Brazil drought raises concerns about World Cup water supply

22/03 07:03 CET


This year’s drought in Brazil has left the state of Sao Paolo with its lowest-ever water level.

The Cantareira water system, the largest of six in the area, has reservoirs at less than 15 percent of their normal level.

Wagner Ribiero, a professor at the University of Sao Paolo, warns that if the drought continues, the Cantareira system may not able to meet the demands of the 2014 FIFA World Cup period.

“Currently, the extraction and processing of drinking water has consumed about 20 percent of the water, and this can be improved. On the other hand, we should enhance industrial water usage and recycling,” Ribero explained.

Sao Paolo is one of the host cities of the 2014 World Cup, which kicks off in June.

Last month, more than 140 cities in Brazil were reportedly rationing water, during the worst drought to hit the country in decades.
http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/22/brazil-drought-raises-concerns-about-world-cup-water-supply/

Japan sake, shochu at World Cup
Published: 2 Mar 2014 at 15.46Online news:
TOKYO - A Japanese company plans a series of events during the upcoming soccer World Cup in Brazil to increase overseas consumption of Japanese "sake" rice wine and "shochu" distilled spirits.

Tokyo-based distributor Hasegawasaketen Inc said it will organise events in Sao Paulo in June to familiarise consumers with sake, shochu and Japanese cuisine.

For the promotional campaign, Hasegawasaketen will be joined by internationally renowned Japanese soccer player Hidetoshi Nakata, a sake aficionado who formerly played midfield for Japan's national team. He is now retired from the game.

Ahead of the World Cup which begins in mid-June, Hasegawasaketen has secured official approval from FIFA, soccer's world governing body, for the bottles of 14 brands of "sake" wines and "shochu" distilled spirits from 12 Japanese brewers and distilleries to carry the World Cup in Brazil logo.

The first products bearing the logo went on sale Saturday in Japan.

The 14 brands include Hakkaisan of Niigata Prefecture and Nanbu Bijin of Iwate Prefecture.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/397802/?

Edited by Joffa: 2/3/2014 09:20:51 PM

Brazil World Cup stadium roof partially collapses
Mar 02,2014
BELO HORIZONTE, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Rain and wind caused part of Brazil's Mineirao World Cup stadium roof to collapse on Saturday.

Video footage published by newspaper Folha de S. Paulo shows three metallic plates falling into the pitch just minutes before the match between local rivals Cruzeiro and Minas Futebol.

Nobody was hurt in the incident.

According to local weather institute Clima da PUC-Minas, the weather conditions were not abnormal for Brazil's southeastern city of Belo Horizonte at this time of year.

A spokesman for the incident said that 10.6mm of rain fell over three hours while winds did not exceed 36km/h.

Cruzeiro manager Marcelo Oliveira also criticized the state of the water-logged pitch.

"Questions have to be asked. Is this pitch up to FIFA standard? I think the quality needs to be better," he said.

The Mineiro stadium, which has been redeveloped at a cost of 300 million US dollars, will host six matches during this year's World Cup.

Saturday's incident has renewed concerns about the safety of Brazil's 12 World Cup venues.

Seven stadium construction workers have died so far while an October fire caused structural damage at Cuiaba's Arena's Pantanal, according to local prosecutors.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=204047

Brazil, FIFA resolve finance row over Socceroos' World Cup venue
Date
February 21, 2014
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Under construction: Beira Rio stadium, in Porto Alegre. Photo: AFP
An agreement had been reached in a finance dispute that had threatened another of the Socceroo's venues for the World Cup in Brazil, FIFA said on Thursday.

Football's governing body said the Rio Grande do Sul state government, the Porto Alegre council and local club Internacional had struck an agreement "to enable complementary structures required for the 2014 FIFA World Cup" at the Porto Alegre stadium that will host the Socceroos' group match against the Netherlands on June 18.

FIFA said the agreement comprises a bill permitting private funding "as well as the use of permanent infrastructure that can be reused based on public policies of the state and of the city."

The temporary structures include media facilities required for a major tournament.

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Internacional had argued it was not liable for the cost, saying it would derive no benefit from temporary structures to be taken down again in July.

Last week, club chairman GiovaMenni Luigi warned the Beira Rio stadium might be taken off the list of World Cup venues after saying it could not stump up the extra costs of 30 million reais ($13.4 million).

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was at the stadium Thursday with Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo to see the 50,000-capacity venue for herself, her office said in a statement to AFP.

The stadium is one of six which missed an initial FIFA deadline of December 31 owing to fatal accidents at three and unfinished work at the remainder.

On Tuesday, FIFA said it was dropping a threat to have the Curitiba venue axed after indicating it was satisfied that progress in recent weeks was sufficient.

Regarding Porto Alegre, Rousseffs office said that "the official reinauguration of the stadium will be in early April". The stadium will first host a regional league match next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a 170,000-strong security contingent will ensure peace and order at the World Cup games in Brazil, organisers said on Thursday.

"A total of 150,000 public security professionals and military will ensure World Cup security," said Andrei Rodrigues, Brazil's national secretary for major events.

To that force will be added 20,000 private security personnel, he added, as a country hit in recent months by protests over poor public services and the cost of hosting the event leaves nothing to chance.

After demonstrations over the multi-billion dollar cost of staging the tournament as well as the 2016 Rio Olympics, authorities stressed they will do everything in their power to ensure it goes smoothly.

FIFA director of security Ralf Mutschke indicated he was confident in Brazil's ability to host a safe tournament.

"We are convinced a safe World Cup will be delivered in Brazil," Mutschke told a news conference.

"The teams have great faith in the level of security going to be provided," Mutschke added, as a two-day logistics workshop attended by the coaches of 25 of the 32 competing teams drew to a close.

Thursday's security meeting in the southern city of Florianopolis saw defence and justice ministry officials join FIFA's security spokesman to lay out the parameters of the event's "security matrix."

Mindful of how authorities were caught out by protests that drew more than a million people during last June's Confederations Cup warm-up event, Brazil will deploy the army to counter major disruption.

President Dilma Rousseff said Wednesday troops would be mobilised "if necessary" to ensure fan security at the June 12-July 13 World Cup.

"Armed forces shall be called on if needed to guarantee law and order," said army General Jamil Meyid Junior.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/brazil-fifa-resolve-finance-row-over-socceroos-world-cup-venue-20140221-335g5.html#ixzz2u8ULthz1

Aussies snap up 40,000 World Cup tickets
22 February 2014

A total of 2.3 million tickets have been sold for the World Cup's 64 matches, FIFA revealed on Friday.
More than 500,000 tickets were sold in the latest random phase and a further 159,000 will be sold, again exclusively through FIFA, on a first-come, first-served basis between 12 March and 1 April.

Those latter tickets will be for matches not including the 12 June opening Game in Sao Paulo and the 13 July final in Rio.

Also virtually sold out are the group matches between England and Italy, the United States and Portugal, the second phase games at Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo and the semi-final at Belo Horizonte.

Of the latest batch of sales, 60 per cent were reserved for Brazilian fans, who have snapped up 57 per cent of all tickets sold so far.

Brazilians have bagged 906,433 allocated tickets to date, with USA-based fans buying 125,465. Colombians have landed 60,231 ahead of 55,666 for Germany, 53,809 for Argentina, 51,222 for England and 40,446 for Australia.

"This shows the huge anticipation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in all corners of the world and that we can expect an incredible atmosphere at all matches in the stadiums in June and July," said FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/2014-world-cup/news/1182272/Aussies-snap-up-40-000-World-Cup-tickets

Socceroos' World Cup army faces tough campaign in Brazil
February 15, 2014

In their FIFA World Cup finals campaign in June the Socceroos will confront the might of the football powerhouses Spain and the Netherlands.

But the unfancied Australian national football side's supporters will face obstacles nearly as great when they travel to Brazil for the world's biggest sporting event.

The Socceroos have been placed in a ''group of death'' that also includes Chile, while travelling Australian fans, who could number between 5000 and 6000, face a host of off-field challenges. The first match against Chile on June 13 is in remote Cuiaba, a 2½-hour flight from Brazil's biggest city, Sao Paulo.

For the past few months, Cuiaba has had virtually no hotel rooms available at the time of Australia's match, apart from a few inflated dormitory hostel beds and at properties well removed from town.

Additionally, return flights to the main air hubs of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are infrequent, expensive and inconveniently scheduled.

Some fans, already having to pay as much as $4500 for economy flights between Australia and Brazil, are resigned to camping or spending the night bunking down in the airport terminal.

