Brazil gives little away at 2014 World Cup bid handover

By Mark Ledsom

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Brazilian football association (CBF) formally submitted its plans for staging the 2014 World Cup on Tuesday but kept the details close to its chest.

A Brazilian delegate, headed by CBF president Ricardo Teixeira, handed over a 900-page dossier at the headquarters of world soccer's governing body but declined to answer media questions on the size of the bid budget or any potential challenges it faced.

Brazil last staged the World Cup in 1950 and is the only country bidding to stage the 2014 version, having benefited from FIFA's decision to rotate the World Cup between different continents.

Colombia briefly launched a rival bid but withdrew in April.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has repeatedly warned however that Brazil must still meet the logistical and financial requirements of staging the tournament or risk the competition being opened up to nations from outside South America.

"For the time being Brazil has not yet been given the World Cup," Blatter said shortly ahead of Tuesday's formal handover.

"If something should happen to the Brazil bid, then we still have time to start again as we are a year in advance of the decision-making process for previous World Cups."

Blatter said that FIFA would begin inspections of all aspects of Brazil's bid at the end of August before taking its final decision on Oct. 30 following a meeting of the organisation's executive committee.