It will not surprise an international audience that the build-up to the World Cup has been overwhelmingly negative in Brazil. Scenes of local protesting about the huge sums of money lavished on stadia in Manaus and Brasilia, which are likely to poorly used after the main event, have been broadcast around the world. Earlier this week Brazilian riot police used tear gas against striking tube workers in Sao Paulo, potentially further complicating the journey of supporters to the $400 million Itaquerao stadium which will itself barely be completed when Brazil kick off against Croatia later this evening.
Dilma Rousseff hopes a victory for the Seleção will boost her re-election chances in October. However, many Brazilians are not supporting the team for this reason. As the players left their Rio de Janeiro training camp, banners of support were replaced with angry placards criticizing the government and FIFA, and demanding more funds for schools. While some Brazilians would celebrate a victory just as much as in past years, the country might not see the same level of optimism. Who knows, but I wouldn’t count on it.
The mood was meant to be different. Hosting the World Cup and the Olympic Games two years later was supposed to mark Brazil's 'coming of age'—a chance to showcase itself as a vibrant economic superpower with strong infrastructure, a dynamic young population, and scenic beauty to attract tourists. However, our International Business Report tracking Brazilian businesses' outlook before the World Cup reveals a shift: only a third of respondents now expect the tournament to boost growth, down from 80% in early 2012.
Businesses outside the tourism sector are not optimistic about a significant profit surge, and fewer plan additional investments amid declining economic growth expectations. While over two in five businesses expect lasting infrastructure improvements, some of these upgrades near the stadiums will come too late for the World Cup. The silver lining is the increased awareness within both government and the private sector about Brazil’s infrastructure shortfall and the steps needed to prepare for the Olympic Games and achieve sustainable growth.
Of course, not all countries get a great return on the construction investments made to host major sporting events; just think of the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and Cape Town’s Green Park Stadium. The problem for Brazil is that the World Cup arrives as the economy has slowed to a crawl and with FIFA under renewed pressure from its sponsors to investigate claims of corruption in awarding the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
I’ll be backing the Seleção for the simple reason that I love the beautiful game. It’s a real shame that more of my compatriots will not.
Fabio Baptista is a partner at Grant Thornton Brazil.