Price gouging is rife, with a basic Sao Paulo airport hotel charging $750 a night (up from the normal $US200 per night) during the World Cup, according to one Socceroos fan.

Husband-and-wife Socceroos fans Luke and Summa Wilby, of Drummoyne, along with four friends, have booked spots on a supporters tour run by the travel operators Green & Gold Army.

The Wilbys expect to spend as much as $40,000 on their trip. However, their holiday will not be luxury all the way, since their main accommodation is in Rio at a basic 2½-star hostel.

''We're expecting chaos, a non-stop party, I guess,'' Mr Wilby, 29, said of their trip. ''But we've both travelled a lot around the world, so we're ready for anything during our time in Brazil.''

The Wilbys may need to be. Australia's third match, against Spain on June 23, scheduled for Curitiba, about 350 kilometres south of Rio, could be moved due to stadium construction delays.

Earlier this year FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke said a decision on whether Curitiba would remain a host city would be announced on Tuesday. At the time, less than five months before the tournament kicks off, six out of 12 World Cup venues in Brazil remained unfinished.

A spokesman for the Green & Gold Army said fans were ''asking questions'' about the potential for a change in venue with the organisation having arranged ''contingencies''.

The last major World Cup ticket allocation closed last week. Fans must wait until March 11 to see if they have got tickets.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/socceroos-world-cup-army-faces-tough-campaign-in-brazil-20140214-32r6h.html#ixzz2tN2QuryQ

Edited by Damo Baresi: 15/2/2014 05:47:38 PM

World Cup 2014 Brazil: a guide for visitors
February 15, 2014
Michael Visontay.

The Socceroos may not be fancied for the 2014 World Cup but for travellers to Brazil, everyone is a winner, writes football fan Michael Visontay.

What do you get when you stage the world's most popular event in the world's sexiest country? A football fest in a G-string.

The World Cup in Brazil starts in June and looms as a month of goals and groans to a backdrop of shimmering beaches and shimmying bodies, Amazon forests, amazing architecture, waterfalls and wildlife.

It's easy to see why Australians have made a beeline to follow the Socceroos. In last year's main ticket ballot, the most applications came from Brazil, followed by the United States, Australia, England and Argentina. Think about it: Australia, with 23 million people, applied more than England, the home of football with 53 million, or football-mad Argentina, with 41 million people, who can drive across the border if they want to.

The results of the main ticket ballot will be known by March 11 but there's no point waiting till then to prepare for a daunting logistical challenge: getting there, finding somewhere to stay, getting around and trying to enjoy the experience amid all the tourist traps, traffic jams and potential political protests.

With World Cups, the laws of economics are simple: the more inaccessible the country, the more outrageous the prices charged by airlines, hotels and tour operators.

Brazil is a prime example. If you haven't bought your flights yet, pour a stiff drink before you read on.

GETTING THERE

There are basically four ways to fly to Brazil: via Santiago in Chile, Dubai, Johannesburg or Los Angeles.

Sao Paulo is the main hub in Brazil and flying to Rio de Janiero will generally cost more than flying to Sao Paulo or Brasilia, the capital. You need to think about trading the cost of an extra flight versus convenience.

Whether you stay two weeks or four, flights on all of the above routes may cost more than $3000, most closer to $4000.

The quickest way to Brazil is with LAN Airlines/Qantas via Santiago, Chile, and on to Rio (27 hours). If you have plenty of time and want a stopover, the cheaper route is via LA and then (via Miami) to Sao Paulo or Brasilia: this can cost $3200 if you stop at Hawaii as well as Miami, or $3600 if you fly direct from Sydney to LA.

If you want to fly to Rio, Emirates has a fare for $3900 via Dubai (30 or so hours total). My son and I have decided to fly on Qantas via Johannesburg (14 hours), stop over for a night and then fly to Sao Paulo on South African Airways (nine hours).

This costs almost $4000 a person but has one hidden advantage. You can redeem Qantas frequent flyer points as Classic points on the Jo'burg leg, something you can't do if you fly via Santiago.

GETTING AROUND

Brazil is massive, 10 per cent larger than Australia in area, so moving from one part to another requires planning to enjoy the experience beyond merely getting to matches.

This will be hard enough in itself, as every team plays their first-round games in different cities, most of them a long way from each other.

Australia plays in Cuiaba (1500 kilometres west of Sao Paulo), Porto Alegre (1200 kilometres south) and Curitiba (a mere 340 kilometres from Sao Paulo) - which brings us to planes, trains and automobiles.

Firstly, scratch trains - Brazil's military dictatorships of the 1970s ran them into the ground. If you don't want to drive, the main options are flights or buses.

The former are quick but filling up fast. Inter-city budget flights booked a few months ago sold out and prices are rising every week.

The domestic airlines in Brazil are Tam, Gol and Avianca.

Having checked the fares nearly every day since getting our tickets in the earlier December ballot, I have not yet seen evidence of extra flights being put on.

If you're unlucky, you might pay several hundred dollars for a one-hour round trip. For example, Cuiaba is half-way to the Amazon and flights there are already quite expensive. Getting out is another challenge altogether. Porto Alegre is easier because it's serviced by Rio flights as well as Sao Paulo.

And although Curitiba is drivable from Sao Paulo, it is hardly worth the effort to rent a car and drive, even if you have four people in your group, like we do.

Between the three-hour plus trip, and getting out of a city of 18 million people, you're spending more than half a day on the road before you even get to your destination city, let alone park and queue with 40,000 fans.

Buses are an obvious compromise: the national network is extensive, regular and affordable, though slow (six hours for 420 kilometres from Rio to Sao Paulo). You don't have to worry about parking or being held-up. But how much time do you want to spend on the road?

WHERE TO STAY

There are two basic ways to organise your accommodation, and they will determine how you travel around the country to matches, and seeing the sights.

Either choose one city as a base, or fashion a flying "road trip" through the cities where your matches are played.

We chose the first option: a base in Rio. If you're staying for longer than two weeks, it makes the most sense.

You can find an apartment, generally cheaper than hotels and with more room, take in the colour of the Fanfest at Copacabana Beach and relax between match-day flights.

The city's modern, high-rise blocks routinely have 24-hour security. But you should ask, not assume.

On the other hand, staying in Rio or Sao Paulo means doubling up on a few more flights than if you simply fly from one match city to another, staying a few days in each.

This second option is worthwhile if you only plan to go for two weeks to follow Australia's first-round matches.

It also allows you to stay in more modestly sized cities, with populations of 1-2 million and fewer traffic issues.

But it does mean you're forever in hotels and forced to take all your luggage with you. We found a genuine two-bedroom apartment near the Botanical Gardens in Rio, about 30 minutes from the beaches.

There are countless apartments around Copacabana, Ipanema and the upmarket suburb of Leblon just behind them. However, you need to check very closely exactly what is offered. Many claim to be suitable for four people, but have only one bedroom and a sofa bed in a cramped lounge area.

If you're looking for hotels outside the two big centres, you need to move quickly to get something decent and close to the centre of town on match days. Perhaps owing to its remoteness, or its warm winter climate, Cuiaba has virtually no hotel rooms available around Australia's match. And I mean nada - except for a dorm bed for a few hundred dollars a night.

My hotel booking site had a few in the satellite cities 50-100 kilometres away, but that was it.

We have an early flight out after the Australian match and are already resigned to spending the night in the airport. It's that bad.

Other cities have more options but there is huge demand for three-star accommodation in city centres. Beyond that, you're looking at $400-$500 a night for a twin/double room.

BEYOND FOOTBALL

Despite these logistics to think about, make sure you leave enough time to sample the sights and delights beyond football.

Brazil boasts beaches and wildlife, man-made and natural beauty to rival the northern hemisphere capitals. Plus the X-factor: samba culture, thumping nightlife and the siren call of The Girl From Ipanema.

To fit in sightseeing between matches, half-way along the coast between Rio and Sao Paulo lies a beautiful colonial village called Paraty, recommended by several friends.

An hour north of Sao Paulo is Brasilia, a city built from scratch in 1956 to replace Rio as the national capital. Designed by the modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer, Brasilia has divided opinions since it was founded in 1960. Its layout and buildings set it apart from the rest of the country, although the critic Robert Hughes described it as "a ceremonial slum".

For beach culture, further north still lies the colonial splendour of Salvador, with a strong African flavour, and the beautiful beaches of Recife, Natal and Fortaleza. In the south, Porto Alegre offers a decided Argentine influence and a smattering of German and Polish culture. Further south again lie the extraordinary Iguazu Falls on the Argentine border (you should try to see the falls from both sides of the border).

