Brazil will stage 2014 World Cup

Mr.Sam · 30-10-2007, 04:32 PM

Brazil has been named as the host nation for the 2014 football World Cup. The South American country was the only one bidding to host the tournament which was due to be staged on the continent under Fifa's rotation system.
Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said: "Soccer is more than a sport for us, it's a national passion."
Brazil, who has won the tournament a record five times, has held the World Cup once before, in 1950, when they lost 2-1 in the final to Uruguay.
It is the first time the World Cup is being held in South America since Argentina hosted, and won, the 1978 tournament.
Brazil is setting aside around £550m to update their stadiums, including the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro which hosted the 1950 World Cup final.
And that money will need to be spent wisely as Fifa's inspection report has identified 18 grounds with more than 40,000 capacity that could host games. These will be whittled down to nine or 10.
However, of the 18, four would have to be re-built from scratch and all of the others need to undergo substantial renovation.

So basic are the facilities at the moment that most of the stadia are not even equipped for television commentary.
Fifa president Blatter said, however, that he had been impressed by Brazil's plans for 2014 despite the fact they were the only bidders.
"The task was not easy - for us it was a real big challenge to have the same list of requirements and the same conditions for only one candidate," he said.
"There was an extraordinary presentation by the delegation and we witnessed that this World Cup will have such a big social and cultural impact in Brazil.
"This is the country that has given to the world the best football and the best footballers, and they are five times world champions."
Fifa's inspection report added: "Brazil has a rich history of hosting sporting and other international events.
"But the standards and demands of the World Cup will far surpass those of any other event staged in the history of Brazil in terms of magnitude and complexity.
"The inspection team wants Fifa experts to review the process and progress of host city selection to ensure that adequate financing is committed and secured."
Meanwhile, women's world champions Germany will host the 2011 World Cup after beating off competition from Canada.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ls/7068848.stm

JackBuddy · 30-10-2007, 05:54 PM

woo! been inside the maracana (sp?) in rio, it's mahoosive!

**FlyingJesus** · 30-10-2007, 06:49 PM

There was one other SA country that was going to go for it (can't remember which) but then retracted their bid, probably because they didn't have enough decent stadiums or something lol.