BRASILIA (BDCi TV) – – With less than 2 days left before playing in the opening match of the 2013 Confederation Cup, the Brazilian national team practiced with limited media access and amid some protestors.
The “selecao nacional” will take on Japan Saturday in what is expected to be a full house at the new national stadium in Brazil’s capital.
Brazilian military police were in full force, closely restricting media access to the home country’s team who are trying to win their 3rd ever Confederation Cup.
There were also protests at the fire station that doubled as a practice field, with the main complaint being the investment in soccer at the expense of public health and safety.
An angry man with a Los Angeles baseball cap accosted innocent bystander Allan David, a fan of the Brazilian team. “Why are you supporting an institution that robs the people of funding desperately needed to tend to the sick and keep the people from harm!”
While the protestor’s question may be important to many Brazilian citizens, FIFA, the sponsor of the Confederation Cup has other concerns they would like to evaluate with this tournament.
As is the case with each Confederation Cup since 1997, the 8-team championship that occurs a year before the World Cup in the host country is also a huge test of that country’s ability to withstand the media attention, provide adequate security and show off its supporting infrastructure.
So besides great soccer, we will also look forward to Brazil’s report card from FIFA after the 2013 Confederation Cup ends.