Way out to the west lies the almost mythical city of Manaus, deep in the Amazon, with a dazzling array of wildlife and nature options. And this grab-bag does not even begin to scratch the surface.

GETTING MATCH TICKETS

So, you have tickets to some or all of the three Australian matches but you want more.

Depending on your luck in the draw, and your bank balance, there are several ways to get extra tickets: buy them in the official FIFA ballots; go to ticket shops which inflate the prices by anything up to 300 per cent, or swap and trade your tickets on fan sites such as Ticket4football (English phone number, Spanish address) or Big Soccer (American).

I have used Big Soccer, especially in Germany 2006 when demand was intense, as it is now. The fans I met and swapped with proved to be reliable and courteous and I had no nasty surprises. I am using Big Soccer again this year and have found willing and reliable trading partners.

SECURITY

Last June, Brazil was ignited by a series of grassroots political protests against the cost of staging the World Cup and how the money could have been better spent on much-need public infrastructure. The organisers have vowed to mount more protests as the global spotlight shines on their country.

Add to that the endemic police-gang tensions in the two major cities and Brazil's reputation as a country where everyone gets robbed, and you could be excused for thinking it's all too hard.

But they said that for South Africa too. In truth, there is never a safer time to visit an edgy country than during the World Cup or Olympics.

Governments put on huge extra police and security measures and a national pride ripples through the local population, bringing out their best behaviour.

Nevertheless, there are obvious precautions: don't wear an expensive watch or wave around your smartphone or digital camera in public.

Take a photo of your passport and leave it on your smartphone; that way you don't have to carry it around with you.

Carry a spare credit card in a safe place, and consider reducing the limit on your everyday card to something low enough for buying the odd meal or trinket, but nothing more.

In any case, you have probably paid for nearly all of your major costs before leaving Australia.

If that's all too scary, imagine this: a giant samba party at Ipanema, free cocktails all round and a giant TV screen behind the dancers showing a match where Australia thrashes Spain.

For more information, begin with fifa.com; flightcentre.com.au and visitbrasil.com.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/world-cup-2014-brazil-a-guide-for-visitors-20140212-32h69.html#ixzz2tKhFcA5F

Edited by Damo Baresi: 15/2/2014 08:11:34 AM

I booked my flights not long after the draw and think I did ok. As I'll be basing myself in Rio, I booked return flights to all 3 cities Australia is playing at and managed to secure these for a total of $750, an average of $250 return to each host city. All with TAM Airlines using their website and Expedia.

World Cup fans may soon see relief from pricey Brazil airfare
January 11, 2014 9:02am
16 35 0 66

Tags: FIFA World Cup
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA - Soccer fans daunted by rising airfares in Brazil during this year's World Cup would be smart to steel their nerves just a little longer. Relief may be around the corner.

Next week Brazil is expected to authorize some 1,500 new domestic flights, expanding travel options between cities hosting games in June and July. Tourists should see a wave of new routes open up - and a bit of reprieve from soaring prices.

That could also ease tensions between Brazil's government and local airlines, who have faced repeated threats of intervention if price increases get out of hand.

Brazil's domestic aviation industry, the third-largest in the world, has come under intense scrutiny as one of the biggest potential embarrassments of the tournament. With a dozen host cities scattered around the vast country, millions of fans are expected to stream from one overcrowded airport to the next during the month-long event.

Prices have spiked as demand overwhelmed domestic networks since world soccer body FIFA determined in December where the 32 teams will play their first round of matches. Fans trying to follow neighboring Argentina from their Rio de Janeiro opener to their second game in Belo Horizonte, for instance, have seen the cheapest tickets as much as double in price.

With Brazil's reputation as a rising global power on the line, President Dilma Rousseff is anxious to pull off a smooth World Cup, the first held in South America's soccer powerhouse since 1950. Success in what she has called "the Cup of all Cups" is also likely to help her chances of winning a second term in October elections.

[Related: Brazil prepared 'too late' for World Cup, blasts Blatter]

FIFA chief Sepp Blatter said on Monday no host nation had been so far behind in World Cup preparations as Brazil, where workers are rushing to finish new stadiums and airport terminals for the tournament just five months away.

The extra flights requested by airlines would further tax the country's most overloaded airports. In Cuiabá, a city of half a million in Brazil's sweltering soy belt, proposed routes would boost air traffic by 48 percent during the tournament.

Rousseff's chief of staff, Gleisi Hoffmann, acknowledged this week that Cuiabá may need a temporary canvas terminal if construction at the airport is not finished by May.

Foreign help unlikely

In an effort to prevent price gouging, Hoffmann has also warned the government could open domestic routes to foreign carriers, but experts say that may prove to be an idle threat.

The practice, known as cabotage, is highly uncommon outside the European Union. Australia and Chile are among the few nations that allow foreign-owned airlines to operate domestic flights without a reciprocal relationship from another country.

Five months would be a tight timeline for the regulatory somersault involved in a temporary cabotage scheme, said Carlos Ebner, the head of global airline association IATA in Brazil.

"From the operational point of view, it would be very difficult," he said. "It's not impossible, but logistically and economically it is very hard to see how you would bring a great volume of extra flights from foreign carriers."

Airlines often book their planes half a year in advance, and European or U.S. carriers are unlikely to have spare aircraft during their summer holidays, according to Ebner.

Setting up check-in, maintenance and other support crews at far-flung Brazilian airports would be costly. So would staffing flights: foreign crews are required to rest for a day or more after the long international routes that bring them to Brazil.

Already expensive

Under normal circumstances, flying in Brazil is expensive, and not just because of its size. There is no low cost airline to drive prices down and two major carriers - Gol Linhas Aereas and TAM, the local unit of Latam Airlines Group - control over 70 percent of the market.

Those carriers have been cutting routes, trimming fleets and firing flight staff over the past two years in an attempt to restore profits wiped out by high fuel prices and a tough exchange rate. The World Cup has loomed as a chance to restore their suffering profit margins.

The third biggest airline, Azul, pledged this week to cap airfares during the tournament at 999 reais ($420), adding to pressure on rivals. But smaller planes and limited access to key airports hinder its ability to compete on many routes.

With few major hubs, travelers also have little choice but to fly through the country's two biggest cities, Rio and nearby Sao Paulo, adding hours to many itineraries.

A fan attending England's first three games will likely connect through a southeast hub for a flight to Manaus on the Amazon river for the faceoff with Italy. The next game is back south in Sao Paulo against Uruguay, followed by a match in Belo Horizonte with Costa Rica - 4,000 miles in the air, all told.

Flight options between many host cities are also scarce right now. There are just a handful of direct flights from Rio to Manaus, which cost up to 1,800 reais for a four-hour trip.

The extra flights expected next week should cover demand and keep prices from taking off, said Paul Irvine, the director of Dehouche, a travel agency based in Rio de Janeiro that specializes in luxury travel to South America.

But visiting fans may also have to adjust expectations.

"The prices may seem astronomical compared to flying on EasyJet or Ryanair, but not compared to Brazilian airlines normally," he said. - Reuters

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/343344/sports/football/world-cup-fans-may-soon-see-relief-from-pricey-brazil-airfare

I love it personally.

Lemme tell you, the internal flights within Brazil are ridiculously expensive. Trying to do the Sao Paolo-Cuiaba-Porto Alegre-Curitiba-Rio for Australia's games and it will cost a fair bit.

We really should've jumped on it straight away (the internal flights) however problems with poorly translated websites, as well as the requirement to pay off other things meant we have had to delay it. Gonna get on to them this week though.

looking at those rooms I dont see any windows let alone air-con, I dont even see an electric fan, I would anticipate problems with cockroaches and mosquitos and possibly rats. No doubt it's going to be noisy too with the teeming population. Hats off to anyone who pulls that off successfully=; . Sleeping at the airport looks a better budget option tbh

Has anyone mentioned yet how hideously boring our jersey for the World Cup will be?

http://www.footyheadlines.com/2014/01/australia-2014-world-cup-home-and-away.html



Will I be spending $140 on this? No.

