'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.