FIFA downplays partial test at Sao Paulo

The Sao Paulo stadium hosting the World Cup has not been tested for full capacity (Andre Penner/AP).

SAO PAULO, Brazil — FIFA and Brazilian organizers are downplaying the fact that the final test event at the stadium hosting the World Cup opener won’t be held with a capacity crowd.

Only 40,000 people will be allowed at the Itaquerao for a Brazilian league match on Sunday, meaning that organizers will not be able to fully test the stadium before the inaugural match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12.

Only some of the 20,000 temporary seats installed for the opener will be used because of safety concerns raised by local authorities.

FIFA and the local World Cup organizing committee said that "ideally" they would have preferred to have a full crowd on Sunday, but noted that the test event will still be "extremely important" to help making sure the stadium is ready.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.