14-15 Ethics Bowl Case 10: World Cup Controversy

1. World Cup Controversy
14-15 Ethics Bowl
Case #10

2. Brasilia
Sao
Paulo
#1
Rio de
Janeiro
#2

3. 2014 World Cup Facts
• 64 matches played in 12 cities across Brazil in new or
refurbished stadiums
• 2nd time Brazil played host, having done so in 1950
• Estimated cost: greater than $11 billion
– The most expensive World Cup since the
competition began 84 years ago
• Ticket prices range from
$10 to $50,000
• 1.6 million tickets sold by April 1
– 155,000 to U.S. buyers
– 2nd largest group behind locals
• 2016 Olympics in Rio

9. 2014 World Cup Problems
• Charges of corruption and accusations of over spending
• Many stadiums poorly built
• Complaints about money being spent on 2014 World Cup
and 2016 Olympics instead of health, education, and
infrastructure
– $900 million spent on Estadio Nacional arena in Brasilia
• triple the original estimate
• 2nd most expensive soccer stadium in the world
• No local team there to use the stadium
after the games are over
• Local residents say many promised
development projects have been
delayed or never materialized

13. Protests
• Protests started in June 2013 over rising bus fare
– Policed poorly, with officers accused of firing rubber
bullets and tear gas at peaceful protesters
• Mainly peaceful
– Small groups have:
• Thrown rocks at police, wounding 5 officers
• Set fire to a car and vandalized
a state assembly building
• Set fire to garbage
cans and shops
– Booed by most participants,
who called for peaceful protest

15. Protests
• Brasilia: people breached security at the National Congress
building and scaled its roof (2013)
• Rio: 200 marched before Brazil’s match against Cameroon in
protest of the tournament and police violence in favelas; 50
demonstrators set fire to a paper replica of the World Cup
trophy and the Brazilian flag
• Sao Paulo: few hundred demonstrators marched peacefully
• Continued during the World Cup, but shrunk in size due
to loss of popular support as country
became more engrossed in
tournament

16. “For many years, the government has been feeding corruption. People are
demonstrating against the system.”
“We don’t have good schools for our kids. Our hospitals are in awful shape.
Corruption is rife. These protests will make history and wake our politicians up
to the fact that we’re not taking it anymore.”
“We need better education, hospitals and security, not billions spent on the
World Cup.”
“We’re a rich country with a lot of money, but the money doesn’t go to those
who need it most.”
“The party in the stadiums is not worth tears in the favelas.”
“We want health, education, and who gives
a *** if Brazil are champions.” (Banner)

17. Protests
• Bystanders watch protests and sympathize with
protestors:
– “It’s peaceful and doesn’t spoil the party at all. I
think FIFA should give back more because it
benefits so much.” –biologist from San Diego
– “The money is going to FIFA and not to this
country.” –retired teacher from Britain

18. Protests
• Heavy police presence ensured protests don’t get too close to visiting
fans or disrupt transportation
• Thousands of extra police and soldiers deployed to ensure matches
get underway smootly
• Most fizzled out with no arrests
• Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo warned: “The government assumed the
responsibility and the honor to stage these two international events,
and will do so, ensuring the security and integrity of the fans and
tourists.”
• United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, Navi Pillay,
warned: “We urge the Brazilian
authorities to exercise restraint
in dealing with spreading social
problems in the country, and also call on
demonstrators not to resort to acts
of violence in support of their demands.”

19. Response to Criticisms
• Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff:
– “The pessimists” have been defeated by the determination
of the Brazilian people.
– Defended the $11 billion expenditure
• Calling it a “false dilemma” that World Cup spending
diminished investments in health and education
• Budget for these areas from 2010-2013 was many times
greater than the investment in stadiums
• “World Cup accounts are being meticulously scrutinized by the
country’s auditing institutions”
– Rejected criticism of overspending
• Tournament will leave a lasting
legacy of infrastructure

20. “favela”
n. Brazilian shack or shanty town; slum
• Politically correct: “community”
• Consist of settlements within a city, usually located on hills or
risk areas, and are home to a poor or marginalized population
• Characterized by unstable housing, little or no public security,
lack of basic social services, and a predominance of informal
commerce and illegal transactions, dominated by armed
criminal gangs
• 11.4 million people in Brazil living in favelas
– More than the entire population of Portugal
– Would be the 9th most populated city in Brazil
• Pacifying Police Units (UPP’s)
transformed favelas
– Pro: Improved conditions and economy,
– Murder and violent crime down
– Con: Reports of police abuse

21. Pacified Rio Cup
Eduardo Paes, Mayor
• Aims to be more than just another one-time event
• Calls upon the private sector to take part in the social transformation
of favelas by providing construction or renovation of local soccer
fields, which will stay in the community long after the cup is over
• Will recruit residents to collaborate with the renovations, thus
generating temporary work operations for locals
“It is a win-win situation for both the
companies and the people living in the
communities. People in the favelas will not
only enjoy great soccer matches with the
presence of their idols but also have great
soccer matches. Long after the Pacified Rio
Cup is over, it will leave legacies for the
communities such as the renovation of
playing fields and the opening of soccer schools
in the favelas. Private companies will
be the main responsible for this revolution.”

22. Santa Marta

23. Vidigal

24. Taveras Bastos

25. Taveras Bastos

26. 2022 World Cup Controversy
Qatar's Controversial World
Cup Bid

27. Questions to Consider
1. Was it ethical for the Brazilian government to host the
World Cup, when some of the public funds it used
could potentially have been spent on improving the
nation’s education and health care systems? If not,
does this mean that only nations with top-notch social
services should have the privilege of hosting large
international events?

28. Questions to Consider
2. Is it morally permissible for the affluent to
spend huge sums of money on traveling and
attending an event such as the World Cup when
others are living in extreme poverty?
3. What obligations, if any, do the
wealthy have to those who are
not as fortunate?