Sir, – Today the soccer World Cup kicks off in Brazil.
While the Brazilian government and soccer’s governing body Fifa had hoped that the 2014 World Cup would be a celebration of samba soccer, the run-up to the tournament has instead been marked by protests and complaints about delays and incompetence.
Across Brazil, people have been protesting at the prohibitive costs of the tournament, and Fifa has come under fire for its unwillingness to let small business benefit from the event. What’s more, Fifa’s insistence on tax breaks for its multinational corporate sponsors has cemented the feeling that the World Cup is designed for foreign elites, at the expense of the country’s growing working class.
Yet mega sports events such as the World Cup do have great potential to benefit, rather than marginalise, poor people and impact positively on the local society and economy.
But these benefits do not accrue automatically; only if the sports event is respectful of people’s rights and deliberately includes marginalised communities will it be able to deliver lasting benefits for the host country. It is time for Fifa to learn this lesson and act accordingly. – Yours, etc,
HANS ZOMER,
Dóchas,
Baggot Court,
Lower Baggot Street,
Dublin 2.