Sao Paulo backing small and micro companies - Fifa.com

Known as the economic hub of Brazil, Sao Paulo is the city that never sleeps, the land of business opportunities, of which there will be many in the near future thanks to the boost provided by the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

Small and micro companies are set to benefit in particular. According to a study conducted earlier this year by the Sao Paulo Small- and Micro-Business Support Service (Sebrae-SP) and the Getulio Vargas Foundation, nearly 300,000 of them across the state can expect to generate additional business thanks to the world finals.

The study identified some 456 different types of business opportunities in a range of production chains in nine industries: civil engineering, IT, services, tourism, tourism-related products and services, clothing, retail, wood and furniture and agribusiness.

“These are all opportunities for business owners looking to up their turnover, and for people who’ve always dreamed of becoming entrepreneurs and want to set up their own companies,” said the Director of Sebrae-SP Bruno Caetano.

The survey identified tourism as one of the most promising sectors, with openings aplenty for operators and tour guides and conductors. Meanwhile, hotel and accommodation services and language teaching are also areas where growth can be expected, along with the food and drink production and marketing, which in turn will have a positive effect on agribusiness.

In the opinion of the study’s authors, demand will also be high for textile consultancy services, clothing, fashion design, wood and furniture, IT and handicrafts, as it will for services linked to sport, such as players' health and legal affairs, and sectors including transport, entertainment and communication.

“The increased demand generated by the FIFA World Cup will have both a direct and indirect impact on the economy,” added Caetano. “To be able to meet this growth, business owners can count on training, face-to-face courses, literature and round tables, all of which will create a lasting legacy in a number of sectors.”

By way of example, the construction of the Arena de Sao Paulo in Itaquera will provide a major stimulus to the economy in the eastern part of Sao Paulo, which is home to 7,000 small and micro companies. According to Caetano, these companies are already tapping into the potential offered by the FIFA World Cup and have created nearly 10,000 direct jobs, 49% of them in the retail sector, 37% in services and 14% in industry.

Sao Paulo working on fan mobility solutions - Fifa.com

The venue for the Opening Match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, the Arena de Sao Paulo is not short of public transport solutions, with two metro stations and a train station serving the stadium, making it easily accessible for fans.

Sao Paulo as a whole is devoting every energy to public transport. The city is drawing on the initiatives put in place at other major events staged in the country, such as the Brazilian Grand Prix and Rock in Rio, and will be prohibiting the use of cars and obliging fans attending games at Brazil 2014 to use the bus, metro and train services to get around.

Itaquera train station, which links up with the metro, will be the last stop on the line for the Expresso da Copa, an express train service that will complete the journey between the city centre and the outlying suburb in just 20 minutes. Fans using the metro, which is the better option for those travelling from the area west of the stadium, will arrive at Artur Alvim station, a mere 800 metres from the Arena de Sao Paulo.

“The aim is to split the fans into different groups and avoid bottlenecks forming at a single point of arrival,” said Raquel Verdenacci, the Executive Coordinator on the Sao Paulo Organising Committee.

Visitors to the new-look Itaquera station have been very impressed by the services and amenities it now offers, which will be upgraded further in the build-up to 2014. As well as being expanded, the station boasts several fast-food outlets, cashpoints and a shopping mall, all designed to guarantee the comfort of fans supporting their teams at the world finals.

According to official figures, the metro and train stations have the capacity to handle 100,000 passengers an hour, having been equipped with large footbridges, which measure up to 11 metres wide in the case of Itaquera station. Each metro train can carry 1,600 passengers and by 2014 they will be running every 85 seconds, making it one of the most frequent services in the world. The trains have already been purchased and will be operating in 2013.

The Sao Paulo metro system currently comprises 64 stations and five lines, which extend over a distance of 74 kilometres in all.

Like the world’s largest and most modern stadiums, the Arena de Sao Paulo will be served by car parks set aside for hospitality guests and service personnel. A large taxi rank, with capacity for 150 vehicles, will also be created across from the train stations.

Most of the games to be held at the stadium will kick off in the afternoon, between 13.00 and 17.00 (Brasilia time), which will mean less congestion for fans using the city’s public transport system to get to matches, as they will be travelling against the usual commuter flows. And by the time games end in the early evening, passenger numbers will have dropped considerably in the area, with most local people having already made the journey home from the city centre.

There should be even fewer transport problems when the city hosts the second semi-final on 9 July, which is a local public holiday commemorating the Constitutional Revolution of 1932.

The significant investment in the public transport system serving Itaquera will benefit not just visiting fans but the four million people who live in east Sao Paulo, who will be able to make use of it long after the world finals are over.