Laureus has "cancelled plans to host their World Sports Awards in Rio de Janeiro this year," according to Andrew Downie of REUTERS. In a statement, Laureus said, "Laureus and the state of Rio de Janeiro have agreed that the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards will not be staged in Rio. Laureus will announce its plans for this year's Laureus World Sports Awards shortly." The London-based organization "did not give any reason for the cancellation, but said it would continue to support sports charity projects in Brazil." Rio state authorities "also did not explain why the event would not take place as planned" (REUTERS, 1/15). The South African PA reported it is "another setback for Brazil as it attempts to organise the World Cup and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016." The World Sports Awards, dubbed the Oscars of sports, "were given to Rio" for '13 and '14. Laureus' decision comes three months after the Soccerex conference, a trade show for football, "was called off in a dispute with the Rio state government." The state government said that cancelation "involved a law that would give tax breaks to the event organizers." The organizers said that "it was called off because of security concerns" (SAPA, 1/15).
