BRAZIL, WHO BEGGED YOU TO HOST THE WORLD CUP?

Brazilians are protesting and destroying their country over the high cost of hosting the 2014 World Cup which their country voluntarily chose to host; this is even as it must host the Olympic Games in 2016 which again nobody begged it to bid. What is wrong with these Brazilians?

On March 7, 2003, FIFA announced that the World Cup would be held in South America. On June 3, 2003, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), announced that Argentina, Brazil and Columbia wanted to host the 2014 World Cup finals. By March 17, 2004, the CONMEBOL association had voted unanimously to adopt Brazil as their sole candidate. Brazil formally declared its candidacy in December 2006 and Columbia followed a few days later. The Argentina bid never materialised. On April 11, 2007, Columbia withdraws its bid. Brazil won the right to host the event on October 30, 2007 as the only country to enter the bidding process. When Brazil won the right to host the 2014 World Cup it was celebrated in the country. To many Brazilians it was the capping of the unprecedented economic success story of their country and was hailed as a great achievement by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who was the architect of the Brazilian “economic miracle”. Brazilians see the world cup as another opportunity to market their country as a tourism haven. Of course in a country where football is a religion they also want to host and win. Even in the worst of times when the Brazilian economy were in tatters football has always provided relief and succour for the people. There is no place in the world where football has rescued so many desperately poor from poverty like Brazil. Its army of world celebrated stars from the legendary Pele to Nemayar are often from neighbourhoods where football is the only escape route from poverty. Brazilian stars with their football wizardry have mesmerised the world and literally have the world on their feet. Brazil’s dominance of the world of soccer is evident in the number of times it has won the World Cup-five times.

Most of the World Cups that Brazil has won were won outside of Brazil and their officials knew that it cost a lot of money to stage the World Cup in other climes where the vociferous Brazilian fans entertained the world with the beat of the Samba music while their boys do their thing in the field. It is therefore annoying to hear the Brazilians who should know better to be complaining about the cost of hosting the World Cup. How could a whole nation bid for a world championship without doing a proper and intensive cost benefit analysis? The world wants a fantastic World Cup and that is what Brazil must provide for the world. They must provide first rate infrastructure, first rate transportations and first rate stadia among others. It is a responsibility the world did not ask them to carry. They willingly put themselves to it. Where were the protesters when their country first muted the idea to host the world cup? All of a sudden they realised it is too expensive to host the event. No body as far as I know begged Brazil to host the World Cup because FIFA has no country willing to host the event. South Africa, spent three billion pounds to host 2010 World Cup for crying out loud. At the time this colossal amount was spent to host the event there was high level of unemployment, violence, armed robbery, rape and host of other vices, yet South Africa knew that it must fulfil its obligations to the world. And it did and the whole of Africa felt proud that one of her own has done what the countries of the north have been doing for years successfully. So Brazil must host the world and I believe they have learnt their lesson. Really? These guys will host the next Olympic Game in 2016? Problems multiplication in Brazil! Fela called this “ double wahala for dead body".