The grimy accommodation desperate World Cup fans are turning to as they spurn expensive hotels in favour of living in Brazil's favelas where rape and murder are rife

Murders in Rio de Janeiro have soared by 17.5 per cent year on year
The hillside communities there have a history of violent crime and trafficking
But some are offering remarkable accommodation deals for the World Cup
They are charging around a third of the price hotels are demanding

By JANET TAPPIN COELHO IN RIO DE JANEIRO
PUBLISHED: 12:47 GMT, 30 December 2013 | UPDATED: 13:58 GMT, 30 December 2013

Football fans trying to avoid the rip-off prices being charged by hotels during Brazil’s World Cup next June are booking into Rio de Janeiro’s notorious favelas amid reports of an alarming increase in crime rates in the city.
The hillside communities, which are home to some of the poorest families in Rio, have a history of violent crime and drug trafficking.
But some are offering accommodation deals enviable for their breathtaking views from their elevated locations, near-to-the-beach convenience and budget-conscious prices of at least a third of the £300 a night average price being charged by hotels during the FIFA games.

In Rocinha, the largest favela in Brazil, a recent escalation in shootouts between rival drug gangs and the police since November, following the arrest of 25 officers for the alleged murder of a resident, Amarildo de Souza, has not prevented supporters from booking into the Rocinha Guesthouse.

Situated right at the top of the shanty-town and offering a stunning panorama of hundreds of pastel painted brick and wooden houses built haphazardly on the side of the mountain, the Rocinha Guesthouse is a family concern with two guest rooms: a mixed dorm offering six beds with an outside shared bathroom and a two bed en-suite.
‘We are already booked out for the World Cup. We have people coming from the UK, America and Europe. Some will stay for a day, for a week or a fortnight,’ revealed 18-year-old Oberdan Basilio, who manages the guesthouse with his mother, Neusa, 56.

Basilio, who was born in Rocinha, says the hillside slum is a safe place so long as tourists don’t take unnecessary risks. In May this year, a German tourist was shot in an alley and seriously wounded in the stomach while visiting the slum with a friend, without a guide.
Crime figures released this month by Brazil’s Public Security Institute (ISP) for Rio de Janeiro indicate a worrying increase in murders, robberies and rapes in the city just months before the World Cup kicks off.
In the ISP research comparing September this year to September 2012, murders in the capital grew by 17.5 per cent from 97 cases to 114. There were 409 cases of thefts against 191, a jump of 114 per cent and reported rapes rose from 150 to 179, an increase of 19 per cent.
’There are dangerous places in Rocinha because the drug dealing still goes on even though we have a large police presence operating here. The trouble is Rocinha is too big to be controlled by the police and so crime still happens,’ Basilio explained matter-of-factly.

‘I always tell our guests to stay on the main street. Don’t go wandering into the warren-like alleyways without a guide. Rocinha is huge and it’s very easy to get lost and put yourself in danger,’ he warned.
British Foreign Office advice warns that: ‘All favelas are unpredictably dangerous areas. Violence... can occur at anytime.’
Ironically, a survey by the ISP marking five years this month since the first Pacifying Police Unite, or UPP, was installed in Santa Marta, found that in 18 out of the 36 pacified favelas, where 252,500 people live, there were 8.7 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants.
This makes a number of the shanty-towns, not including Rocinha, some of the safest places to live as the figure represents less than half the average murder rate in the country, which is 24.3 per 100.

Cristiana de Oliveira, 44, runs the 24-bed Favela Inn in Chapeu Mangueira, a shanty-town in Leme in the south zone of Rio. ‘Our favela is very peaceful. You don’t see any armed drug dealers walking around anymore. I have lived here nearly all my life and since the arrival of the UPP, I can sincerely tell my guests that they are safe walking here late at night and early in the morning.’
Quenia de Alleluia, 32, is hoping for record bookings from football fans in June at her Alzira de Alleluia Guesthouse in the Vidigal favela.
‘The money from our guests contributes to the sustainability of our community project which runs educational courses and football classes for the youngsters in the favela,’ explained de Alleluia.

‘Whoever comes to stay in our Guesthouse is not just getting a good deal and an amazing experience, but they are giving something back to the community as well,’ she added.
Her accommodation can be found on the Brazilian apartment and room rental website Favela Experience, which was set up by American-born Elliot Rosenberg a year ago. The site offers a budget conscious choice of hundreds of beds in Rio’s favelas.
‘We have different levels of accommodation so our prices vary according to the property,’ Rosenberg explained.
‘A single bed per night in the Rocinha Guesthouse is £30 a night, but in the nearby Vidigal favela we have a studio apartment en-suite with five beds, next to the beach for £90 a night per person. All come with breakfast and a laundry service,’ he said.
‘People often come to a favela with low expectations, they imagine it to be squalid and dingy but they are pleasantly surprised when they arrive. Favelas have a higher level of comfort than many outsiders expect,’ argued Rosenberg.
Heather Watson, a 36-year-old teacher from Canada is staying at the Rocinha Guesthouse for the second time in two years.
‘The community is so vibrant and full of women and children and people who work very hard. The criminal element is not representative of the people here,’ Watson observed.
‘It’s a densely packed place. There are people everywhere, there’s light everywhere and there’s sound everywhere. I feel part of a close-knit community and I feel safe here,’ she added.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531129/Desperate-World-Cup-fans-booking-accommodation-Brazils-dangerous-favelas.html#ixzz2p7g9f0EU

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Brazil's World Cup stadium fails to meet deadline

Home > Sport > Report
Brazil's World Cup stadium fails to meet deadline

Wednesday, Jan 1, 2014, 9:53 IST | Place: Rio de Janeiro | Agency: IANS

Construction work on Brazil's Beira-Rio World Cup stadium remains two months from completion despite being ready to host matches, officials said.

Organisers confirmed that world football's governing body FIFA had extended the venue's construction deadline from December 31 to February 28, Xinhua reported Tuesday.

"Development has reached its final stage and the working schedule remains within the time frame set by FIFA," stadium operator Brio Holding said in a statement.

The remaining phase involves the placement of translucent membranes to support the venue's roof.

Located in the southern city of Porto Alegre, Beira-Rio will host five World Cup matches next June and July.

It is one of six stadiums yet to be completed for football's signature event despite FIFA having earlier warned there was no "plan B" for venues not ready by December.

http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-brazil-s-world-cup-stadium-fails-to-meet-deadline-1943527?

Dec 23, 3:33 PM EST

AMERICAN WARNS WORLD CUP FANS ABOUT BRAZIL POLICE
BY JENNY BARCHFIELD

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Six years ago, Elizabeth Martin's nephew Joseph was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer while out celebrating his 30th birthday in Rio de Janeiro. Now, Martin has a message for the hordes of foreigners set to descend on Brazil for next year's World Cup: The next Joseph Martin could be you.

Within Brazil, police have long been notorious for their links to organized crime, use of heavy-handed tactics including torture and even summary executions. Citizens often approach officers warily if at all, put off by the violent behavior of some police.

Martin, whose nephew was gunned down following an altercation with police over a stolen purse, worries that foreigners oblivious to Brazilian officers' reputation could unwittingly stumble into the kind of scuffle that cost Joseph his life. Although police violence in Brazil overwhelmingly targets the country's poor and rarely affects foreigners, Martin has launched a campaign, "Don't Kill for Me: Safe Games for All," aimed at raising international public awareness of the issue - especially ahead of the wave of foreign visitors expected for the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

"I think of police brutality as Brazil's dirty little secret," Martin said in a phone interview from her home in Massachusetts, where she stays in close contact with Brazil-based human rights campaigners and organizations representing the families of those killed by police. "People outside of Brazil have drunk the Kool-Aid of Brazil being this economic success story with beautiful beaches and bikinis and this side of it just isn't discussed, it isn't known."

Human rights campaigners and international organizations alike have long condemned Brazil's police for routinely carrying out summary executions - often officially explained away as suspects "killed while resisting arrest." A 2009 report by the U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch estimated police killed about 11,000 people in Brazil's two largest cities, Rio and Sao Paulo, from 2003 to 2009, far more than the number of non-fatal civilian injuries and police fatalities in those same areas of operation. A damning 2008 United Nations report blamed police for a "significant portion" of the country's approximately 48,000 annual slayings the year before.

During protests over the past months, the U.S. Embassy issued travel advisories warning visitors to avoid demonstrations because of possible violence between police and demonstrators. The British government also warned of violence at demonstrations.

Law enforcement authorities insist they've made great strides in reining in rogue officers, and indeed, Rio and other metropolises have seen a significant decline both in overall murder rates and "acts of resistance," or people killed by police while allegedly resisting arrest. In Rio state alone, acts of resistance fell from their peak of 1,330 in 2007 to 415 last year, according to the state's Institute of Public Security statistics agency, though some critics contend police are "disappearing" victims by hiding their bodies. That happened in a recent high-profile case involving a slum dweller whose apparent torture and killing by police sparked protests.

