The opening ceremony to kick off the world’s biggest sporting event is scheduled to take place on Thursday, June 12, 2014 at the Arena de Sao Paulo in Brazil at exactly 18:15 GMT
The ceremonial opener to every FIFA World Cup is often a grand event, and this one, according to Artistic Director Daphne Cornez “is a tribute to Brazil and its treasures: nature, people, and football”
The ceremony, scheduled to last 25 minutes, would feature performances from several artistes, including a rendition of the official world cup song ‘We are One’ by Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte.
The ceremony would precede the opening game of the tournament, host nation Brazil against Croatia, which kicks off at 20:00 GMT.
The Ghanaian national team, The Black Stars, however arrived in Brazil a day earlier ahead, landing in Salvador after a ten hour trip from Washington, USA.
The delegation consisted of the entire playing body; which included the currently injured Abdul Majeed Warris, as well as Head Coach, Kwesi Appiah and his technical staff.
On their way to Brazil, The Black Stars, who will be based in Maceio for the group stages, flew to the north-eastern Brazilian province where local government delegations as well as some fans were waiting to welcome the team.
Despite the long flight, the Stars set the ground running with their first training session, with their opening game against the United States on June 16 foremost in their minds.
Defender Daniel Opare, who picked up a knock during training, should be fit to take part in the full session, as well as Goal keeper Adam Kwarasey.
The return of the Norwegian based goalkeeper means coach Kwesi Appiah would once again be presented with the headache of who to choose as his number one shot stopper.
Adam Kwarasey was in post for the first friendly against the Netherlands, but injury ruled him out of the South Korea game, and Fatau Dauda gave a decent account of himself.
It seems fans would have to wait to find out who gets the nod for the first game on Monday night.
Source: Diplomatic Call Desk/Citifmonline.com
