Jose Maria Marin, president of the Brazilian Football Confederation.

Sunday's matches in the Gaucho championship in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul were cancelled after the tragic deaths of more than 200 people in a fire at a night club in the city of Santa Maria.

The state's top clubs Internacional and Gremio posted messages on their websites declaring three days of mourning and put their flags at half mast in their stadiums.

The main attraction was to have been former Brazil coach Dunga's first game in charge of Internacional at Caxias.

Brazilian champions Fluminense drew 1-1 with Botafogo in the season's first major "classico" in the Carioca (Rio) championship.

Fluminense, also the Carioca champions, went ahead through winger Wellington Nem after a one-two with right back Bruno in the 38th minute.

Botafogo hit back after the interval when former Dutch international Clarence Seedorf, who came on as a substitute, crossed for central defender Bolivar to head the equaliser.

Brazil ace Neymar saved Santos from defeat with a last minute penalty, his fourth goal in three matches, for a 1-1 draw with Bragantino in the Paulista (Sao Paulo) championship.

Neymar, who helped Santos win the Paulista title the last three years, was tightly marked and unable to repeat his brilliant performances of previous matches.

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Brazilian Congress limits powers of FIFA, IOC

Brazilian lawmakers have limited the powers of FIFA and IOC over projects related to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

In a bill aimed at reducing the bureaucracy for infrastructure work for both events, a clause was removed that allowed FIFA and the International Olympic Committee to request project changes without cost limits to the Brazilian government.

It was approved late Tuesday by the lower house of Congress. The bill also added an element of transparency after critics had complained that details on previous bidding processes had not been made available to the public.

The bill will go before the Senate, which is likely to approve it. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has said she will immediately sign it into law.

"The goal was to make the text more clear, to show that no superpowers were given to an international body," Brazil Sports Minister Orlando Silva said on his radio program Wednesday. "But Brazil will fulfill all requirements made by FIFA and will abide to their recommendations."

There had been widespread criticism after the legislation was initially approved by the lower house a few weeks ago, with local media and watchdog groups saying the changes could open the door for misuse of public money and overspending.

Supporters argued that without the measure, it would be difficult to finish all the work in time for the World Cup and the Olympics because the bidding law was inefficient in several areas, especially when considering the challenges of hosting the world's top sporting events.

The new text guarantees that the bidding processes will be properly monitored and that all details will be open to the public.

"The changes were made so there is no doubt that there won't be any restrictions," Silva said. "The restrictions are only for the companies involved in the bidding."

The bill is intended to reduce the time needed to set up and conclude bidding processes, eliminating some of its stages and some requirements necessary for approval.

The measure also approved the creation of an aviation secretariat to oversee the country's civil aviation agency and the nation's airport authority. Government officials have acknowledged that the lack of adequate airport infrastructure is one of the biggest challenges Brazil is facing ahead of the World Cup and the Rio Olympics.

Stadium construction is also a problem, but Silva said the government is working with the host cities to try to expedite work. The minister urged Sao Paulo legislators to quickly approve a tax break that would help fund the stadium in South America's biggest city. Sao Paulo wants to host the World Cup's opening match, but it is yet to start building its venue.

"There is no plan B for Sao Paulo," Silva said. "The city is running the risk of delivering the stadium only in 2014, which is complicated."

Sao Paulo has already been ruled out of the Confederations Cup, along with the northeastern city of Natal.

Brazil is hosting the World Cup for the first time since 1950, and the games in Rio will be the first in South America.

Also Tuesday, Rio mayor Eduardo Paes made official the creation of the Olympic Municipal Company, which will handle the projects related to the 2016 Games.

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Brazil speeds up World Cup preparation

The Brazilian government announced measures on Monday to speed up preparations to host the soccer World Cup in 2014, boosting spending and cutting red tape for public works projects.

The move follows growing concern in recent weeks, including by the soccer world governing body FIFA, that preparations for the sporting event were seriously delayed.

The debate put the spotlight on numerous obstacles to investment in Brazil's fast-growing economy and angered President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been touting the tournament as an accomplishment of his government ahead of October's presidential election.

Brazil will also host the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

In a signing ceremony arranged at short notice, Lula pledged 5.5 billion reais to revamp airports in the 12 cities that will host the soccer tournament.

He also lifted restrictions on the ability of cities to raise debt to pay for infrastructure such as roads, stadiums and trains.

Lula, who called some of the concerns senseless, said the latest measures would avoid problems Brazil had with funding the 2007 Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The federal government also donated real estate and earmarked 740 million reais on Monday to allow seven cities, including Rio de Janeiro, to overhaul their ports and facilitate docking of large cruise ships.

"Certainly it will be an alternative to the lack of hotels," said Pedro Brito, the ports minister.

Lula blamed the Sao Paulo state government, which until April was run by the opposition presidential candidate Jose Serra, for failing to provide an adequate stadium to host the World Cup.

"Frankly, I can't imagine a World Cup in Brazil without Sao Paulo as one of the corners for athletes to play ball," Lula said during the ceremony in the capital Brasilia.

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