Roberto Alzir Dias Chaves, a state sub-secretary for mega-events, says there's been a sea change in police tactics, which he credits for reducing the number of police shooting cases.

"Our numbers are still high, without a doubt," acknowledged Alzir. "We could like to see much lower numbers, but we have to understand that this is part of a process. . These are the first steps, we're still at the beginning of this process, but we've made great strides."

While officers used to be rewarded for using lethal force, earning cash bonuses for killing suspects as recently as around a decade ago, a quotas system put in place in 2009 now gives bonuses to the units with the lowest lethality rates. Earlier this month, Rio state shelled out nearly $26 million in bonuses to units that registered the biggest fall in police killings as well as a range of crime statistics in the first half of the year.

Joseph Martin was plunged headlong into Brazil's police brutality drama in May 2007, when an off-duty officer, Joao Vicente Oliveira, detained a boy who'd snatched a purse belonging to one of Martin's friends, who were out celebrating his birthday at a popular Rio nightspot.

The American, who had been living in Brazil for about two years and supported himself by teaching English, intervened, but the boy ran away. Witnesses said Martin was arguing with Oliveira when the officer fired three shots at the American. The officer would later allege he fired in self-defense after Martin tried to grab his weapon, but the prosecutor in the case, Viviane Tavares Henriques, said Martin "never went after the police officer's gun or in any way threatened him."

Critics contend that despite the recent changes, the police's culture of impunity remains intact.

"The logic of the police hasn't changed," said Alexandre Ciconello, a public security specialist at Amnesty International's Rio chapter, adding that changes in the way the statistics are compiled could be partly behind the downward trend. "It's still based on repression, on this idea of combatting an enemy, and executions and torture still remain part of the police's modus operandi."

Elizabeth Martin agreed that much remains to be done to root out impunity and corruption in Brazil's police force, and pointed to the 2010 acquittal of the officer who shot Joseph in a nine-hour-long trial that the Martin family alleged was riddled with anomalies. The officer was himself gunned down by unidentified assailants several months after the trial, according to news reports.

Since her nephew's killing, Martin has made the plight of a country thousands of miles away her personal cause. She quit her full-time job as a Harvard University director of administration to devote herself to her campaign. She's travelled to Rio and participated in meetings, conferences, marches and other demonstrations with groups representing the mothers of those killed by police, determined to use her nephew's death to make a difference.

Among the demands in an online petition she launched last month is giving officers in all 12 World Cup host cities training in low-lethal policing techniques.

"My goal is to get international pressure to get some real and lasting changes," Martin said. "I want to keep other families from having to go through what our family has been through."

© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_BRAZIL_POLICE_VIOLENCE?SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Edited by Joffa: 26/12/2013 07:29:02 PM

World Cup 2014: The time is right for a European winner

Jogi Loew's Germany form part of a typically strong European contingent at the 2014 World Cup

Previous World Cups show no European team has ever won the competition in the Americas but with the football experience increasingly homogenised, Jonathan Wilson thinks that UEFA's contingent can put that right in 2014

No European team has ever won the World Cup in the Americas. It's a fact that is repeatedly wheeled out, but what does it actually mean?

There have only been seven World Cups in the Americas.

Uruguay won on home soil in 1930 and then in Brazil in 1950; Brazil won in Chile in 1962, in Mexico in 1970 and in the USA in 1994; Argentina won at home in 1978 and then in Mexico in 1986. That sounds impressive, but then is USA really that similar to Brazil? Do Brazil feel more at home there than they do in Europe, or than European teams do? Yes, it was hot and in some places humid, but isn't that true also of Spain, Italy, Germany and France at some times during the summer?

Besides, a lot of those tournaments in the Americas are in the relatively distant past. Five of the first 11 World Cups were won by host nations and a further three lost in the final (or, in the case of Brazil in 1950, came second); in the eight tournaments since Argentina in 1978, though, only one host has so much as reached the final: France, who won in 1998. Home advantage, in other words, is not such a decisive factor as it used to be.

That is logical. When European teams set off for the first World Cup, in Uruguay in 1930, they had to take a boat that took three weeks to cross the Atlantic. Food and conditions were extremely unfamiliar. In 1950, Walter Winterbottom became so infuriated by the catering at the Rio de Janeiro hotel where his England team were staying that he ended up raiding the kitchens himself one night, trying to find the ingredients to cook a steak and kidney pudding.

Teams are much more efficient and scientific in their preparation these days. The England cricket team's 82-page recipe book may have been excessive, but that is the sort of attention modern sports teams pay to diet. Nobody in Brazil will simply turn up and hope there's something they like at the hotel.

Similarly Fifa has ensured that standards have been raised and homogenised across the board. There may still be some issues - as Ireland proved in Saipan in 2002 - but essentially training pitches and team hotels are all of a high standard, while the stadium experience is often so homogenised that once you're inside it would often be difficult to work out exactly where you are if the city name weren't written on a board by the halfway line.

And there is a huge difference, of course, between a 10- or 12-hour flight across the Atlantic from Europe to Brazil than in taking a boat for weeks. Players now are used to travel and they have specialists to help them get used to the effect of travel. Europeans will get to Brazil and find a football environment that barely differs from what they know at home. It's true that when Spain won in South Africa in
2012 they were the first European side to win the World Cup outside of Europe, but the sample size is so small as to be barely relevant.

Given the unlikeliness of Mexico, USA, Japan or one of the African teams winning the tournament, the winning confederation will almost certainly be Uefa or Conmebol. Both provide two of the four favourites - Spain and Germany/ Brazil and Argentina - but of the next eight shortest teams, six are European.

Those back-up options might make it just about worth backing Uefa at 2.04.

http://betting.betfair.com/football/world-cup/world-cup-2014-the-time-is-right-for-a-european-winner-241213-184.html?

Most Expensive Brazil WC Stadium Has Leaking Roof

Leaks Not Serious, Matches Not In Danger: Secopa

SAO PAULO, Dec 25, (RTRS): The most expensive of the 12 stadiums built or revamped for the 2014 World Cup has a leaking roof less than eight months after it was finished, the stadium’s operators said on Tuesday. Secopa, the local government agency that runs the Mane Garrincha National Stadium in Brasilia, will ask the company that rebuilt it to explain why parts of the roof let in rain during last weekend’s women’s match between Brazil and Chile. Local media reported that almost the entire lower ring of the stands was soaked although Secopa played down the problem, saying the leaks were not serious and would not affect any of the matches being played there during next year’s World Cup. “Because it is a new, grandiose and complex stadium, some small points are still being corrected and tested but there is nothing that compromises the running of the stadium or the holding of events there,” Secopa said in a statement.

The stadium comes with a five-year guarantee and any repair work will be paid for by the builders, Secopa added. The national stadium in the capital Brasilia cost more than 1.2 billion real ($508.99 million). It will stage six World Cup matches including a quarter-final and the third-place playoff. The venue was inaugurated in May and hosted the opening match of the Confederations Cup between Brazil and Japan in June. It has held 17 major events since then, including several first division football matches, stadium officials said. The uproar over the scandal of a leaky roof at the 73,000 seat arena is not the first time construction work at Brazilian stadiums has been called into question.


The Joao Havelange stadium in Rio was closed earlier this year, six years after it was built for the Pan American Games. Engineers ruled that the roof was in danger of collapsing in high winds and said repairs taking 18 months must be carried out for the the stadium to be fit to host the 2016 Olympics. At least three of the six World Cup stadiums still to be finished before the tournament kicks off in June will be handed over behind schedule. A total of five people have died while working on the 12 venues, including one man in Brasilia.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/202401/reftab/69/t/Most-expensive-Brazil-WC-stadium-has-leaking-roof/Default.aspx?

Hunt for white elephants tests Brazil’s World Cup
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By Associated Press,
NATAL, Brazil — Say this for organizers of Brazil’s World Cup: their taste in stadiums is impeccable.

The graceful Arena das Dunas in the coastal city of Natal, where the United States and seven other teams will play, is a prime example. This isn’t simply a mere place to watch soccer, it’s a shrine to the sport’s wealth and power, its ability to commandeer resources.


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The curves of the stadium’s bone-white roof bring to mind wind-sculptured sand dunes. The light and dark blues of its 42,000 seats are a wink to the hues of the nearby Atlantic. Sea breezes naturally cool the airy bowl. In the pristine white changing rooms, players with an eye for detail might notice the stadium’s name engraved on their lockers’ chrome handles.

