FIFA said that it had set up a
$100M World Cup Legacy Fund for Brazil, "aimed at sports
facilities, youth and women's football, and medical and health projects," according to Stephen Wade of the AP. FIFA President Sepp Blatter pledged two years ago to "give some of the
revenue from the 2014 World Cup back to grassroots programs." FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, speaking in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, said the World Cup "inevitably has an impact on society and the environment in the host country." He said that organizers had a "responsibility to limit the associated negative effects, while at the same time maximizing the huge positive impact it can have." FIFA, a not-for-profit organization based in Switzerland, generated
more than $4B in sales from the '14 tournament. The figure could
reach $5B for Russia's 2018 World Cup. An analysis earlier in January said that Brazil spent about $3B on
new and refurbished stadiums, 90% of it being public money. Former
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had "promised all stadiums
would be privately financed" (AP, 1/20). REUTERS' Andrew Downie reported Valcke, "responding to criticism that the venues had become white elephants," said that Brazil will "need time to get the full benefit from the stadiums" it built for the World Cup. Brazil built five new stadiums and renovated seven for the tournament, "including several in cities that do not have first division football teams." While the arenas were filled to capacity during the World Cup, "they have since struggled to attract big crowds on a regular basis." At least two of the 12 cities are handing over their stadiums to "private management companies because they cannot afford to maintain them." Valcke: "You can always criticize the fact that some of the stadiums are not used permanently but they have all been used. Not enough say some people but it cannot be in the first phase. It took time in every organizing country to use the facilities that were built, after the World Cup. It will take time to use all these stadiums at their maximum" (REUTERS, 1/21).
