Sports minister: criticism against World Cup stems from ‘political conjunctions'
Minister Aldo Rebelo
Brazil’s Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo stated that there has been a campaign against the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, headed by “dejected, defeated sectors.” In an interview aired by TV Brasil Wednesday evening (May 20), Rebelo said that governors opposing former President Lula during his administration supported Brazil as the host country of the international competition. Instancing prospective candidates to the presidency Aécio Neves and Eduardo Campos, governors at the time, Rebelo noted: “Later on, political conjunctions and protests made some people give up the idea [of supporting the World Cup]. That’s when the World Cup lost its mother and father, with [former] President Lula as its only supporter left.”
The minister further remarked that the federal government has only invested its own resources in infrastructure reforms, which had been planned previously – some of them, he added, should have been concluded by now. He also reiterated that the spending on the construction works of some of the stadiums come from local governments and the sport clubs themselves. Nonetheless, he said, part of the expenses was incorporated into the budget, as was the case with the Mané Garrincha National Stadium, in Brasília. The works surrounding the arena had to be subsequently included, which raised costs considerably.
However, at the Corinthians Arena, the stadium to host the competition’s opening ceremony, Rebelo said that, in order to meet FIFA’s demands, temporary structures had to be erected so that the stadium could seat 60 thousand people. “In the case of Corinthians’s stadium, whose capacity had to increase from 40 thousand to 60 thousand seats; it was like building a new stadium on top of the first one.”
Aldo Rebelo mentioned the 2016 Olympic Games, and guaranteed that construction projects will be delivered in time. He further declared that Rio de Janeiro will take advantage of having hosted the World Cup, but did not rule out the possibility of delays. “Of course, if you take the schedule into consideration, there are a few delays. Some of the works might not be concluded within the period estimated, but they’ll be ready for the event.”
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Sports minister says criticism against World Cup stems from ‘political conjunctions’
