What’s Driving Land Of Soccer’s Big Ticket Events?

When the Brazilian President Dilma Roussef launched a blistering attack on the US for spying at the recent UN General Assembly, very few saw it coming. In fact, it was a rarest of rare moment for the sports-loving nation to retaliate against the world’s numero uno in a manner seen never before – especially with its economy plummeting faster than the global warming scales.

The FIFA World Cup is the most coveted moment for Brazilians who call themselves a nation of ‘soccer lovers’. There is a popular adage in Brazil around the time when children learn to walk. And it very well showcases the spirit of Brazil. It is said that the first time a child learns to walk, it will go and play football. To call it an exaggeration may be technically correct, but to understand the message behind this is even more essential. Brazil breathes through its sports and its fans, who make it big.

While Brazil inches towards the World Cup that kicks off in June 2014 and spans over six weeks (the event opens at Maracanã Stadium, which seats 77,000), it will simultaneously start preparing for the Summer Olympics in 2016. So how does one see the sporting spirit of a country that’s spending just about 1.5% GDP on its infrastructure over the global average of 3.8%? Substandard infrastructure has led to a lot of unnecessary costs to businesses. And these problems didn’t arise just yesterday. They have been around since generations and progressive governments have seldom held the bull by its horns.

It is rather interesting to observe how Brazil has been transforming itself through its lacunae and strength, often merging both into one. Being an agrarian economy, with farmers as its stronghold, Brazil has sought to host two really global sports events that will showcase the country to the rest of the world like never before.

Brazil is using this opportunity to get private funding into the events around FIFA 2014. The experts, while denigrating Brazil’s spending of $3.5 billion on renovation of stadiums, are also curiously watching the country ‘sacrifice a little bit of its future for the World Cup.’ Economists are of the opinion that the private parties, who held their purse tight while the country stumbled into an economic mess, are now opening their vaults to spend on sports events. Well, sponsorship is the right word.

A recent report by Bloomberg has elaborated how foreign investors are profiting through public companies, by announcing mergers and tie-ups with infrastructure projects, weaved right around the sporting events, particularly around the World Cup.

Without using too many platforms to promote itself, Brazil will rekindle the sporting spirit among its youngsters. The nation, which already has big names in sports such as foot volley, tennis, basketball, auto racing, baseball, rugby and others, will produce another generation of sports stars by bringing the stars from across the world, closer home.