FIFA Says Yes to Brazil’s Bid to Host 2014 World Cup

FIFA, the International Football Federation has recommended Brazil to host the World Cup in 2014, after inspectors toured the South American nation. The inspection report said Brazil is an "appropriate choice" to host the 2014 World Cup.

The inspectors said Brazil has demonstrated itself to be more than capable of hosting what they called "an exceptional World Cup." 

The report was sent to the FIFA executive committee, which will announce its decision on Tuesday.

The FIFA committee visited Brazil between August 23 and September 1st. They toured Brasí­lia, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, all candidates to host the games.

They also had a chance to watch in Rio the presentation of other cities interested in hosting the Cup: Belém, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Goiânia, Maceió, Manaus, Natal,  Recife/Olinda, Rio Branco and Salvador.

For Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian Soccer Confederation (CBF), the favorable nod from the FIFA had to do with the professionalism shown by the cities in their bids. "I was not surprised at the report," Teixeira said,  "because the cities presentation was impeccable and it made an excellent impression. I want to thank the committees representatives and all people the people involved in the candidacy process."

Brazil is the only candidate bidding to host football's biggest event in 2014. FIFA has a policy of rotating the tournament among the continents.

Brazil has won the world cup five times, but has hosted the tournament only once – in 1950 when it lost to Uruguay at Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

VoA