Then what? The gauge of Brazil’s success as the 2014 World Cup organizer won’t simply be if it pulls off a samba-filled month of futebol fun. An acid test will also be whether its World Cup stadiums built or renovated for $3.4 billion subsequently justify the investment that critics say could otherwise have been used to improve the lives of Brazil’s millions of poor.

For the majority of Brazil’s 12 World Cup venues, the future looks assured, because they have teams sufficiently big to draw spectators and revenue. For others, not slowly becoming monuments to wastefulness will be more of a challenge. They include new stadiums in Natal, in the Amazon city of Manaus, in Cuiaba in west-central Brazil’s wetlands and in the capital, Brasilia.

When Natal’s mayor, Carlos Eduardo Nunes Alves, was elected last October, the decision to spend $180 million had long ago been taken and construction was well underway. If given the choice, he says he would have preferred a stadium costing half that and the rest invested on schools, hospitals and transport for his city’s 800,000 inhabitants.

“I hope these golden cages can be good for something,” he said in an interview. “We have to think positively and make an effort to make this stadium a living thing and not a white elephant.”

Build and they will come. That is the mantra World Cup organizers repeat over and over to justify these constructions. They say the venues’ comfort and safety will draw families to soccer long after the World Cup turns its attention to Russia, its next destination in 2018. Governing body FIFA is already claiming success, saying that after six of the stadiums opened for business with the Confederations Cup in June, they have nearly all been pulling in crowds larger — much larger at three stadiums — than the Brazilian league average of 14,951 fans per game. The Arena Pernambuco in the Atlantic beach city of Recife is the exception, drawing an average of 11,955 spectators per game, FIFA says.

Brazilian officials say hosting pop concerts and other events will help make ends meet for stadiums that cannot live off soccer alone. In Natal, 10,000 seats will be stripped out of the stadium post-World Cup to manage costs.

In short, move along, no white elephants here.

But World Cup organizers have to say that, especially after Brazilians poured into the streets in June to demand better public services and decry World Cup expenses. The cost of building stadiums sufficiently large and modern to satisfy FIFA has become a protest battle-cry. In Salvador, aviation employees campaigning for better salaries have stuck up posters demanding “Less FIFA standards, more respect for workers” at the airport that will serve as the gateway for fans coming for six World Cup games at the city’s new Arena Fonte Nova.

In Natal, the presidents of local teams ABC and America, which play in the Brazilian league’s second tier, both expect far bigger crowds at that city’s new stadium post-World Cup. The teams’ flags already hang from its rafters. The divide between rival fans — the “ABCdistas” and “Americanos” — cuts through Natal like a fault line. Natal’s mayor supports ABC; his chief of staff is an Americano.

The ABC motto, written large on the front of its existing, grubby and Spartan 18,000-capacity Frasqueirao Stadium, is “O Mais Querido,” meaning “The dearest.” With next-to-no prompting, ABC fans lustily belt out the team song and its chorus: “Salute the dearest! Salute the dearest!”

The Frasqueirao “is big enough for our needs,” ABC president Rubens Guilherme Dantas said in a telephone interview. “There was really no need” for the new one.

“It’s a lot of money, and society and the citizens are actually paying for that,” Dantas said.

But “the Arena das Dunas is really a nice stadium, it’s very pretty and very comfortable,” he added. “It will attract a lot of people, especially families and kids, it will be more accessible to them, safer.”

“I think we may get double the attendance in the new stadium.”

Alex Padang, the outgoing president of America, echoed that. After the 40-year-old Machadao stadium was demolished in 2011 to make space for the World Cup ground, America set up temporarily some 50 miles from Natal, making it “the team that had to play away from home for the longest time in the entire world,” Padang said by phone.

“There’s no doubt that the Arena das Dunas will be good for us,” he said. More than 1,300 people have joined the club’s new membership program launched recently to take advantage of the new arena. This season, America attracted 2,000 fans per game, he said. In the new stadium, Padang expects crowds of 25,000 for important matches, falling to 5,000 for low-profile games.

“Our fans needed a long trip to get to our games, now they’ll be a bus ride away,” he said.

___

AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo contributed to this report. Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester@ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/dcunited/hunt-for-white-elephants-tests-brazils-world-cup/2013/12/14/fef2859e-64a5-11e3-af0d-4bb80d704888_story.html?

Companies investigated over World Cup tickets
Date
December 15, 2013 - 1:31PM

Around 130 companies are being investigated for selling World Cup tickets on the black market with soccer's governing body FIFA claiming that some are being offered with a staggering 300 per cent mark-up.

Match Services AG, which is the FIFA-sanctioned commercial outlet, confirmed reports in the Brazilian media that companies and operators are under investigation for offering unauthorised deals.

Some of these already face judicial action in their own countries.

Match Services AG indicated to AFP it was aware of companies offering packages on the black market at vastly marked up prices.

Advertisement
The Estado de Sao Paulo daily quoted their legal counsel Imran Patel as saying "we are seeing a huge black market with prices of up to 300 per cent above face value".

Tickets for next year's World Cup are available solely via the FIFA website.

Match Services, which is offering VIP packages, many to companies, had indicated prior to last week's World Cup draw that it believed around 100 firms were seeking to scalp punters.

However, they claim they have since uncovered evidence of another 30 cases.

According to Estado de Sao Paulo, authorities in Costa Rica have already fined four agencies in the country for claiming they could offer packages to fans wanting to follow the Central American team at the event.

A dozen Mexican operators have been issued with warnings to stop while consumer protection authorities have launched legal action against six.

Other unauthorised operators are at work in several other countries, including Australia and China, Estado reported.

Patel said FIFA is aware which firms are involved and is ready to take legal action in Brazil where necessary.

AFP

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/companies-investigated-over-world-cup-tickets-20131215-2zev2.html#ixzz2nX9Gxy13

Workers set to strike following more World Cup deaths

By SW Lim0
15 Dec 2013 08:20:00

Preparations for the tournament in Brazil have taken another hit after a workers' union publicly denounced safety conditions around building sites in the host cities

The deaths of two construction workers at Manaus' new World Cup stadium could cause Brazil's builders to stage a nationwide strike.

A man collapsed following a heart attack while working around the Amazonas Convention Center, within the Arena Amazonia stadium compound.

That came on the same day a 23-year-old man fell to his death from 35 metres after a cable snapped on the same site.

It is the third time somebody has died while working on the new project in Manaus, where England will kick off their World Cup campaign against Italy. Two workers were killed in November when a crane collapsed on Sao Paulo's Arena Corinthians, which will host the World Cup opener between Brazil and Croatia.

"A general strike would be ideal, to show the reality that nobody wants to see," Amazonas Construction Union president Cicero Custodio told Globoesporte.

"The government only shows the pretty part of the works and forgets who's there making them happen. This Monday we will be there, demanding our rights as workers and exposing this reality.

"The [cable] accident happened because there wasn't a safety technician on site. The Labour Ministry has to get off their chairs and audit the works, even when there are people working at night."

Families of the two men who died in Manaus on Saturday had claimed in the Brailian media that builders had to work seven days a week in order to get the stadium ready by Fifa's deadline. The incident which led to the 23-year-old man's death occurred at around 04:00 local time.

According to the stadium's website, work is 92 per cent complete as of December 2.

The Brazilian government faces a race against time to ensure infrastructure across the country is ready to support the World Cup, following delays, increased costs and nationwide unrest.

There is also the threat of protest from citizens angry about the spiralling cost of hosting the event. Millions of people took to the streets during the summer's Confederations Cup, stirred by price hikes on local transport networks.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/4961/international-football/2013/12/15/4480401/-?

Fans request over 1.1M FIFA World Cup tickets in 24 hours

2nd sales phase opens with overwhelming interest
The Associated Press Posted: Dec 09, 2013 9:30 PM ET Last Updated: Dec 09, 2013 9:30 PM ET

FIFA said Monday that football fans applied for more than 1.1 million tickets for the World Cup in Brazil in the first 24 hours after the latest sales phase opened.

The new sales window, which opened Sunday, is the first to be held after the tournament draw and schedule were announced last week. It will remain open until Jan. 30.

If demand surpasses the number of entrances available for certain matches, a random selection draw will be held for fans who have requested tickets.

About 900,000 tickets were sold in the first stage of ticket sales earlier this year. Another 230,000 tickets were sold in the second phase in just seven hours.

Football's governing body said a total of about 3.3 million tickets will be sold for the tournament.

