As the 32 qualified teams are preparing themselves for the draw that will be held on December 6 in a five-star Atlantic holiday resort in Brazil not everybody is expecting the tournament to go as planned with the 47 years old Brazilian Socialist Party politician and World Cup winner of 1994 Romari de Souza Faria concerned about the process in which it will be held.
‘FIFA are only here in Brazil for the money and to line their pockets,’ he told The Mail on Sunday. ‘Do FIFA care if Brazil has proper transport in the cities or a structural legacy? No. FIFA are just worried whether the stadiums will be ready on time.
‘Who rules in Brazil today? FIFA. They come, put on a circus, pay no tax and take the profit. The greatest benefit from the World Cup will not be left to Brazilian people, but to FIFA, to media groups, to sponsors and to contractors’.
‘I am not surprised that there were huge protests in the streets in the summer and I expect the same again. Our hospitals and schools are underfunded and there are huge social divisions, yet we are wasting billions of pounds of public money on mega-events, starting with the World Cup.’ Romario said.
The opening of the upcoming World Cup is scheduled to be in Sao Paulo on June 12 but an unfortunate event saw 2 construction workers dying after a crane toppled the stadium in the place that is supposed to be the inaugurational event which sets the tone for the remainder of the tournament.
Romario’s main worry is that Brazil will be spending money on football instead of where it should be spent on, its people. After all the preparations are completed the amount of money spent is expected to reach £7.6billion and with a country that has already experienced problems hosting events of this caliber, it really does come into mind if they will be ready to be at the eyes of the world by June 12th.