A congressional commission in Brazil has delayed a vote on a key World Cup bill, handing another setback to FIFA and local organizers trying to speed up the country’s preparations for the2014 tournament.
The law that wasn’t passed would put in place the final commitments made by Brazil’s federal government when it bid to host the World Cup. It would give FIFA thenecessary guarantees and set the legal framework for the event. The commitments mostly fall along commercial lines and involve ticket sales, broadcasting rights and the Brazilian government steppingup enforcement of any FIFA trademark infringement during the Cup.
The bill has generated controversy in Brazil, with critics saying that it gives too much power to FIFA. Former Brazil starRomario, now a congressman, recently criticized the bill and said that “FIFA cannot boss us around in our country.”
Among the issues causing problems is thesale of alcoholic beverage inside stadiums, which is something that has been against the law in Brazil since 2003. Other disputes between FIFA and the Brazilian government include liability forsecurity and safety problems, and the sale of discounted tickets to students and the elderly as guaranteed by Brazilian law.
If FIFA weren’t so bound up by political correctness, or if it actually had to risk capital of its own to put on a World Cup, it would do itself a favour by immediately awarding the 2014 Cup Finals to another venue. That drastic step would ensure that future successful bidders wouldn’t face the kind of political delays in preparation that Brazil is dealing with.
I think the world is going to soon learn that there’s more to Brazil than chirpiness. When Brazilians get indignant, it’s not pretty but also laughable. Remember the anti-Canadian riots a few years back? And the requirment that US citizens be finger-printed? The same heavy-handedness with which they’re dealing with an albeit hard-to-defend Fifa will be very much in evidence at the immigration and customs checkpoints. Watch.