Ever since it was officially revealed that Brazil, a South American country, will be hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup, seven years ago, questions and concerns have been raised time and time again. Questions such as, “Is Brazil safe for visiting fans?”, “Can Brazil build and finish the stadiums in time?”, “Why aren’t they focusing on re-building the country instead of hosting the World Cup?”, are commonly asked. Every minor and major setback has been published on newspapers around the world and blogged about on hundreds of websites. Brazil knew that hosting such a major sporting event would not be easy but they never expected it to be this hard.
Deaths and delays to construction workers at the Arena Corinthians and Cuiaba stadium have only attracted further negative attention on Brazil. Sao Paulo`s Corinthians Arena will be hosting the opening game and ceremony but there are still some things to arrange and amend within this amazing stadium since it is still not fully complete. In fact, after a trial run last week, one of the stadium’s stands has been denied the all-important safety certificate. This continued to put pressure on Brazilian authorities regarding the upcoming World Cup. Workers at several stadiums are still struggling to set up cell phone networks aimed at withstanding tens of thousands of fans’ smartphones. There is no doubt that by the opening game the stadium will be certified, but how safe will it be?
Moreover, around 10,000 homeless workers marched and shut down one of Sao Paolo’s main highways to this stadium as a protest against FIFA and the Brazilian government. They held several banners showing the catastrophic results which such an event placed on them, with the main issue being that the government spent money on the World Cup rather than on their transport, health, education, food and shelter.
There have also been concerns that the Airports in Brazil are not suitable enough to welcome those who are set to travel to Brazil to watch the World Cup. As Brazil have almost no rail networks system, fans will have to fly from one venue to another. A new terminal planned in the city of Fortaleza has now been delayed until after the World Cup and travelling fans will instead be greeted by a tent. Did FIFA imagine that this World Cup would have created so much hassle, delays and contradictions within Brazil and even on an international level?
That being said, Brazil President Dilma Rousseff recently assured travelling fans that the Airports will be ready for the much-awaited event. She stated, “I guarantee that our airports are prepared for the World Cup. We will welcome everyone very well. Our airports are prepared to offer good services to everyone coming to watch the World Cup.”
As the time goes by and the World Cup draws closer, Brazil will be under the magnifying glass more than ever. Protests are still being held all over the country, some against the government and others against football’s governing body, FIFA. All we can do is hold our breath and wait for Thursday 12th June, when all of the organizers’ hard work will be on the line, as more than one billion people will be eagerly watching the opening ceremony of this illustrious event followed by the opening match between Brazil and Croatia.
We would like to wish the best of luck to Brazil, all the organizers and people involved in the setting up of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Let’s face it; it’s never easy to hold an event as big as the World Cup, especially when there’s this big question mark on the hosts regarding the way they dealt with the organisation of the event. One thing is certain; Brazilians are now divided by a long dividing line. On one side there are those who are in favour of the World Cup being held in Brazil, arguing that tourism levels will escalate, bringing huge amounts of money home. Conversely, on the other side, there are those who are saying that this will only benefit those who are well-off, while continuing to drag down the poor. They are stating that the rich will become richer, and the poor will become poorer. As Rafael Alcadipani, associate professor at Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo stated: “The World Cup was a dream that has become a nightmare for many Brazilians.”
One of the most contradictory World Cups to date will be on show as from next Thursday. Let’s all hope that the football throughout this competition will be of a much higher level than that shown by the organisers that are coordinating the event. It is no surprise that the footballers representing Brazil will dance Samba after scoring a goal, but will all those homeless, sick and poor people do the same? Whilst waiting and longing for the start of the 2014 Brazil World Cup, we leave you with this statement “FOOTBALL IS COMING HOME”, (but this is not the case for the poor and homeless).