Brazil 2014 LOC looks back to 2011-Fifa.com

This year certainly has proven to be significant for having participated actively for the FIFA World Brazilin 2014 ™, how did the design and implementation of a whole series of projects related to the flagship competition. The local Organising Committee (LOC) now boasts a staff of 65 employees spanning different areas, who were charged with planning and bringing the event to fruition.

What's more, this year also saw the addition of a football superstar for the Loc Board of Directors. On 1 December, Ronaldo Nazario de Lima, the top scorer of all time at tournaments of FIFA World Cup final, was brought into the fold and will be given a full say in the decision-making processes of the Board of Directors.

In terms of timetable route for the preparation of various key areas of organizational process for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and FIFA Confederations Cup 2013, 2011 proved to be a decisive year for defining operational issues and bring them into line with each other. One of the most important tools in this process was the announcement of Match program, which took place at the home of FIFA in Zurich on 20 October. The host cities for the FIFA Confederations Cup 2013 – Brasilia, Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro – were also Unveiled at the event itself, with two additional cities (Recife and Salvador) conditionally approved.

With representatives of the host cities, LOC and FIFA all together, seminars and studies were carried out in a variety of fields. Among these, transportation and traffic, playing surfaces, marketing, security, communications and volunteer, as well as a series of meetings designed to keep all parties and on the same track.

Many of these areas of expertise was given a test at the first official event attended Brazil actively in 2014 – preliminary draw – held in Rio de Janeiro Marina da Gloria on July 30. Working groups from the LOC and FIFA have been involved in preparations for the expected draw, which was hosted along lines of international class in terms of organization and operational coordination.

In the security field, e.g., art technology has been used, including motion sensors and a command and Control Center (CCC) with access to images in real time by strategically placed the cameras and satellites. Security specialists felt the CCC model used is exemplary, and will thus be put in place in Rio de Janeiro CCC in 2012, with the possibility to be introduced in Brazil of rest at a later date.

Other events also activated the practice and real life implementation of specific operational activities, with LOC, organise and monitor the performance of private security companies that cover friendly Brazilof June with the Netherlands and Romania – Goiania and Sao Paulo, respectively. LOC representatives participated in the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2011, held between 8 and 18 December and travelled to ™ women's FIFA World Cup Germany 2011 as an observer.

Decisive steps were taken in the construction and renovation of the stadiums set to host Brazil games in 2014 and 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. The arenas named are taking shape, with some already having structure footings in place, others with the Foundation phase completed or underway and others at different stages of construction. The LOC constantly supervise the work taking place and back in January, at their headquarters in Rio, have unveiled a system of real-time monitoring that uses 24 cameras: two in each stage.

Yet the impact of the next World Cup will go far beyond the limits of the 12 host city. This year also saw four major stages – inscription and two rounds of evaluation for the selection of potential national centres (CTSs) Team training. CTSs, who will be the basis for the national sides 32 set to take part Brazil in 2014, may be located in the host cities or elsewhere and will be evaluated in two main areas: housing and playing surface. A series of technical visits were conducted by groups sent by FIFA and loc.

At present, the potential CTSs were presented in 24 different regions, which saw the preparations and the level of anticipation for the finals of the world spread throughout the country. Over 100 potential training officer (COTs) were inspected in the course of 2011. In fact, to make presentations and circulating information on CTSs and cots in a number of different cities, LOC and FIFA so ensured transparency and cross-cutting access to the needs of the selection process. Inspections will continue during the 2012, while the 32 national teams participating will choose their locations in 2014.

The location of the headquarters of the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) was decided, with three candidates vying for selection in 2011. Three candidate cities-Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro-delivered in their proposed bid in January, with the subsequent technical visits and detailed analysis of the proposals that end with the selection of Riocentre, in Rio de Janeiro, as a location for IBC. This announcement was made at the second meeting of the Board of Directors of FIFA/LOC, which was held on 28 may at the home of FIFA in Switzerland.

At the end of the year, even the LOC sent representatives to the International Congress on sport Aspire4Sport in city of Doha, Qatar as well as the global football Soccerex Convention in Rio. Both were held in November and had 2014 FIFA World Cup, providing Forums for the participating countries information and spread awareness of Brazil contest, and cities that will host a show of the world's biggest football.

"In 2011 we had preliminary draw, an opportunity for teams of LOC to work together and demonstrate how well the Brazilians are able to organize and conduct events in the World Cup," said the President LOC Ricardo Teixeira. "Important decisions were made too. We had the Match programme, we learned about and helped conceive the operational projects in the host city and our schedule was adjusted to suit each of them. That level of integration is essential ".

