RIO DE JANEIRO (AP):

Brazil's World Cup starts in just over 10 months, and the three-year countdown for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics is starting to roll.

This should be a great moment for Brazil and for Rio, the city at the centre of the festivities. Yet fierce protests at the Confederations Cup in June, a warm-up for the World Cup, and a chaotic visit to Rio last month by Pope Francis have some questioning if Brazil, and a city largely known for beach life and samba, can buckle down and pull off sports' two mega-events.

Rio's main newspaper, O Globo, raised the issue in an editorial during the pope's visit, which was plagued by massive traffic jams, power outages and an overloaded subway system. The week kicked off when the pontiff's motorcade made a wrong turn, his car swarmed over by thousands of faithful, and security agents were left chasing him helplessly.

The country is spending about $13.3 billion of largely public money for the World Cup. The flashpoint for protesters has been 12 new or remodelled stadiums, four of which seem sure to become unused white elephants. FIFA, football's world governing body, required only eight stadiums.

Olympics organisers have yet to announce their budgets, but public spending could be similar to the football tournament, or higher.

Leo Gryner, chief operating officer of the Rio organising committee, told The Associated Press in an interview he expects the capital budget, a mix of public and private money aimed at building supporting infrastructure for the Olympics, could be 35 per cent above the $11.6 billion listed in the original bid.

He said the growth was partly due to inflation and the value of the Brazilian currency. In addition, the original bid did not include a $4 billion extension of Rio's subway system, he said.

Gryner said the Summer Games budget was expected to grow from $2.8 billion to as much as $4 billion. This is the budget to run the games themselves, money coming from sponsors, ticket sales, and merchandising.

Yesterday, Gryner said $700 million in public money may be needed to balance the operating budget. He said any shortfall comes from inflation, Brazil's slowing economy, and the ability to sell local sponsorship, a key source of revenue.

Both the capital and operating budgets are expected to be announced later this year, with early estimates typically growing as the games approach.

Aware of FIFA's image problem, Gryner promised "no white elephants" for the Rio games. He said about 50 per cent of the venues were older structures being remodelled, and the other half was split evenly between temporary structures and new, permanent structures.

Just days after the Confederations Cup ended, IOC President Jacques Rogge said the Olympics would have a role in spurring long-term infrastructure for Rio.