The appointment of an ally of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to the organizing committee of the 2014 World Cup was widely seen by sports experts in the South American country on Wednesday as a last ditch effort to avoid the tournament collapsing.
World governing body FIFA announced on Tuesday in Zurich that the Brazilian government would have a representative on the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), which had until now been headed by Brazilian Football Confederation president Jose Maria Marin and former soccer stars Ronaldo and Bebeto.
Brazilian Ministry of Sport -Executive-Secretary Luis Fernandes has been appointed as an LOC representative.
Despite pouring millions of dollars into the construction and modernization of stadiums, airports, roads and public transport for the World Cup, work is -seriously -behind schedule. FIFA fear that some stadiums — including the -legendary -Maracana in Rio, where the final will be played — will not be ready to host the Conferedations Cup in June next year, considered a test run for the World Cup.
The decision that FIFA and Rousseff’s government would take over the organization was taken “because it was perceived that it didn’t make sense that those who paid the bills were not represented in the LOC,” said sports commentator Juca Kfouri, from the daily O Estado de Sao Paulo.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s senate on Wednesday approved the sale of beer during the World Cup matches, as demanded by FIFA, despite warnings from some opposition members.
The measures had already been approved in late March by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies and the Senate made no amendments.
The bill, which still has to be ratified by Rousseff, will also allow beer to be sold in stadiums during the Confederations Cup, but some lawmakers have expressed concern.
Alcohol sales in sports arenas have been banned in Brazil since 2003, and some lawmakers said they feared its renewed availability could lead to violence.
“It’s dangerous,” said Brazilian Senator Jose Agripino Maia, from the opposition DEM party. “Just imagine a Brazil-Argentina final — imagine that with alcohol sales, the violence that could be unleashed and the embarrassment that we would endure.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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