Finally, in terms of phase that is the organizational process Brazil for 2014, President LOC was happy to put the developments in the context: "we are in the midst of a key period and we must focus on getting every detail right, as well as to ensure the projects in several cities remain online, both for 2014 and 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup," said Teixeira. "We are all pulling together to make sure Brazil that puts the best FIFA World Cup in recent times."

Ronaldo signs for Brazil 2014 LOC - Fifa.com

Given his prodigious goalscoring record in FIFA World Cup™ finals, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima richly deserves his nickname of O Fenômeno. The scorer of 15 goals in 11 world finals appearances at France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006, having also made the Brazil squad for USA 1994, the legendary striker is the leading marksman in the history of the competition, striking a staggering 1.4 goals per game.

There is more, much more, to Ronaldo than that landmark achievement, however. A role model to many, he has also set an example off the pitch, a fact he underlined once more on Thursday in accepting a position on the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Local Organising Committee Management Board.

The ex-Seleção star will have a voice and take an active role on the Board. As well as lending his image as a footballing champion, he will give his support in the day-to-day running of the LOC and help ensure projects reach completion.

“I couldn’t think of anyone who symbolises our national identity better than Ronaldo, a man who’s proved that we Brazilians can reach the top,” enthused LOC President Ricardo Teixeira. “We followed every step of his fantastic career and we know he’s the right man coming in at the right time.”

Delighted to come on board, O Fenômeno said he would use his high profile to ensure that Brazil stages a memorable tournament: “It’s an honour for me to accept this great challenge. This FIFA World Cup is for the people of Brazil and I want to make my contribution. We’ll be monitoring preparations very closely and we’re going to show how proud we are to be hosting the World Cup.”

“Ronaldo was a fantastic player. Three times the FIFA World Player of the Year, he was also a world champion in 1994 and 2002, and took part in four FIFA World Cup finals in all, becoming the competition’s highest scorer of all time in the process,” said FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, welcoming the former player’s appointment to the LOC.

“We are very pleased that Ronaldo has agreed to join the team and play his part in making the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil a success. He will have a very important contribution to make in what will be his fifth world finals, albeit off the pitch this time. We wish him very well in his new job.”

A glittering career
Born in Bento Ribeiro, a humble suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Ronaldo took his first steps in the game with nearby club Sao Cristovao, devoting the little money he had to his bus fares. A considerable cut above his peers, it was not long before the lithe youngster got himself noticed. The man who discovered him was none other than Brazil winger Jairzinho, a star of A Selecão’s stunning triumph at Mexico 1970.

Signing on the dotted line for Cruzeiro at the age of 17, Ronaldo quickly earned a call-up to the national U-17 team, the stepping stones for a move to Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven. The following year he was named in the Brazil squad for USA 1994, and though he failed to make an appearance the lethal striker never looked back.

The top scorer in the 1993 Supercopa Libertadores and the Dutch league two years later, he then joined Barcelona and ran out leading scorer in La Liga in 1996/97. In the meantime he won bronze for his country at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Atlanta 1996, the year in which he won his first FIFA World Player award.

By this time dubbed O Fenômeno, Ronaldo claimed the FIFA World Player crown again in 1997, when he left Spain for Inter Milan. Recovering from serious injury he was named the best player on the planet for a third time in 2002, in recognition of his scoring exploits in Korea Republic and Japan.

Then came a move to Real Madrid, where he topped the Liga scoring charts once more in 2003/04. After a spell with AC Milan, he eventually returned home in 2009 with Corinthians, the club where he announced his retirement earlier this year.

Named a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, Ronaldo has been the driving force behind a number of initiatives, among them a fundraising match between Brazil and Haiti, and also devotes his considerable energies to sports management.

Now 35, the man who used to terrorise defences the world over has turned his hand to an exciting new venture, taking on a key role in the staging of the biggest footballing show on Earth.

Sustainability the goal for Brazil 2014 - Fifa.com

Aside from being remembered as a great football tournament, one of the main objectives of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ is to be a sustainable event. It was with that goal in mind that dignitaries and experts from Brazil and around the world travelled this week to the Host City of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, for the International 2014 World Cup Seminar: Sustainability and Legacy.

The event, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday, was promoted by the Brazilian ministries of Sport and the Environment, the Inter-American Development Bank (BID), the Amazonas state government and Manaus City Council.

