Search: 2014 World Cup (6 materials)

Sports and Politcs: Brazil's football Santa Plays Christmas Scrooge

Santa and his reindeer came from the North Pole and played Scrooge for futebol, the nation's most popular spectator sport. Poor attendance, lackluster play and massive debts find even the most famous clubs tightening their belts. Players are griping because teams delay paychecks. Managers balk at signing for less money. Third party syndicates continue to own shares of players like slices of churrasco, dribbling around FIFA rules. Government subsidized football hasn't improved...

28.12.2014

Pre-Sports Diplomacy. Hockey broke the ice in the Cold War

Before the FIFA World Cup was given “sports diplomacy” status by pundits, academics and some among its own leadership, the ice hockey rivalry between the Soviet Union, the United States and Canada that developed during the 1960 Winter Olympic Games at Squaw Valley, California proved that competitive athletics could capture the hearts and minds of adversaries who were threatening each other with nuclear war. Thanks to hockey, sports became a vehicle for the nuclear superpowers to project...

27.06.2014

Yes we can. Brazil confident about World Cup security

It was calm along the Esplanade on the afternoon of Friday, May 23rd. Most demonstrators who protest in front of the futuristic buildings along Brasilia’s divided highway of government were gone for the weekend. After former president Jose Inacio Lula da Silva (known as “Lula”) made headlines by saying that anybody who uses the Metro (in Rio and Sao Paulo) to travel to FIFA World Cup games is an “idiot” (babaça) it was the perfect time for president Dilma Rousseff’s...

05.06.2014

FIFA, sports diplomacy and the Bout connection

As the Godfather of association football, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been implicated in major corruption scandals in the past. But this time with the investigation of Qatar and Russia the prize in this high stakes game could be his job. Led by Michael Garcia, the former U.S. attorney general and prosecutor who was involved in the Victor Bout affair, FIFA’s internal ethics “chamber” is finalizing its investigation into the awarding of venues for the finals of the 2018 Russia...

31.03.2014

FIFA, Iran And The Future Of Sports Diplomacy

Undeterred by the political-psychological situation surrounding regional nuclear politics FIFA president Sepp Blatter flew into Tehran recently to meet president Hassan Rouhani and approve the Islamic Republic of Iran as the host of FIFA’s 2019 Asia Games. This move was a well thought out public relations coup by the 77 year old Blatter that provides him with media momentum as he seeks an unprecedented fifth term as head of FIFA, the international governing body of association football. Blatter...

15.11.2013

Sports Diplomacy And Social Media Clash In Brazil

... blog of the International Monetary Fund has predicted Brazil will pull ahead of France to become the world 5th largest economy in 2015. Just two months after president Luiz Inacio Lula daSilva assumed office in 2003 FIFA selected Brazil to host the 2014 World Cup, giving the former steelworkers union leader a surge of popularity. FIFA’s popular blog predicts the organization will earn $1.5 billion in net profit from promotional considerations connected to the next year’s event. The International ...

11.07.2013

Poll conducted

  1. In your opinion, what are the US long-term goals for Russia?
    U.S. wants to establish partnership relations with Russia on condition that it meets the U.S. requirements  
     33 (31%)
    U.S. wants to deter Russia’s military and political activity  
     30 (28%)
    U.S. wants to dissolve Russia  
     24 (22%)
    U.S. wants to establish alliance relations with Russia under the US conditions to rival China  
     21 (19%)
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