Discuss cultural considerations organising bodies should take into account for the 2014 Football World Cup

in Brazil

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be taking place in Brazil. It will be organised by the Brazilian Soccer Federation (CBF) and will be played across 8 cities including Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Belo Horizonte. There are many considerations that FIFA and CBF will need to have had in mind during the planning and organising of the competition, as Brazil is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world. One of the main reasons for such a mix of ethnicities and cultures is the fact that Brazil was changed quite significantly during the colonial period, with influences from Native Americans, Portuguese and Africans. There have also since been a large amount of German, Italian, Spanish, Arab and Japanese immigrants that have settled in Brazil. The first major consideration that the bodies must take into account is the fact that there are such a wide range of languages spoken in Brazil alone, not mentioning the visiting nations. This would mean that advertisements and promotional material for the competition may have to be made in a few different languages in order to raise awareness and promote to all people in Brazil, not just those that speak a certain language. One fact that is very true about Brazil is that there is a huge divide between the rich and the poor. The CBF and FIFA must consider that the World Cup is for all people, rich and poor. In the capital city, Rio de Janeiro, the divide is very clear with some very exclusive areas featuring modern apartments and ports filled with private yachts, and in other areas there are favelas, or slums. In these favelas there are communities of people, which are a large part of Brazil's culture. There have already been some cases of these areas been demolished to make way for modern plazas and car parks, in the areas surrounding the Maracena stadium, where the final will be played. However it can be argued that the World Cup would generate enough income for the country, and enough jobs for the residents that the people living in slums could be rehoused to better quality accommodation, which could be built in place of the favelas. Football itself is a large part of Brazil's culture, with some of the worlds best players coming from Brazil. The organising bodies may want to take this into account during the planning, maybe spending more money on the nations sports facilities and football training services could prove to be a way of improving the economy in the future. If some of the money made from the world cup was used to help train young people in football and other sports, it would not only help improve the quality of players for future generations but also help keep the nations people happy, giving the CBF and FIFA a better reputation and public relations. Brazil is a very religious country, with 3 in every 4 people being a Roman Catholic, however in the last 40 years there has been a rise in protestantism. With many protestants coming from countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, there could be a risk of conflict, as has been seen between Catholics and Protestants in the past. The organising bodies must take this risk into account in order to avoid conflict, and avoid offending any nations, and must also have contingency plans in place to ensure control and safety, because with an expected surge of 300% in tourism, the scale for damage is very large. Another factor that must be considered by the CBF and FIFA, is the large amount of crime that is seen in some areas of Brazil. The favelas of Rio de Janeiro have always been infamous for being crime-infested and this is a big risk to be remembered in the planning of the world cup. There must be sufficient resources to prevent a crime wave during the time of the competition, with many international tourists visiting, bringing with them money and cars, to places such as the Maracana Stadium, which is less than 2 miles from one of the favelas. The world cup could create a huge

number of opportunities for a rise in crime figures, thus reducing the likelihood of rising tourism in the future. To protect the countries reputation the Brazilian government and the CBF would have to continue to maintain high security levels as well as raise the threat level, and carry out continuous checks such as the police raids that have been carried out in Rocinha, which is a large drug distribution point. One final factor that must be considered by the organising bodies is the way that business is done in Brazil. The term 'Custo Brasil' is often used and it translates to the coast of Brazil. The term refers to the factors which can cause problems for foreign business people when they attempt to operate in Brazil. These include corruption, governmental inefficiency and excessive taxation. FIFA and the CBF could experience problems when trying to organise the competition in these conditions. There are also certain differences in the way that different countries carry out business due to culture and traditions, for example Brazilian business people value spoken word more than written, meaning that although they would accept letters and emails they prefer to communicate orally. Small factors like this would need to be considered to ensure that the world cup can be planned efficiently and effectively. Overall it seems that there are a large amount of considerations that FIFA and the CBF would need to think about in the organisation of the 2014 World Cup, however none of them are too difficult to work with and it seems the planning could be very efficient if these factors are addressed appropriately.