Tell them how you really feel then Pele’.
The Brazilian soccer icon had some real live fire for his homeland, letting everyone know how he felt about Brazil’s ability, or lack thereof, to host next month’s 2014 World Cup properly. Stadium construction has been hampered by delays, protests, and even the deaths of nine of the stadium’s construction workers, and as a result, won’t be fully completed by the Cup opener.
In an article written by Carl Long of The Sun, Pele’ reportedly had this to say:
“There has been significant time to get the stadiums finished. The situation is unacceptable – it is a disgrace. The political situation is difficult. Our team has nothing to do with the ongoing corruption that has delayed construction of the stadiums.”
Pele’s anger is aimed toward Brazil’s corrupted officials whom he accuses of “stealing all of the money”, and he claims he’s very worried about the state of his country’s economic system. Many protesters of the event are in unison with him, questioning how their country is placing such a substantial investment on sport, while so many are denied the most basic of needs: food, shelter, and clothing, in unbelievable numbers.
Per Donna Bowater of the UK Telegraph, Vanessa Curto, of the Landless Workers Movement, shared her feelings about the situation in Brazil:
“We went to [stadium construction firm] Odebrecht to say we will not accept the deaths of the workers in World Cup stadiums. We want to reverse the priorities of our government, we do not want million-reais stadiums, we want land reform, decent housing for all.”
With the World Cup now less than four weeks away, and the stadium still not fully completed, it will be interesting how Odebrecht will possibly comfortably accommodate the more than 70,000 spectators descending on Brazil for the cup opener on June 12th, between Brazil and Croatia.