The seminar provided a forum for exchanging views and identifying solutions for the 12 Host Cities, with speakers expressing their approval for Brazil’s worthy aim of staging a sustainable FIFA World Cup and showing the way forward for future hosts of the world’s greatest football tournament.

“The 2014 World Cup will be the first to focus on the transfer of knowledge to future World Cups,” said FIFA’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility Federico Addiechi, while presenting “The World Cup as an Opportunity for Social Mobility and Changing Values.”

“Brazil already has some excellent examples of sustainability to share with Russia and Qatar,” he added. “Initiatives such as environmental certificates for stadiums will provide excellent pointers for the sporting arenas of the future.”

Day one of the seminar featured valuable contributions from the likes of World Cup Workshop Coordinator Joel Benin, appearing on behalf of the Brazilian Minister for Sport Orlando Silva, and Denise Hamu, the representative of UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) in Brazil.

It also gave the people of Brazil the chance to find out firsthand how the issue of sustainability has been tackled at other major events. Discussing the subject were David Noemi, who sat on the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 Local Organising Committee; Brett Herron, a Cape Town city councillor; and Korea Republic ambassador Bok-Hyung Lee, a member of the FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan 2002 LOC.

As well as discussing their experiences they spoke of the legacies they helped to create, legacies that will endure long after competition has ended, which is exactly what Brazil 2014 is hoping to achieve.

Day two centred on the possible resources and solutions for implementing a sustainable FIFA World Cup project. The round table “Innovative Solutions for Host Cities” discussed sustainable urban mobility and recycling, while the debate that brought the two-day seminar to an end analysed its central theme: “The World Cup as an Opportunity for Sustainable Development in the Host Cities”.

“The impact of the World Cup is enormous,” said Addiechi, looking to the future beyond 2014 and the bequeathing of a valuable legacy. “Our main objective is to maximise its positive impact and minimise any negative one.”

Work continuing in Brazil 2014 stages-Fifa.com

 

Work progresses on the stadiums that will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil™. Latest photos released by Arena, the companies that provide support services to the project of the local organising committee stages, have been taken this month and show how the matching sites are shaping up.

How to reveal new images, some of the new stadiums being built for the tournament are starting to take shape, with work on the foundations now complete. Meanwhile, renovations to existing stadiums are also moving along.

12 Stadiums to be used Brazil in 2014 are as follows: Mineirão (Belo Horizonte), Estadio Nacional (Brasília), Pantanal (Cuiabá) Arena, Arena da Baixada (Curitiba), Castelao (Fortaleza), Amazonia (Manaus) Arena, Arena das Dunas (Natal), Beira-Rio (Porto Alegre), Pernambuco (Recife) Arena, Maracana (Rio de Janeiro), Arena Fonte Nova (Salvador) and Itaquerao (Sao Paulo).

Check out the photo gallery to see how the work is coming at all locations.

Congress fast-bowling-World Cup Brazil projects-Reuters

Brazil's lower House of Congress approved a law to speed up public works projects for the World Cup 2014, with the aim of solving the delays that have plagued plans to build new stadiums and expand airports.

The Bill, which was passed late Wednesday and must still be approved by the Senate, would streamline Government bids for infrastructure projects in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Some of main works behind schedule, the Government had declared approval of the Bill a top priority and rejected opposition criticism that the new approach could nurture corruption.

"We have an emergency situation in the country, which is to complete the airports, stadiums and urban transport specially for the World Cup," said Jose Guimaraes, the author of the Bill to the Chamber of Deputies.

The Government has yet to reveal details of his proposal to expand the country's main airports, which are struggling to cope with the rapid growth of air traffic.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter in March, had criticized what he called attitude "day after tomorrow" of Brazil for the preparations of the World Cup, saying political infighting was delaying work mainly in Rio de Janeiro to host the final giant Maracana Stadium.

The vote on Wednesday is a small but welcome victory for the Government after weeks of political upheaval, during which the influential Chief of staff Dilma Rousseff President resigned for personal finance scandal

Under the new Bill the Government would hold a single invitation to tender for public works projects, a change from its current practice of auctioning the design and construction of the project separately.

Opposition lawmakers say contractors will have more flexibility to modify the project during construction, stripping the Government of the mechanisms of control to defend against graft.

Other provisions of the Bill could increase costs for taxpayers, says Antonio Carlos Mendes Thame, Deputy leader of the opposition PSDB party.

"We are giving the Government a blank cheque. .. we are opening a huge gap for corruption," said Thame.

