The most trouble-plagued World Cup in history kicks off today with Brazilian organizers hoping for a carnival, but bracing for chaos after a torrid buildup underscored by public anger at the tournament’s multi-billion-dollar price tag.
A four-week feast of soccer in the spiritual homeland of the sport gets underway in the seething megacity of Sao Paulo, where host nation Brazil face Croatia at 5pm Brazil time.
The start of the four-yearly extravaganza is the acid test for organizers and soccer’s governing body FIFA, who have been scrambling to get Brazil ready for the biggest event in sport outside of the Olympics.
Photo: EPA
The first of 64 matches, which culminate with the July 13 final in Rio de Janeiro, is to be staged in the Corinthians Arena, a venue which has become emblematic of a buildup besieged by setbacks.
Construction of the US$424 million venue ground to a halt in November last year when a giant crane toppled over and killed two workers. A third laborer died in an accident in March. In total, eight workers have died while racing to complete World Cup-related projects.
The 61,600-capacity arena is one of 12 World Cup stadiums that were due to be ready by the end of December last year. Six missed the initial deadline, with final delivery to FIFA eventually coming in late May.
Only this week, workers could be seen busily wiping seats, checking beams and installing wiring just days before the opener, which is to be attended by 12 heads of state, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and assorted VIPs.
Yet FIFA officials are bullishly backing Brazil, with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, under fire over corruption allegations rocking the global governing body, confident the country will unite behind the tournament.
“We at FIFA, we are confident, it will be a celebration,” Blatter said. “After the tournament kicks off I think there will be a better mood.”
However, the specter of social unrest and transport chaos looms large.
A strike by Sao Paulo subway workers demanding better pay last week brought the city to a standstill and led to baton-wielding riot police firing teargas to break up protesters before the walkout was suspended on Monday.
Union leaders have threatened to resume the strike during the tournament if their demands are not met. On Tuesday, subway workers in Rio de Janeiro, which hosts seven games including the final, threatened similar action.
Authorities are nervously eyeing the possibility of a repeat of nationwide protests that exploded around the FIFA Confederations Cup last year.
The estimated US$11 billion Brazil is spending on the tournament has angered many in a country grappling with chronically underfunded health and public services, poor transport and violent crime.
The rapid spread of last year’s protests caught Brazilian authorities off-guard and a massive security blanket will be draped across the World Cup in an effort to avoid a repeat of the clashes.
About 150,000 police and soldiers and about 20,000 private security officers are to be deployed across the 12 host venues to counter protesters, whose slogan is “the Cup will not take place.”
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has hit out at what she described as a “systematic campaign” against the tournament.
“Brazil is ready on and off the pitch,” she said in a televised address late on Tuesday. “The pessimists … have been defeated by the hard work and determination of the Brazilian people, who never give up.”
However, resentment at the vast amounts lavished on the tournament — Brazil is believed to be the most expensive World Cup in history — remains.
Brazil’s soccer players themselves were targeted by striking teachers as they set off for their training camp in Rio last month.
“An educator is worth more than Neymar,” teachers chanted, referring to the team’s star striker.
Despite the off-field problems, the tournament itself promises to be a classic.
From dramatic backdrops such as Rio de Janeiro’s famed Sugarloaf Mountain to Manaus in the heart of the Amazon, the World Cup promises to showcase the vast diversity of Brazil.
Defending champions Spain are bidding to make history by becoming the first side from Europe to win a World Cup in South America.
Brazil, chasing a record sixth World Cup, host the tournament for the first time since their loss to Uruguay in the climax of the 1950 finals, when their neighbors inflicted a defeat which became a national trauma.
Earlier on Tuesday, officials at FIFA sought to deflect criticism that the organization was making huge profits at the expense of Brazilian taxpayers.
Because of the cloud of corruption that often hangs over FIFA, and a long history of graft in Brazil itself, many Brazilians assume that the high costs of the tournament, and the delays and unfulfilled promises, are the result of wrongdoing.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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