Despite earlier reports, Brazil will complete work on the six stadiums still under construction to host soccer's 2014 FIFA World Cup by the end of the year, the chief executive for the local organizing committee said this week an interview. 

All of the stadiums are on schedule," said Ricardo Trade, who is overseeing preparations and will operate the tournament for FIFA, soccer's governing body.

Six of the 12 World Cup cities already completed stadium work and hosted FIFA's Confederations Cup tournament in June, but work is ongoing in Cuiaba, Curitiba, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre and São Paulo. "We expect stadium deliveries for the World Cup to be much improved compared with the Confederations Cup," Trade added.

Missed construction deadlines and renewed concerns about security in Latin America's largest country have repeatedly raised questions about Brazil's readiness to host large-scale sporting events such as the World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics. The Confederations Cup served as the backdrop for protests that saw millions of people turn out to voice their discontent with shoddy public services and high prices.

"The protests were a surprise to everyone," Trade said, adding that FIFA wouldn't change its security plan because of the demonstrations. FIFA is responsible for security inside the stadium, while local law enforcement handles public safety outside the event, Trade said.

In several cases, police and protesters engaged in sometimes-violent standoffs close to stadiums hosting matches during the tournament, a warm-up event for the World Cup. Images of police firing tear gas into crowds of protesters and sporadic acts of vandalism were sent around the world.

"It's not the kind of image we would have liked to present, but [protests] are part of the democratic process," Trade said.

FIFA officials played down criticism that Brazil shouldn't be spending billions to host the World Cup when it needs to beef up public services such as education and health care. Host cities accelerated plans for much-needed infrastructure projects that may never have been built if Brazil hadn't won its bid for the World Cup, said FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer.

The new stadiums also are creating a surge in fan interest in Brazil's national soccer championship, Trade said. Attendance at the five new stadiums that host first-division teams has nearly doubled since the Confederations Cup, he said.

World Cup preparations haven't been affected by the recent turmoil to hit emerging-market economies, Trade said. Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would end its monetary stimulus caused a strong decline in emerging-market currencies such as Brazil's real, which at one point was down nearly 20% versus the U.S. dollar in August.

"We haven't seen any impact on [stadium] construction work," Trade said.

The completion line contradicts comments of just a month ago when Aldo Rebelo warned that the venues will not be delivered on time if construction is not accelerated.

"This must be seen as a warning. We cannot keep on the same rhythm, or we will not deliver them on time," said Rebelo."It is possible to intensify. We are able to meet the deadlines, but it should be noted that it will require us to speed up the construction."