BRAZIL - FIFA World Cup 2014

3048485 Views 9501 Replies 1014 Participants Last post by RMB2007, Mar 23, 2016

Benjuk

Discussion Starter · Sep 15, 2006

I looked around briefly and couldn't find a thread for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil*... So I thought I'd post this...

From soccernet.com (15 Sept 06)
"Brazil president Luiz Inacio `Lula' da Silva has defended his country's candidature to host the 2014 World Cup but admits the nation will have to construct a minimum of a dozen new stadiums to meet FIFA's hosting criteria.

'To have the World Cup in 2014 here, we'll have to start thinking about building at least 12 new stadiums',' said Lula.

'According to FIFA regulations, we have no stadium in suitable conditions to organise a World Cup match.'"

So, with a country riddled with debt, starvation and crime - and in which many clubs are unable to pay their (lowly paid) professional footballers, should they really be investing in a dozen new football stadiums?

*Whilst the location of the 2014 Finals hasn't been officially announced yet, it's more or less accepted that the finals will be in South America, and the other nations in the federation have provisionally agreed not to bid against Brazil.

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slipperydog

· #2,281 · Apr 30, 2011

Brazil Scrambles to Get Ready for World Cup and Olympics

Published: Thursday, 28 Apr 2011 | 9:36 AM ET
By: Michelle Caruso-Cabrera
CNBC Anchor

Nothing inspires more passion in Brazil than soccer. But a Brazilian infrastructure expert says the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will be a disaster and a journalist who runs a website dedicated to covering the biggest event in soccer says it is likely to be catastrophic.

Brazil is dramatically behind schedule when it comes to getting 12 stadiums in 12 cities up and running — nevermind airports, local transport and other infrastructure required for when 600,000 visitors descend upon the country.

Three years after being appointed as the next World Cup venue, and with only three years to go before the event, not even one-third of the $20 billion in announced infrastructure spending has been spent.

The state-owned development bank BNDES has allocated $2.2 billion specifically to the World Cup stadiums but so far only 0.5 percent of the figure has been used. There are severe delays in the construction because the stadium projects have not yet been approved by the bank, which is concerned the projects, as designed, aren't financially sustainable after the World Cup ends.

Originally government officials said most of the funding would come from the private sector. But in some cases not a single private company came forward to bid on projects, forcing the state bank to get involved.

CNBC visited the site for the stadium in Sao Paulo, which is to be the venue for the opening match — they have barely broken ground. Infrastructure experts say it takes roughly 40 months, on average, to get a stadium built. If that's true of Sao Paulo's stadium, it won't be completed until after the tournament ends.

Also, a government report out last month says the airports will be crushed by visitors because they are already operating over their designed capacity, and renovations just aren't going to get done on time — even though the government committed $3 billion to improving them.

Anand Hemnani, director of Madison Williams investment bank in Sao Paulo says the World Cup is potentially going to be a disaster.

"If you look at the state of our airports, the state of our highways and the state of our urban mass transit you'll see that you simply cannot have more people using the system than we already have now, let alone the demand that comes in from these other events such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games," he says.

Marcos de Souza, director of Portal da Copa 2014, an independent website that covers all news related to the World Cup, says the event is likely to be catastrophic.

"Now we have a very, very short time to work, and probably a lot of money will be spent and wasted in new arenas without planning, without good projects and maybe we'll have a legacy, for the next 10 to 20 years, of problems and debts for the country," he says.

Back in 2007, Rio de Janeiro made the same mistake when it spent far more than originally forecast on the Pan American Games, with little to show for it in terms of new infrastructure. Though Brazilian officials deny this, Brazil looks increasingly destined to make the same costly error in regards to the World Cup. The situation has lead to sniping back and forth between FIFA, soccer's governing body, and local Brazilian soccer officials.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42683787

Jim856796

· #2,282 · May 1, 2011

Why do people think Brazil's airports suck eggs?

mdhar.v12

· #2,283 · May 1, 2011

why do western media always cry??.....no matter how good developing countries stage tournaments....they will always pick some nonsense and start magnifying it.....there is still lot of time(3yrs) which i think is enough to build stadiums.....and Brazil has enough money and manpower to complete this stadiums in time....

