It’s Kick-off Today Amidst Pessimism

The Fifa World Cup 2014 will be kicked off in Copacabana, Rio De Janerio, Brazil on Thursday. For schedule and fixture visit http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html

However, there are clouds of suspicion and allegations in the air about murky dealings of over-expenditure behind the staging of the event. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff agrees that there are pessimists and skeptics and she often listens to their argument. But, she added: The pessimists have been defeated by the determination of the Brazilian people.

Alongside graffiti and sandy figures which greet those who land Copacabana, there are graffiti which protest the excessive glamour and over-expenditure over the event.

Brazil has seen a year of protests against bad governance and perceived excessive spending on the World Cup.

Metro strikes are also threatening to disrupt the opening game in Sao Paulo and the final in Rio de Janeiro.

The head of the World Cup local organising committee, Ricardo Trade, told the BBC that while a strike would be “a nightmare”, the authorities were prepared and “inside the stadium, it will be a show”.

However, speaking less than 48 hours before the start of the tournament, President Rousseff defended the $11bn expenditure on the tournament, calling it a “false dilemma” that World Cup spending somehow diminished investments in health and education. The budget for these areas between 2010 and 2013 was many times greater than the investment in stadiums, she added.

President Rousseff has said she would not allow demonstrations to disrupt the tournament.

Thousands of extra police and soldiers will be deployed to ensure the matches get under way smoothly.

Facebook: The Biggest Stadium

With the kick-off being as near as the word go, the social media giant Facebook is trying to woo advertisers, by claiming its user base is the world’s biggest stadium. The social networking giant, which will take on Twitter and major TV networks in live events marketing, claims it has 500m users with an interest in football. The figure, based on links and page likes by its users, is much higher than monthly active user base of Twitter, which stands at 255m.

Even the FIFA World Cup Facebook page alone has 20m followers.

Source: BBC, International Business Time