4 - FIFA/CIES International University Network

EVENTS
PRESSURE ON BRAZIL EXTRAVAGANZA
Before the sports world sambas down to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup and
2016 Summer Olympic Games, the hosts must answer some difficult questions
and overcome some significant obstacles. Barry Wilner reports.
SOME CRITICS would suggest there are billions
of roadblocks, all carrying dollar signs, to the
first football championship in South America
since 1978 - and the first Olympics ever staged
on the continent.
“Just four years away from the 2014 World
Cup, Brazil remains drastically behind in terms
of both infrastructure and stadium development
or improvement,” says Scott Minto, director
of the Sports MBA programme at the San
Diego State University. “Major challenges that
Brazil faces are improving its airport passenger
capabilities, network of trains connecting major
host cities, lodging capacity and other tourismrelated
industries.”
The Brazilian government recently addressed
the issues with a series of numbers. Minister of
Sports Orlando Silva Jr., scoffing at those who say
the nation is in way over its head, promised an
investment of $18.7 billion in infrastructure - a
staggering amount of money that even the most
developed economies would struggle to meet.
More than 75 per cent and as much as 80 per
cent will be allocated by the public sector, while
the rest will come from the private sector.
“These are the opinions of those who ignore
the reality of the country,” Silva said of the
doubters, adding that FIFA will soon “see the
reality close up. They will be surprised by the
preparations for the World Cup.”
Football’s world governing publicly criticised
Brazil’s preparations in May, saying “it is amazing
how Brazil is already late” and that a number of
stadium projects were facing “red lights already”
despite four years of construction still to go.
The government created an executive group
to supervise preparations for World Cup 2014,
which will have matches in Rio de Janeiro, Belo
Horizonte, Brasilia, Salvador, Porto Alegre,
Recife, Natal, Manaus, Curitiba, Fortaleza,
Cuiaba and perhaps Sao Paulo.
Included are representatives of the Office of
the Chief of Staff and the ministries of sports,
planning, finance and tourism. Each of the
host cities signed an agreement that defines the
responsibilities of each for the organisation of
World Cup. So FIFA will know who is carrying
their weight and who is falling short.
A breakdown of those expenditures goes like
this. Urban Mobility will cost $4.4 billion, added
to $2.1 billion from states and municipalities.
This money will be applied to the development
of monorail lines, subways, light rail transit
systems, transit terminals and other modes of
transportation. Some of these projects, Silva
notes, are already well under construction.
Airports will cost $3.1 billion. The federal
government predicts a 10 per cent increase in
traffic at Brazilian airports during the World
Cup. Brazil’s civil aviation agency will speed
up renovation of 13 airports expected to be
heavily used in the 12 host cities. Because other
modes of transportation are so lacking in the
large country and roads between cities range
from problematic to non-existent, a strong air
travel system will be vital. “Now we have the
investments for some of the sensitive areas such
as the airports,” says Silva.
“We expect 600,000 international visitors and
another three million Brazilians to travel through
Brazil and to the matches.”
The hotel sector will receive $556 million of
investment. Brazil’s National Bank for Economic
and Social Development allocated the money to
finance construction of new hotels or remodel
others, offering lower interest terms than the
market price at the time. Those resources could
be expanded according to demand from the
private sector. Ports around the country will
receive $420 million in investment.
28 SportBusiness International • No. 160 • 09.10