BRASILIA: The 2014 World Cup law could be approved by Brazil’s senate today writes KEIR RADNEDGE.
Valentine’s Day would be a highly appropriate date on which the Brazilian government and world football federation FIFA kiss and make up after all their near-divorce.
Law number 2330 of 2011 also applies for the legal conditions concerning the warm-up Confederations Cup in the summer of next year. In effect, it provides all the legal guarantees essential to the hosting of both events.
Originally the law should have been approved, at the latest, by last December. But a continued string of objections by politicians forced a delay which first frustrated and then infuriated FIFA president Sepp Blatter and secretary-general Jerome Valcke. Former World Cup-winning hero Romario, now a Congressman, was one of the most persistent objectors.
The most contentious issue has concerned the price of tickets. A Brazilian law guarantees half-price tickets to public/private events for students and pensioners. FIFA refused to accept that the law could not be overriden and has apparently approved a compromise proposed by Vicente Candido who has been steering the law through the parliamentary process.
The compromise involves the sale of 300,000 tickets in the lowest-price Category Four tickets for R$50 each to students, pensioners, dsiabled and certain other specified groups.
Regulations prohibiting the sale of alcohol in stadia will be eased on FIFA’s insistence and laws against commercial piracy will be tightened up.