'Imagine in the World Cup' : sport mega events and social exclusion in Brazil

Brazil has recently hosted the FIFA Confederations Cup. This event was meant to be a test for the country which will take the centre stage of the sporting world in forthcoming years: notably FIFA’s Football World Cup in 2014 and the IOC’s Olympic Games in 2016. However, an occasion supposed to showcase to the world a new and well-developed country with modern sports facilities has also displayed much more than the amazing football-art played by the victorious Brazilian Team; the international press was faced with the spectacle of thousands of protesters marching down the country’s streets. The FIFA president’s analysis of the protests – “everything will settle down when the football starts” – proved to be totally wrong: the public dissent gained strength during the competition as street protesters marched towards the stadia and put forward several demands to politicians, mostly focused on social justice exigencies.