Beyond+the+Tournament+(Alex+Wahl)

"Depending on which side of the argument you choose to listen to, the hosting of any major sporting event can both be seen as an opportunity for great development, or an impending disaster." (Atkins, Christopher). One such tournament is the world cup which takes place every four years and is a soccer tournament that last for about a month from late spring to early summer. The teams competing in the world cup are countries national teams, and only 32 qualify to play in the world cup. This year the World cup is taking place in Brazil. Years before the world cup is played many countries each place a bid as to why they should host the world cup. The country chosen to host, is primarily chosen for the "legacy" the world cup will have "long before, during and even after the event." Hosting a World Cup has a numerous amount of possible benefits. The first being the improvement of fields and facilities to improve the game of soccer at all levels. The second also has to do with player development, however this benefit focuses of the improvement of development programs for elite players. Both of these will benefit the country long after the world cup has been played. Some other Benefits of hosting a World cup are an increase of pride and community, and the breaking down of social barriers. Hosting can also have economical benefits. Currently the World cup is being played in Brazil. Brazil won the bid to host he 2014 world cup, "A budget of $13.3 billion was set for the tournament, with the majority of money to be spent on projects around the host cities. Instead, as Vickery notes below, a huge amount of the budget for the tournament has been used on building the stadiums—at the cost of improved highways, subway systems, airports and ports."(Atkins Christopher). Some may argue Brazil has been responsible in spending their money by building brand new high-tech stadiums, which are economically friendly. However these people forgot what the money was originally supposed to be used for and they fail to see that the annual running and maintenance cost of theses stadiums are 10% of what is cost to build them. This means in a decade the stadiums will have doubled in price. If one were to look even deeper into the building of these stadiums, they will find information which led to massive labor strikes. A report of the strikes had to say this "the main demands of the strikes "ranged from wage increases and benefits like health insurance, food assistance and transportation, to improved working conditions (in particular, the protesters had complaints regarding the security situation, sanitation, and food), increased overtime payment and the end of 'inhumanely long' working hours."(Atkins, Christopher). This has led to fans who bought tickets not having seats during the world cups opening games. There base been other irresponsible spending "besides the lack of investment outside of the stadiums, other issues such as forced relocation and breaches of workers' rights also threaten the tournament's impact on those most disadvantaged in society."(Atkins, Christopher). The forced relocations have been one of the biggest controversies surrounding this world cup, "An IPS report on the matter suggests that 30,000 families in Rio de Janeiro alone will have been forced to move for the competition. The Americas Program of the Center for International Policy, meanwhile, places the overall estimate at 170,000 people countrywide."(Atkins, Christopher). These citizens were evicted with little to no notice and without concrete ideas of where to be relocated to. The country originally hosted the world cup to benefit the public, however what has been going on in brazil couldn't be further from that. Not only has this poor class been evicted from home but now they may miss out on viewing the games in which their country is so passionate about, this has created "a common feeling that Brazil's World Cup is being taken away from the lower classes, with all these factors adding to the sentiment. The high cost of ticket prices, also, have done little to soften dissatisfaction."(Atkins, Christopher). World cup ticket prices this year are significantly higher the what they were four years ago in south africa. This price increase will prevent the people who were supposed to benefit from this world cup and the people who's homes were destroyed to host the cup, from watching the games. Some might say they can go watch the games at a bar or at home. This is untrue for many of these people cannot afford televisions and bars in brazil can not play world cup matches unless the serve and are sponsored by the official beer of the Fifa world cup. This leaves people around the world "with the feeling that the ordinary people do not matter as long as the event runs smoothly" (Atkins, Christopher). Photo's such as these really display not only the Brazilian publics opinions of the misspending, but also offer a juxtaposition of the brand-new high-tech stadiums and the crumbling favelas. Visit this link to see more amazing street art depicting the controversy over the Brazil World cup. STREET ART  On top of all of this there are some who say the world cup in general has a bad influence over the world. A man by the name Mac Margolis offers the idea that the world cup will economically devastate the world. One of his colleagues "Smit, reckoned that if just half the workforce in contending nations knocks off to cheer their side on during the World Cup games, the cost to the global economy could be $10.4 billion in lost production time alone"(Margolis, Mac). His idea is that the world cup will cause people to close shop and leave work to come home and watch the games in which their country participate. Some more specific predictions show that "Mexico and Germany will be worst hit, forfeiting a potential $1.7 billion each in employee downtime if half the workforce slacks off to root for their teams. Close on their heels is Brazil, which stands to lose $1.2 billion, as its workers abandon their desks for the bar stool" (Margolis, Mac). This possible economic disaster is just another reason many are opposed to the 2014 world cup. With all these problems many may say the Brazil World cup is a failure, however these people fail to look deeper in to the country and the game. Many "argue that the World Cup will bring a wealth of construction jobs and up to a million tourists to the host country during the games" (Margolis, Mac). On top of that, and even more important, for many especially those in brazil soccer is more than a game it is a way of life. For soccer fans all a round the world,"Football Clubs are their diversion from their problems in life" (Duggan, Francis). These games are "a diversion for them from their every care" (Duggan, Francis). These fans,"Than football no greater passion in their lives they can name, to them it is more far more than a game" (Duggan, Francis). Looking now at Brazil specifically ,Neymar a Brazilian soccer star is like a god to many little kids growing up in the favelas. Soccer provides these people a way to escape from the struggles and difficulties of daily life to unite and support their country. The games serve as a distraction from all of the hunger, violence,and controversy surrounding this country. As John Tiong Chunghoo once said, "this is the month where ball is the code word for fun" and all "eyes will grovel all over fields - on faces culled like jewels from the world's vast continents". While up to this point Fifa and Brazil may not have been as responsible as they should have, the true passion and love for the game that the people of Brazil have is what will in the end make the 2014 world cup in Brazil a success.

Antunes, Anderson. "How The 2014 FIFA World Cup Became The Worst Publicity Stunt In History." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 27 May 2014. Web. 20 June 2014.

Atkins, Christopher. "The Social Cost of World Cup in Brazil." Bleacher Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014.

"Benefits of Bidding for and Hosting FIFA's Other World Cup Events."FIFA.com. Fifa, n.d. Web. 17 June 2014.

Desomoni, Marcus. Man ln Favela over looking stadium. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web.

Margolis, Mac. "The World Cup's Bad Influence." Newsweek. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014.

POEM: FIFA WORLD CUP BY JOHN TIONG CHUNGHOO. "POEM: FIFA WORLD CUP BY JOHN TIONG CHUNGHOO."Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">POEM: FOOTBALL HIS DIVERSION BY FRANCIS DUGGAN. "POEM: FOOTBALL HIS DIVERSION BY FRANCIS DUGGAN."Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ronay, Barney. Not a Level Playing Field. Digital image. The Gaurdian. N.p., n.d. Web.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Tama, Mario. Rio Favela Overlooks Maracana Stadium. Digital image. The News Daily. Getty Images, n.d. Web.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "World Cup 2014 Controversy: Anti-FIFA Street Art Tells The Story." The Citrus Report Art Culture News Graffiti Music Street Art Clothing Politics Reviews. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014.