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WITH 10 DAYS to go to the World Cup, Brazil was rushing today to finish installing seats in stadiums and deal with threats ranging from violent protests to dengue fever.
The count-down to the June 12 kick-off has been marred by a series of protests, from striking bus drivers who paralyzed Sao Paulo by abandoning their vehicles mid-route to indigenous leaders in bright-feathered headdresses who shot arrows at police in Brasilia, impaling one officer’s leg.
Anger over the more than $11 billion being spent on the event has raised fears of a return to the violence seen last year during the Confederation Cup, a World Cup dress rehearsal, when clashes with police broke out as a million people flooded the streets calling for more money for social programs and less for stadiums.
But recent protests have been smaller, with journalists and street vendors sometimes outnumbering those chanting: “There won’t be a World Cup!”
In a country that takes great pride in its five World Cup titles, the tournament’s approach is unleashing growing excitement, with local media providing exhaustive coverage of the Brazilian team’s training camp.
That national ambivalence is the target of a meme that has gone viral on social networks.
“I see you! You write on Facebook that ‘There won’t be a World Cup,’ but you’ve planned a barbecue with your friends on game day,” says the caption, attached to a photo of President Dilma Rousseff.
Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, which will host the opening ceremony and kick-off match between Brazil and Croatia, held a hastily scheduled second test event Sunday but is still under construction.
Temporary seating areas for 20,000 fans — delayed after a worker fell to his death from one of them, one of eight construction accident fatalities at Brazil’s host stadiums — have still not received safety clearance from firefighters.
The stadiums in Curitiba, Cuiaba, Natal and Porto Alegre are also still incomplete to varying degrees.
The original deadline for all 12 host stadiums was December 31.
With preparations plagued by chronic delays and cost overruns, organizers have shelved much of the other infrastructure they had promised, from roadworks to a high-speed train to subway and monorail lines.
Football legend Ronaldo, a member of Brazil’s World Cup organizing committee, admitted last week that only 30 percent of the planned projects would be completed.
One of organizers’ biggest headaches has been upgrading the country’s aging airports.
In three host cities — Rio, Belo Horizonte and Recife — the originally planned upgrades will not be done in time, raising concerns over whether airports can cope with demand as an estimated 600,000 foreign fans and 3.1 million Brazilians criss-cross the country.
Brazil will have 157,000 police and soldiers providing security during the tournament.
But recent police strikes — and threats of more during the tournament — have raised security fears in a country with one of the world’s worst crime rates.
The stakes are high for Rousseff, who is up for reelection in October.
The leftist leader is leading in the polls, but her top rivals have been consolidating their support.
Analysts say the results on the pitch will probably not affect her chances.
But if the Brazilian team loses, it could fuel anger over the money spent hosting the tournament.
The hosts are considered the favorites, but face enormous pressure.
The last time Brazil hosted the World Cup, in 1950, they lost the final to Uruguay, an upset that still haunts the country.
This year’s final will be played in the same place, Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium.
“If we do not win this World Cup then the specter of 1950 will become that of 2014 and will haunt us until there is another World Cup here,” Cafu, the captain of Brazil’s last world-champion team, in 2002, told AFP in a recent interview.
There is meanwhile a more tangible threat facing Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and John Mikel Obi’s Nigeria, whose base camps will be in Campinas.
The southeastern city is in the middle of the worst dengue fever outbreak in its history.
Sanitation workers are spraying for mosquitos, which carry the tropical virus.
But health officials recommend players cover up and wear insect repellant just in case.
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Foster could’ve helped the situation by not allowing people on to the island from Britain. The woman’s insufferable
@Pól Ó’hAodha: The head on her.
@Vonvonic: very sad that this inane comment would get 70 likes.
@Vonvonic: If she looked at a litre of milk, it would turn sour!
@Ann Basquille Smith: I’m.not sure I’d you’re acquainted with the expression but it had more to.do.with her attitude than her looks.
@Vonvonic: *sure if you’re…
Were Arlene et al of a mind to share the passenger information of those who landed in Belfast Airport and off the ferry in Larne? Not to mention the amount of her fellow country men and women travelling into the “free state” to work when our numbers were low and they were riddled? She’s a pox bottle!
@Barry Evans: You lost me at “pox”.
@Fachtna Roe: didn’t realise my statement was that hard to follow…….