RobH

· #2,284 · May 1, 2011

Sorry, but FIFA have been hurrying Brazil up as well. Let's not turn this thread into a replica of the Commonwealth Games thread in which accusations of racism or Western bias were thrown around whenever anyone pointed out obvious flaws in the preparations.

Do you want to dispute specific points in this article, or are you going to dismiss it all simply because it has come from a "Western" news source?

kerouac1848

· #2,285 · May 1, 2011

why do western media always cry??.....no matter how good developing countries stage tournaments....they will always pick some nonsense and start magnifying it.....there is still lot of time(3yrs) which i think is enough to build stadiums.....and Brazil has enough money and manpower to complete this stadiums in time....

The stadiums will be built and the tournament will happen, but the promises made by organisers won't be met. It won't achieve near what it should have and a lot of public funds will be spent on not achieving very much at all. I know lots of Brazilians and they're not happy at all at what has happened. For the 1992 Olympics Barcelona spent just 10% of its budget on venues, with the rest on infrastructure, accommodation and so on. This is the model to follow.

FIFA has to take plenty of the blame though as their rotation policy led to the ridiculous situation whereby Brazil was basically unchallenged. This meant by the time the country was officially confirmed virtually nothing had been done. The fucking venues hadn't even been confirmed. If there was a real competitive bidding process the CBF would have had to have developed a concrete plan like with the 2016 Olympics. Once it appeared that no one was going to bid against Brazil FIFA should have opened up the bidding globally. Brazil was essentially gifted the tournament, which is a farce.

The CBF is terribly organised and has weak governance, being prone to petty politicking due to the power of the states in relation to the organisation. This was a major reason why it took so long to even confirm the venues, as the body didn't want to piss of the state officials so left it to FIFA to chose, wasting shit loads of time.

The other point is that the country simply lacks the experience of organising an event this large. SA had the Rugby and Cricket WCs, so at least had built up some knowledge and skills in logistical project management. It's a mammoth tasks. Brazil has not hosted a nationwide event even close to this size and think have relied too much on domestic individuals, rather than bringing in people from abroad with experience.

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kerouac1848

· #2,286 · May 1, 2011

Why do people think Brazil's airports suck eggs?

I've flown to/from three - Natal, SPG and Manaus - and I don;'t think they were that bad. SP's is inadequate, but then so is Geneva tbh. Europe has a lot of crappy airports, even many tourist locations in the Med.

The bus stations are a bigger problem I think (aside from urban public transport). Salvador's (or one of its) and one of Sao Paulo's were fine, but Rio's one north of the Maracana is a joke as are the other major NE cities (Recife's is too far from the city). Oh, i forgot Curitiba, which was probably the best.

mdhar.v12

· #2,287 · May 1, 2011

i am not dismissing this article just because it came from western media or some other media.....but i am simply saying that it came in inappropriate time......when there is still so much time left over.....this article could have made sense if it was posted may be next year or some other time.....and of course this should be wake up call for Brazilian authorities......

slipperydog

· #2,288 · May 1, 2011

The article was just a sports-focused segment of a multi-part series on the general state of Brazil and its economy today. The current news regarding the biggest story in sports in that country is that they are behind on WC preparations. Hardly inappropriate and has nothing to do with bias.

vit44

· #2,289 · May 1, 2011

Jim856796 said:
Why do people think Brazil's airports suck eggs?

Because they do. Our main airport, Guarulhos, in São Paulo, has a capacity of 20 million pax/year. However, last year it serviced more than 35 million pax. And it's like this all over Brazil, most of our airports are already saturated, and by 2014 it's gonna be even worse. With all the extra air traffic from the WC, it's going to be chaos. But the biggest problem is the fact that the government isn't doing anything about it.

Trust me guys, I'm brazilian, and I love my country, but this WC is gonna be a mess. The stadiums are gonna be ready, sure, but everything else is just going to be too little too late. Just so you have an idea, there is no single airport in brazil with rail connection to the downtown area, or any area at all. The only option is to go by road. And believe me, those taxi drivers are going to overcharge tourists whenever thay can, and the trip is already expensive since the airports are usually quite far from the downtown area. But I'm always trying to hope for the best, so I hope the government gets their act togheter and starts doing something other than robbing our money.

