RIO DE JANEIRO, March 12 (Xinhua) -- FIFA will delay for two month to announce the 12 host cities of Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, said the soccer's world governing body on Wednesday.

    The decision was originally due to be announced at a meeting of the FIFA executive committee on March 19-20 in Zurich, but now pushed off to May.

    FIFA said the delay was made after Brazil requested to increase the number of host cities from 10 to 12.

    "The selection of the 12 host cities for the 2014 FIFA World Cup will be made at the FIFA executive committee meeting taking place at the end of May," said a statement on the Brazilian Football Confederation's website.

    There are 17 cities that have put themselves forward as candidates, namingly Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte in the south-east, Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Florianopolis in the south, Campo Grande, Cuiaba, Goiania and Brasilia in the centre-west, Salvador, Natal, Recife and Fortaleza in the north-east, plus the Amazonian cities of Rio Branco, Manaus and Belem.

    Brazil was awarded the tournament unopposed in October 2007.