I would assume there’s a GDPR issue considering the north’s is in the UK and not an EU state any longer. Sharing peoples location and movements would breach Eu privacy laws. If only they could join some type of contenental collective union so we could work together and share information without problems like this.
@Colm Walsh: Perhaps they could even reunite with the rest of the country. Arlene has done more for Irish reunification in the past few years than anyone.
@Colm Walsh: Can you kindly keep your sensible logic away from the Journal’s sensationalist posts. We’re trying to foment anger and surface level opinions here, not to educate people on simple reasoning and looking for contextual information. Sincerely, Brendan.
@Seán Óg: oh Sean Og shes gonna love your comment. She could blow a head gasket
@Colm Walsh: precisely.
@Colm Walsh: Personal data used by GCHQ for surveillance purposes. No way!!
FFG would want to get there house in order,we are handed a perfect opportunity to hand an olive branch out to Northern Ireland with both brexit and Covid has thrown the dust up.our Taoiseach waffling on about maybe in 5 years time to ask the question about a border pole,until then he don’t want to know,our tanaiste blaming Sinn Fein on everything instead of showing a strong hand with them with Northern Ireland.baffling
@reginald: FG and FF don’t want a border poll. In 5 years time they will say “in 5 years time” ad infinitum.
@reginald: I don’t think a lot of our present government, but to fair to them, they tried to get Northern Ireland to take an all ireland approach to covid 19 at the very start and to try work with the Republic to do the same as New Zealand did and secure the borders entire island of Ireland.
But his was dismissed by Arlene and her cronies, stating that they as part of the UK, would take a UK stance on the matter.
Brexit was helped into reality by Arlene and the DUP playing politics, instead of being concerned with the outcome of Brexit for all the people of Northern Ireland.
And now when they have left the EU and realised their glorious sovereignty as an independent United kingdom, now they want to complain about a lack of cooperation on the Island of Ireland???
Now that’s ironic!
@Seán Óg: Seems to be a misconception by many that a border poll would go the way of a United Ireland when in fact polls don’t indicate that at present. There’s a risk of “jumping the gun” and being colonial about the whole thing. If the aim is just to annex NI against their will, that wouldn’t make Ireland a whole lot better than the English..
The “long game” being played, of aligning NI economically more with Europe instead of Britain, changing supply chains, soft power with things like Erasmus and EU passports, letting NI people realize that the DUP/Westminster aren’t doing much good – these are wise and correct ways to go about UI. The best way is to have a *clear* majority there who conclude that they will be better off in an inclusive Ireland whichever nationality they identify as.
@Seán Óg: Correct – “The time is not right” in 2121, they will still be saying the time is not right. Unionists will call for talks around a border poll before FF and FG.
A bit of a spat now would be very timely indeed. Button it Arlene ffs.
@Vonvonic: Just a smokescreen to hide from the fact that the supermarket shelves in the north are empty due to DUP incompetence and a belief that Boris had their best interests at heart. Should have taken Mrs May’s deal instead of stabbing her in the back.
@Seán Óg: Indeed. The sweetest deal of all was the one offered to Cameron not to have the referendum in the first place. Dominos.
This works 2 ways and you allowed flights into Belfast & Derry and the ferry into Larne it was ye who allowed most people into the island so were is your paper work on all those you allowed in when the South had stopped UK travel. Majority of these passengers and you knew full well came to the South and you didn’t blink an eye about this.
I seen the photo then misread the headline as “Leaders in North Korea..”
@Humphrey De Fluff: well kim has better hair than arlene for a start…
@Paddy Kennedy: lol very good
GDPR rules.
I don’t think it would be appropriate to share that type of information with a foreign power, and non EU member.
@John Mulligan: Absolutely correct. Personal data which would be used by GCHQ for surveillance purposes.
This gave me a good laugh . They have a worse problem than us and thousands cross the border daily and weekly to work in the south.
Fair play to Arlene
@Rorymcrory: Why?
@Setanta Stylfox: She’s done yards more for Irish unity than any other party
Apparently she’s a lovely bloke.
Oh F off Robbie Coltrane
Why would we share personal data with the UK which would then be used by GCHQ for surveillance purposes. Another example of the NoI’s disconnect with the real world. Then again GCHQ probably have the data anyway through hacking the Republic’s systems without our knowing it.
They couldn’t agree on what cereal to have for breakfast up there.
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