© The Associated Press, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/fans-request-over-1-1m-fifa-world-cup-tickets-in-24-hours-1.2457652?cmp=rss

Edited by Joffa: 10/12/2013 08:36:08 PM

Brazil condemns football violence

12-10-2013 13:36 BJT

One day after a brutal and violent exchange between football fans halted a championship match in southern Brazil, Brazilian sports fans and government officials have joined FIFA in condemning the violence and calling for peace as the nation looks forward to hosting the 2014 World Cup.
On Sunday, three people were seriously injured when fans fought running battles at the Atletico Paranaense versus Vasco da Gama match in the city of Joinville. The match had to be halted for 70 minutes and a police helicopter even landed on the pitch to ferry one unconscious fan to hospital.
In the aftermath, FIFA released a statement on Monday that the incident was no indication of what could be expected when the South American country hosts the World Cup next year.
However, violence in Brazil surrounding football matches has been on a disturbing rise over the past couple of years and this has those who are tracking this trend, very concerned.
"Brazil is unfortunately the world recorder holder in soccer fan deaths through conflicts with organized fan bases. In the last ten years these numbers have been rising at an alarming rate. Last year in 2012, we had 23 deaths, which made Brazil the world record holder. This year in 2013, which is still not over, we already have 30 deaths. What this means is we broke our own record. It’s a sad podium be on and almost nothing is being done to control and minimize the situation." Mauricio Murad, Sociologist and Expert on Football Violence, said.
"For the World Cup this won’t happen because we have even more private security forces who have the responsibility to control the interior of the stadium, and there is a public security force which is already installed in the interior of the stadiums to respond quickly, there are groups of tactical specialists, there is a public contingency force of police troops prepared to intervene in any eventuality that might happen." Andrei Rodrigues, Extraordinary Secretary of Security for Major Events, said.

http://english.cntv.cn/program/newshour/20131210/103184.shtml?

Almost 350,000 Tickets Requested for World Cup Within 5hrs of 2nd Sales Phase

December 9, 2013 Almost 350,000 tickets requested for the 2014 FIFA World Cup within 5 hours of second sales phase

Within the first five hours of the opening of the second sales phase, 344,055 tickets were requested by football fans from around the world for the 2014 FIFA World Cup via www.FIFA.com. Brazilians continued with most applications at the top of the list (300,332), followed by Chile (5,538), USA (5,326), Argentina (4,477), Australia (3,217), France (2,540), Germany (2,533), England (2,092), Colombia (2,341) and Japan (1,339).

Football fans have until 12:00 CET on 30 January 2014 to apply for tickets at www.FIFA.com/tickets.

During this sales period all fans have an equal chance to be successful regardless of the date the request is made within this timeframe. All requests will be amalgamated at the end of the phase and processed together. If the number of requests received per product and category exceeds the number of tickets available, a lottery will be held to determine the successful applicants.


As a service to our readers, World Football INSIDER provides verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by football-related organizations, businesses and sponsors.

Your complete source of news about the global football business is www.worldfootballinsider.com

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(Copyright 1992 - 2013, all rights reserved. The information in this report may not be published, excerpted, or otherwise distributed in print or broadcast without the express prior consent of World Football Insider and Around the Rings, Inc.)

http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football/International+Teams/Rest+of+the+World/Australia

FIFA switches late England-Italy WCup kick-off time
Sunday, December 08, 2013


COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil (AP) — FIFA switched the scheduled kickoff times of seven World Cup matches yesterday after meeting with broadcasters, having refused earlier requests made by the FIFPro union to protect players' health.

The main change involves England versus Italy which was due to start at 3 am Central European Time (CET).

That high-profile match will now kick off three hours earlier at 6 pm local time (2200 GMT; 0000 CET) in the hot and humid Amazonian jungle city of Manaus.
Two more games in Manaus -- Portugal versus United States and Cameroon against Croatia -- have been pushed back three hours to 6 pm local time.
FIFPro, the international footballers' union, had pressed FIFA not to have the earliest kickoffs in the hottest and most humid weather conditions.
After FIFA declined midweek to alter the two-year-old match schedule, FIFPro suggested "that the world's governing football body considers the demands of TV companies of greater importance than the health and safety of the players."
The changes to seven of the 64-match schedule include three later starts in the hottest conditions.
The England-Italy switch on the opening Saturday, June 14, means Ivory Coast-Japan will now start at 10 pm local time (0100 GMT) in the tropical coastal climate of Recife.
On Wednesday, June 18, Cameroon-Croatia flips kickoff slots with Spain versus Chile, which now starts at 4 pm (1900 GMT) in Rio de Janeiro. That means Spain's appearance at the Maracana stadium will now start in Spanish prime time instead of midnight back home.
The Portugal-US move forced two other changes on Sunday, June 22.
Belgium versus Russia will start at 1 pm local time (1600 GMT) in Rio de Janeiro, instead of 7 pm, which would have required European viewers to stay up well beyond midnight.
South Korea-Algeria was moved to 4 pm local time (1900 GMT) in the coolest, most southern World Cup city of Porto Alegre from 1 pm.


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/FIFA-switches-late-England-Italy-WCup-kick-off-time_15598433?#ixzz2msddwRAJ

2014 World Cup: How does it look for CONCACAF?

Nicholas Mendola Dec 6, 2013, 2:47 PM EST

When CONCACAF found out its teams would be grouped in Pot 3, away from Europe, Africa and South America, it knew it was in for a tough World Cup draw. There would be no Iran, no Australia… it would be a battle just to find games where CONCACAF would be favored.

In the end, the results were a mixed bag. Costa Rica and the United States have their work cut out for them, Mexico faces a challenge to their attacking skill while Honduras may be the Confederation’s best hope.

Both Mexico and the U.S. made their way to the knockout rounds in 2010 — Honduras finished last in its group — but how many nations will survive the group stage this time around.

The United States and its fortunes are directly tied to whether its Top 15 ranking is a true indicator of where they — and CONCACAF — stand. The Yanks have done loads of good during a record-setting 2013, but have been eliminated from the World Cup by two of their group mates: Germany and Ghana. The States kept Portugal from advancing in 2002, so there’s history everywhere. Is Portugal as deep? No, but they have the man who almost single-handedly took them to Brazil in Cristiano Ronaldo.

Mexico’s challenge will be dictating their game to the opposition. Free-wheeling is going to be a challenge when it comes to stingy Croatia and Cameroon, while beating hosts Brazil would seem prize-enough for a Mexico team that’s been on quite the roller coaster ride. They’ll go as Oribe Peralta (pictured) goes, and his work against the Ivory Coast in their highest-profile win (outside of the playoff with New Zealand) was superb.

He’s scored in seven of Mexico’s last eight matches, producing a total of 11 goals.

Poor Costa Rica. Their reward for finishing second in CONCACAF qualifying is a team that will match their physicality (England), another that will out-flash them (Uruguay) and perhaps the finest defensive, counter-attacking country of all-time (Italy). They finished 31st in their last World Cup appearance (2006) and have to hope that England and Italy fare poorly on the other side of their world.

Honduras is playing in a group that quite literally could find any two teams advance out of the group. France is a wild card, with immense talent but uncertainty lurking after a simply horrible experience in 2010. Switzerland has been looked-past, which is hilarious given they’re the No. 7 team in the world. That said, where will the goals come from? No Swiss player other than Tranquillo Barnetta has 10-plus goals in their international career. Which brings us to Ecuador.

La Tri is captained by Antonio Valencia and haven’t been out of the Copa America’s first round, let alone World Cup, since 1997. Their Round of 16 finish in the 2006 World Cup seems ancient history, but again, this is a South American tournament. Honduras has won a single World Cup game in its two appearances, though one its draws came versus Switzerland. As many as five MLS player could feature for the Hondurans, who will lean on New England’s Jerry Bengtson and Guizhou Zhicheng’s Carlo Costly to score and score early.

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/06/249030/

ENGLAND TAKE ON ITALY
Posted on » Saturday, December 07, 2013

COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil: The convoluted draw for next year's World Cup finals in Brazil yesterday produced a set of groups in which most of soccer's big guns will fancy their chances of reaching the knockout stages.

Group D, featuring former winners England, Italy and Uruguay, along with Costa Rica, is probably the exception, while Spain and Netherlands, who met in the 2010 final, will have to be well prepared to see off Chile and Australia in Group B.

Host nation Brazil will kick off the tournament against Croatia in Sao Paulo on June 12 and the favourites should be relatively happy with a Group A also containing Mexico and Cameroon as they seek their sixth title.