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kerouac1848

· #2,290 · May 1, 2011

Just so you have an idea, there is no single airport in brazil with rail connection to the downtown area, or any area at all. The only option is to go by road. And believe me, those taxi drivers are going to overcharge tourists whenever thay can, and the trip is already expensive since the airports are usually quite far from the downtown area.

I think Recife's airport is connected via its metro. I remember when I was there there was some construction going on. The airport is also one of the few which isn't utilized and under capacity I believe.

vit44

· #2,291 · May 1, 2011

kerouac1848 said:
I think Recife's airport is connected via its metro. I remember when I was there there was some construction going on. The airport is also one of the few which isn't utilized and under capacity I believe.

Ooops, my bad, you're right, Recife does have a rail connection to it's airport. The airport has a capacity for 9 million pax/year, and last year serviced around 6 million passengers. It's well structured I believe, but is limited by the lack of a second runway and little space to expand.

Wey

· #2,292 · May 1, 2011 (Edited)

People, despite everything the stadia are just fine, I don't have a doubt in my mind they'll all be ready on time :yes:

Again, what's really worrying everybody down here is only the airport and urban mobility infrastructure.

vit44

· #2,293 · May 1, 2011

^^Completely agree. however, I believe that in some cases the stadia are going to be extremely over priced for the sake of meeting the time schedule. Take the Stadium in São paulo for example: so far, not one single brick has been laid. I'm sure that in the end, they will have to rush it and the price might double if past Brazilian contruction projects are an example.

kerouac1848

· #2,294 · May 2, 2011

Again, what's really worrying everybody down here is only the airport and urban mobility infrastructure.

They're pretty big deals though. I think now they should focus on 4 or so airports as international gateways so resources, which includes manpower, are not spread thinly. Recife has capacity and Natal is getting a mega airport, plus they're the nearest to Europe so it's a no brainer. That leaves Rio and SP to be focused on. Other airports can have more minor upgrades to handle internal flights.

Anyway, like I said, the airports I visited really weren't that poor, but connections are an issue.

Urban public transport is a bigger concern, but at least new mass transit systems are being built (Salvador, Fortaleza) or extended (SP, Recife, Rio).

Some improvements could be achieved by very simple and cheap measures. I found city buses in Brazil (esp. in the north east) difficult to use because there was no coordination or sense of network (i couldn't just go by bus numbers). Just colouring and numbering routes would make an impact. Similarly, I don't remember anywhere (incl. Sao Paulo) having day/week/monthly travelcards or passes allowing unlimited travel.

Completely agree. however, I believe that in some cases the stadia are going to be extremely over priced for the sake of meeting the time schedule. Take the Stadium in São paulo for example: so far, not one single brick has been laid. I'm sure that in the end, they will have to rush it and the price might double if past Brazilian contruction projects are an example.

People I know are pissed off not just about the slowness, but about the waste. They were promised private investment for the venues and public money for the infrastructure, which sounded great. However, now it seems certain that public money will be poured into the stadiums and that money is needed for other more important services.

Also, it was pointed out to me that old problems of the country's club football won't be fixed. Most stadiums will still be owned by the city council with clubs renting. Here was a chance to modernise the game by having the clubs controlling their own stadiums, increasing their revenues and improving the financial situation of the league (what is happening in many European countries). The clubs which don't have enough money could have gone into a partnership where ownership and profits become split (like Gremio).

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auler84

· #2,295 · May 2, 2011

The main problem here in Brazil is not the the country's infrastructure for the WC itself, its the WC plus the market booming. I live in Belo Horizonte (5.5 million hab. city) and we have here an international airport witch was build in the 70's to handle 5.5 million passangers/year, they are upgrading it to handle 9 million by the end of 2013, but only the market growth will rise the passengers to about 10 million by the same year.
The same happens in the roads network of the city. One of the buisiests road in the city was upgraded from 6 to 12 lanes just 3 years ago and still doesent handle the traffic.
Brazilian goverment just don't know what to do. We were a rural country with the economy as closed as Cuba's by the late 80's.
The WC and the Olympics are a big challenge for Brazil, but the economic growth itself is much, much bigger.

