Getting to the Game

 

With the Football ("Soccer" to us USA-ers) World Cup approaching in less than two weeks, Brazil is facing a whirlwind of attentiveness and excitement. While most countries are focused on whether or not their national

teams will bring home the Cup, Brazil is scrambled in its plans to

manage the logistics of the occasion. Brazilian locals like Henrique

Andrade, a volunteer for the World Cup, feel the duality of

nervous enthusiasm.

 

As a student at the Federal University of Pernambuco in his

hometown of Recife, Brazil, Henrique is avidly aware of the

infrastructural struggles his country faced in preparing for the

games. “No roads, no railroads, no airport, no hostel complex,

nothing is ready like planned.”

 

Upon winning the bid for the World Cup in 2007, Brazil decided

to invest in a countrywide railway system that would allow for

easier travel between major cities holding matches for the global

event. Though the plans projected the new infrastructure to

finish in time to support the Cup, the railways are far from

completion. Because these plans have failed to reach their

deadline, many people feel that the government should have

invested in more pertinent issues. Though he is supportive of

the Cup, Henrique mentions how “people are complaining the

budget for the games should be spent on education and

healthcare.”

 

The New York Times reports, in Simon Rimero’s “Grand Visions

Fizzle in Brazil,” that at the time of accepting the bid, the country’s

economy showed flourishing promise. However the projects that

were designed during this economic boom, “now stand abandoned,

stalled or wildly over budget…exposing the nation’s leaders to

withering criticism, fueling claims of wasteful spending and incompetence while basic services for millions remain woeful.” (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/12/world/americas/grand-visions-fizzle-in-brazil.html?_r=1)

 

For example, The Jamaica Observer reports that in Cuiaba, a

city that will hold some of the matches for the event, the

railways “won't be completed until December, more than five

months after the end of the World Cup.”

(http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Rail-system-for-

Brazil-W-Cup-to-be-ready-after-tournament-ends)

 

However, local Brazilian citizens like Henrique remain excited

for the Cup amid the systematic mishap. As he prepares to

volunteer as “press operations leader” for the matches in

Recife he reflects on his responsibilities, “I'll be responsible

for a team whose goal is to transmit information from FIFA to

the News from all around the world.”

 

The first match he’s volunteering is between the USA and Germany. Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and USA Vice President Joe Biden will be in attendance. “It's going to be a hell-yeah experience! I can't wait!”

 

Even with the Brazilian infrastructure facing scrutiny these coming weeks, nothing could suppress the triumph, tears, pride and passion emanating from the countless diehard fans focused on the glory of the World Cup.