Gilberto Kassab told reporters that the construction of the Itaquerao, the start of which has been repeatedly put off, should finally get under way in April barely three years before the tournament will take place.
"We can say that without question we will have the World Cup opening match in Sao Paulo, in Itaquera, in the stadium of Corinthians," Kassab told reporters.
"The president invited the mayor and governor to this meeting because her perception is that Sao Paulo is the city which must have the opening match, thanks to its infrastructure, hotels and the quality of its services," said sports minister Orlando Silva.
Corinthians, one of Brazil's biggest and most popular clubs, had planned to built the stadium with a capacity of 48,000, while FIFA require a minimum of 65,000 for the opening match.
Brazil was elected unopposed in 2007 to host the tournament which was earmarked for South America by FIFA under a short-lived rotation system which also brought last year's World Cup to Africa.
Last November, sports minister Silva said that the country's outdated and overcrowded airports were the biggest risk to the event's success and that not enough was being done to improve them.