Opposition members seek to amend the Bill in a vote expected at the end of the month, but is unlikely to come up with enough votes. The Bill passed the House on Wednesday by 279 votes to 76. (Report by Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Raymond Colitt; Editing by Anthony boadle)

First blood in Belize as Brazil tour begins-Fifa.com

 The long journey for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil ™ started with a 5-2 victory Belize above for Montserrat in Olongapo City, Trinidad and Tobago. The first of an anticipated matches 832 through six confederations has proven to be a goalfest in the small crowd of about 150 appearances, Montserrat playing with their household appliance Ato Boldon Stadium in Trinidad for the lack of a suitable venue in the small island nation.

With the score locked at 1-1 Belize interval, put the tie virtually out of reach of team of Kenny Dyer, hitting four goals of recovery before the second leg on Sunday in Belmopan. deon McCauley claimed his little slice of history with the first hat-trick the Brazil 2014 qualifying campaign, scoring in the 24th, 74th and 83rd minutes.

However Montserrat was, who had the best opening exchanges, with Julian Wade, forcing the best goalkeeper Shane Orio after six minutes. Belize soon gained momentum, forcing the three consecutive corners before deservedly grabbing the lead midway through the semester. McCauley picked up a through ball and clinically hit home past Micah Hilton for a 1-0 lead on a slippery surface, caused by a deluge of early evening on the central part of the twin-island Republic.

' Home team ', however, have been rewarded for their efforts with an equaliser just before half-time. Jay Lee Hogdson slotted home from close range after a cross from deep on the left side Luevon o' Garro, to establish what seemed to be a competitive second period.

Belize had other ideas, however, and seized the initiative right from the start of the second half amid heavy rain. The Central Americans regained the lead five minutes after the interval through Harrison roches, following the good combination between elroy kuylen and McCaulay.

Montserrat themselves dug a deeper hole when a mix up between Defender Anthony Griffith and his onrushing goalkeeper admitted Kuylen joyously slots in a unprotected goal. Despite efforts Montserratof you conceded a fourth on 75 minutes with McCauley controlling well on his chest before firing home. Visitors were now in total control and McCauley picked up his third when he skillfully robbed Hilton possession on the edge of the penalty box and drilled a low shot into the vacant NET.

Looking to the future
Montserrat claimed the final objective of the meeting, when its second four Hodgson netted minutes from the end with a powerful shot from a cross to the left-back. "We are delighted with the victory, especially coming here in Trinidad and scoring five goals," said Belize the coach Jose de la Paz. "That doesn't happen a lot for the team playing away from home. We thank God for being able to play the first match of the qualifying campaign for Brazil.

"The first half was too, but then we took control in the second half with four goals," he continued. "I do not think we can relax before the next match Montserrat why might change their game and surprising, so I've already told my players that we must be concentrated and finish work to enter the next round."

McCauley was all smiles after his three-goal performance, saying: "it's a great feeling to get three goals in a FIFA World Cup. This is the first time that I have scored a hat-trick in international football at senior level and there is no matching better to do than the first one for Brazil 2014. I thought we played well together as a team and that was the key. It would be a really great result for us to advance to the final round of qualifying CONCACAFin. "

Montserrat coach Kenny Dyer has understandably disappointed with the score, but remains optimistic for the second leg. "We have put in a lot of effort in our preparation and everything has collapsed in the second half in ten minutes or so," said Dyer. "That was the most disappointing thing for me because we have done well in the first half. At half-time we thought there was a good chance that we could get something from this game but it didn't turn out that way. Now we have to regroup and prepare ourselves for the next game. We can still keep your head up high and Belize go in and come away with a positive result. "

Brazil given group hard draw in U-1-FOXSports.com

Updated May 17, 2010 11: 38 PM ET

Brazil will play Ivory Coast in Australia, and Denmark, while the team of the United States will face new Zealand, Czech Republic and Uzbekistan in group stage of the FIFA World Cup under-17 Championship.

Tuesday's draw in Mexico City, Mexico seems to complicated for three times champion Brazil, while the American team will be confident of progressing when the tournament starts on June 18.

Host nation Mexico was also a draw, the Congo, North Korea and the Netherlands.

In other groups, England drew Rwanda, Canada and Uruguay. Argentina will play in Jamaica, Japan and France and Germany will play Burkina Faso Africa, Panama and Ecuador.

FIFA vice President Jack Warner said that he expects a big tournament because there is little difference between the teams at under-17 level.