Thursday, June 05, 2014

As Brazil barrels towards World Cup, Brazilians aren't feeling it...

The stadium where the opening game of the World Cup will be played is a gleaming monument to the world's favorite sport, soccer. The Corinthians Arena — named after one of Brazil's most famous teams, which will take it over — has been built from scratch and boasts a massive LCD screen and state-of-the-art facilities.

Last weekend, it was full of fans watching the last test match before the World Cup begins. It was supposed to be a sort of final run-through to make sure everything is ready and working.

Except it wasn't.

After the focus on the many problems Brazil has been facing in advance of soccer's biggest tournament, the South American host nation wants sport to be center stage right now. But to the many fans who attended last weekend, it was obvious that there is still a lot left to be done.

"It's completely not ready," said Stanio Silva, a soccer fan attending the game. Only half the seating capacity was used, and only a quarter of the temporary bleachers were tested because they had yet to clear safety checks. The VIP areas were still under construction, too, Silva pointed out. And there won't be a roof for the field. The cost of the stadium? A whopping $450 million.

"[I'm] ashamed, of course. We didn't deliver — not just here, but if you go around the country," Silva said. "Let's pray ... it will be a nice World Cup, but we didn't deliver." Full story...

Read also: World Cup for whom?

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