Football's world governing body FIFA is so concerned about preparations for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, it's putting its entire executive committee on the organising body after fears about the progress of preparations.
FIFA says Danny Jordaan, chief executive of South Africa's organising committee for the 2010 World Cup, and Alexei Sorokin, head of the Russian 2018 organising committee, will also be involved.
Preparations for the tournament in Brazil have been dogged by delays in the building of stadiums and other infrastructure such as airports, local transport connections and hotels.
Those worries have been increased by plans to have teams travelling to different parts of the vast country for their group matches rather than staying in the same venue.
FIFA has also become exasperated at delays over a so-called World Cup bill which would temporarily over-ride local laws which ban the sale of alcohol in stadiums and guarantee discounted tickets for students and old-age pensioners.
FIFA confirmed that secretary-general Jerome Valcke, who infuriated Brazilians by saying local organisers needed "a kick up the backside", had taken part in a meeting of the organising committee in Zurich today.
Brazil sports minister Aldo Rebelo had called for Valcke, who has repeatedly said that the bill should have been passed in 2007, to be replaced.
World Cups are traditionally run by two organsing committees working in tandem, one comprising FIFA members and one made up of local members.