HMMS

· #2,296 · May 4, 2011

auler84 said:
The main problem here in Brazil is not the the country's infrastructure for the WC itself, its the WC plus the market booming. I live in Belo Horizonte (5.5 million hab. city) and we have here an international airport witch was build in the 70's to handle 5.5 million passangers/year, they are upgrading it to handle 9 million by the end of 2013, but only the market growth will rise the passengers to about 10 million by the same year.
The same happens in the roads network of the city. One of the buisiests road in the city was upgraded from 6 to 12 lanes just 3 years ago and still doesent handle the traffic.
Brazilian goverment just don't know what to do. We were a rural country with the economy as closed as Cuba's by the late 80's.
The WC and the Olympics are a big challenge for Brazil, but the economic growth itself is much, much bigger.

"Brazilian goverment just don't know what to do. We were a rural country with the economy as closed as Cuba's by the late 80's. " Are you crazy???!!!!! What you talking about???!!!!!!!:nuts:

How much bullshit are you talking !!!!!!!

hno:

Why talk like that?? Brazil is not all what you talk about this picture ........... you want to do in Brazil is nothing!!!!!!:bash:

auler84

· #2,297 · May 5, 2011

HMMS said:
"Brazilian goverment just don't know what to do. We were a rural country with the economy as closed as Cuba's by the late 80's. " Are you crazy???!!!!! What you talking about???!!!!!!!:nuts:

How much bullshit are you talking !!!!!!!hno:

Why talk like that?? Brazil is not all what you talk about this picture ........... you want to do in Brazil is nothing!!!!!!:bash:

I mean that Brazil is facing a massive change and is embarasing itself with the lack of know-how, mostly in the infra-structure projects. And, yes, Brazil was a very closed economy by the late 80s, maybe compare with Cuba was too much, i admit. But in that time was almost impossible to find any imported product in the markets, even the technology was very delayed. To have an idea, a simple telephone line was considered an asset in a person's estate. And we still have 2 lane federal roads built in the 50s.

I think Brazil is in the right path, we have a great future ahead. But its not simple as most people think.

titodude

· #2,298 · May 6, 2011

airports at major cities are a disaster

I live in Rio and I travel frequently because of my job. Airports here are the worst you can imagine. I don’t get how the richest city in South America (Sao Paulo) has that miserable airport. The boarding room is like a bird cage. Services: any!. If by any chance you arrive there after midnight and have to wait for connecting flight you better bring your own food. There is NOTHING to eat from midnight to 8 AM. That is ridiculous. I was in Lima, Peru last month and I got shocked when I saw the airport they have. You don't even think you're in Peru. It looks like Europe. Huge boarding areas, information in all languages, signs everywhere, the best food 24 hours!, neat clean, safe, elevators working, incredible parking lot service, nice hotel just steps across the airport. I couldn’t believe my eyes, especially because I was at the same airport, same city, 7 year ago and then it looked trash, the city was dirty. But now I couldn’t recognize the city. The public transportation "perfect". And you gotta see the stadium they just built for the Panamerican games in 2015. It’s just beautiful and amazing! 4 years before it is ready!!!!
Why Brazilian authorities just don't look at the Peruvians?
The problem in this country is CORRUPTION! The don't want to lease the airports because they steal rivers of money out of it. This year only after international pressure, the leasing was approved "partially". They don’t want to get rid of their baby bottle. I really hope they can do something good to last for years and not only cute disposable Enterprises.
Everything in this country is made thinking in the very short term. Just look at the metro system in Rio. It was built in the late 70's and it is over its capacity right now. How it will be in 4 years??? The new york metro system was built over 100 years ago and still attends new yorkers needs!!!
Oh man. It is sad to live in a beautiful country controlled by corrupt politicians.

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rafamlopes

· #2,299 · May 8, 2011

^^ 2015 PanAm will be in Toronto/Can!

Lima lost the bid.

jeffsonsantos

· #2,300 · May 8, 2011 (Edited)

4

Sport Club do Recife (Pernambuco - Brazil) began work in December to build their new arena.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ox1_pAeBIQ&feature=player_embedded

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