"We ended up in a strong group, one that gives you goose bumps," said Brazil captain Thiago Silva.

"A strong African side, perhaps one of the best, Mexico, who have been a tough adversary for us, and Croatia, who are a strong team physically. It's very difficult but we're ready."

One former champion is sure to go out from Group D, with England against Italy in the jungle city of Manaus a mouth-watering opener for the two European sides.

"We know how good Italy are because we lost to them in the quarter-finals at the (2012) Euros," said England boss Roy Hodgson.

"The game is going to be tough from a climate point of view for both teams. We're both in the same boat."

Forward Diego Forlan, who helped Uruguay to the semi-finals in 2010, said: "In comparison with what other teams got, it's the hardest group of this World Cup.

"But you have to play the matches and at the last World Cup we were in a very complicated group but came through well."

World and European champions Spain begin their defence with a repeat of the physical 2010 final against the Netherlands in Rio's Maracana.

"We will have to be prepared right from the first day, focus ourselves," said coach Vicente Del Bosque, knowing the group runners-up are likely to face Brazil in the first knockout round.

"I expect that Brazil will be first in their group so we will have to take great pains to do the same," he added.

Germany will come face-to-face with their former striker and coach Juergen Klinsmann, now in charge of the United States, with Portugal and Ghana completing the Group G lineup.

"Of course, a special moment for me to play against Germany but we beat them in a friendly this year and once you get on the pitch they are the just the opponent," said Klinsmann, who won the World Cup as a player in 1990.

France, who qualified via the playoffs, will be pleased with a Group E placing alongside Ecuador, Switzerland and Honduras.

"It could have been more complicated," said coach Didier Deschamps.

"We know Switzerland well, they were seeded so obviously the toughest opponent. We don't know Ecuador and Honduras that well and it will have an influence on our preparation."

Bosnia, the only one of the 32 teams taking part in their first World Cup finals, will have a dream start to their World Cup adventure as they kick off against Argentina in the Maracana before facing Iran and Nigeria.

"Argentina are the group favourites and it will be a very special occasion for us to play our opening match against them at the Maracana Stadium," said coach Safet Susic.

Fancied Belgium head up Group H alongside Algeria, Russia and South Korea while Group C,, containing Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan, looks the toughest to predict.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=366371

'Sex before football at Brazil World Cup is fine by me' - Italy coach Cesare Prandelli
7 Dec 2013 00:00
Officials say it is a tradition of Italian sport to give players freedom and the boss believes wives and girlfriends’ presence in Brazil will cut down tension


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The mood for love: Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo
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Italy’s football coach has said he will allow his team to have pre-match nookie during the World Cup in Brazil next year.

Italian national team coach Cesare Prandelli has said the WAGS of the players are welcome to join them in South America.

“It is a tradition of Italian football to give freedom to sportsmen. Let’s make it clear: sexual intercourse does not hamper a footballer”, said Arsenio Veicsteinas, the president of the Scientific-Cultural committee of the Medical Sports Association of Italy.

Prandelli believes the wives and girlfriends’ presence in Brazil will cut down on tensions among the squad.



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Conspiracy Theory: How the 2014 World Cup groups were really chosen
By Brooks Peck
2 hours ago
Dirty Tackle
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(Getty)
FIFA's system for determining the World Cup groups is flawed. But in those flaws lie advantages and in those advantages lie FIFA's power. As everyone knows, conspiracies account for 98 percent of all occurrences in sports and the World Cup draw is no different. So open your eyes and see the conspiracy that is so obviously embedded within this process. Somewhere.

Instead of using a logical system based entirely on rankings designed by someone who knows what numbers are, unlike FIFA's world rankings, the current method tries to preserve an unnecessary and counter-competitive emphasis on geographical balance within the groups. FIFA's rankings are only used to determine the eight seeded teams, which somehow includes Switzerland. The other three pots from which the eight groups are selected are divided by geography and this time a menacing Pot "X" was employed just to confuse and intimidate viewers into not thinking too much about the process. Care to question something? Then you go in Pot "X" with a piranha, swine flu and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Good luck.

With logic and reason properly ignored and "chance" now in play, FIFA is free to do their nefarious bidding. The night before the draw, in a lavish hotel suite paid for by the tears of orphans, FIFA president Sepp Blatter decides who he considers to be friends and who he considers to be enemies. Because determining the best team in the world is just an accidental byproduct of the World Cup's main purpose of funneling money out of corporate sponsors. He is surrounded by women in exotic dress who are repulsed by the thought of his formless potato sack of flesh and he looks to an autographed picture of bloated actor Gerard Depardieu for twisted inspiration while a VHS cassette of his 1994 film "My Father The Hero" plays on repeat in the background.

First, there's the matter of calming the angry host nation. In Group A, Brazil gets the underwhelming set of Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon. Maybe a few comfortable wins will get the locals to back off their widespread protests of the tournament and decide it's not so bad after all.

Second: Looking after your own. Switzerland, home to FIFA headquarters and Sepp Blatter's place of birth, goes in Group E with non-powerhouses Ecuador and Honduras. To keep Frenchman and UEFA president Michel Platini from threatening Blatter's carefully guarded perch atop an international organization that answers to no one, France can slide in here, as well.

Next on the agenda is squashing the most outspoken enemies of FIFA. Ever since Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup, there have been three countries making the most fuss over FIFA's cronyism: Australia and the United States, the two losing 2022 bids, and England, who themselves lost the 2018 bid to Russia. So if they don't like the way World Cup hosting is decided, then they can suffer through torment in Brazil.

For Australia, it's Group B with Spain, the Netherlands and Chile. For England, it's Group D with Uruguay, Italy and Costa Rica, including a start in the Amazon jungle. For the USA, it's the tournament's most grueling travel schedule in Group G with Germany, who knocked them out of the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals on a handball at the goalline, Ghana, who knocked them out of the last two consecutive World Cups, and one spot left open for just a moment. Blatter wheezes with laughter.

Then there's personal favorites. After professing his adoration for "good boy" Lionel Messi, Argentina are given an easy ride in Group F with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria. As for Cristiano Ronaldo, who made such a stink over Blatter's comments, he can go into that horrid Group G, giving Portugal a difficult path so Messi can be praised for going deeper into the tournament than that "commander" and his boys underwear line that doesn't come in Blatter's size. The ultimate discourtesy.

The final two groups are decided by a feather-clad showgirl after Blatter passes out from eating coins like breath mints.

With the groups set, just the small matter of putting on a show for the chumps remains. To make it seem random and no one's fault but the cruel hand of fate, retired footballers are tasked with pulling the names out of pots in front of a global audience. Except those little slips of paper inside those balls are actually ultra thin LCD screens that project whatever name is transmitted to it by an intern backstage. At one point, 86-year-old Alcides Ghiggia drops a ball, affording FIFA secretary general and MC for the night Jerome Valcke to sneer knowingly at all the rubes sitting before him while they're distracted by the poor old man chasing the plastic ball.

There is also cat sacrifices and ritualistic Macarena dancing involved, but it's best if you don't know about that.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/conspiracy-theory-2014-world-cup-groups-were-really-000909108--sow.html?

Drums ban annoy Brazil minister


Saturday, December 07, 2013

COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil: FIFA has banned samba drums from Brazil’s World Cup stadiums but even though local authorities are not happy about it they say it will not diminish the atmosphere inside the 12 arenas during next year’s tournament.

“As a Brazilian and a football fan it is a part of our culture having samba instruments and musical instruments in the stadiums (during) the games so that is a normal part of the atmosphere around football games,” said Deputy Sports Minister Luis Fernandes.

“For us it would have been better if we could have musical instruments inside the games but I don’t think it will make a major difference because people are extremely enthusiastic for football and they are extremely musical so there will be a lot of singing in the World Cup games.”

FIFA has prohibited fans from taking any musical instruments into the arenas, with the ban extending even to the caixirola, the maraca like-instrument that was created especially for the tournament.

Fans used the plastic instruments as missiles and rained thousands of them down on players when they debuted in Brazilian league matches.

That came years after the vuvuzela was blamed for deadening the atmosphere of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Fernandes said there would nevertheless be a unique musicality next June and July thanks to Brazil’s well-known love for music and dance.

“There will be a lot of sounds of samba in Brazil, in each host city the whole country will be a huge carnival,” he told Reuters.

“There won’t be any street corner without fans getting together, singing with musical instruments following the game, supporting the national team so I don’t think that will in any way bring down the enthusiasm of Brazilian people for the World Cup.”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-10-218736-Drums-ban-annoy-Brazil-minister?