RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil 鈥� Ready or not, the warmup for next year鈥檚 World Cup 鈥� the Confederations Cup 鈥� begins in a month at six stadiums across Brazil.
It will be the first major international football tournament in this vast South American country since the 1950 World Cup.
Many people will be watching to see if Brazil can handle this modest eight-team tournament.
After that, the focus will turn to next year鈥檚 32-team World Cup.
Six new or renovated stadiums are in various states of readiness for the Confederations Cup.
Six additional stadiums will be used for next year鈥檚 World Cup, and none is ready yet.
Ronaldo, former three-time FIFA player of the year and the face of the local organizing committee, said that 鈥渋t鈥檚 a certainty the stadiums will be ready.鈥� 鈥� AP
