Brazil postpones World Cup bill

PanARMENIAN.Net - A congressional commission in Brazil has delayed a vote on a key World Cup bill, handing another setback to FIFA and local organisers trying to speed up the country's preparations for the 2014 tournament.

According to AP, the final text of the bill regulating football's showcase tournament was expected to be approved on Tuesday, Feb 14, but some members of the commission asked for more time to analyse the proposed law.

That means the vote won't likely happen before Carnival next week, and the bill is unlikely to reach the lower chamber and the Senate by the end of March, as expected by FIFA.

President Dilma Rousseff will still have to sign off the law after it is approved by both chambers. Commission President Renan Filho said some issues on the bill still need to be discussed with the government before the final text can be approved.

"I won't set another date until this negotiation is completed," he told the private Agencia Estado news service.

The law would put in place the final commitments made by Brazil's federal government when it bid to host the World Cup.

It would give FIFA the necessary guarantees and set the legal framework for the event, the first in Brazil since the 1950 tournament.

The commitments mostly fall along commercial lines and involve ticket sales, broadcasting rights and the Brazilian government stepping up enforcement of any FIFA trademark infringement during the Cup.