Brazil 2014: Football is quickly losing its humanity

“If England is the home of football, Brazil is where the beautiful game, Joga Bonito, lives.” – Ben Smith, BBC.

Conjuring up romantic images of the youths of Brazil’s deprived favelas uniting to play football on the street, and of budding prodigies rising up through the ranks to become a hero and a role-model to thousands worldwide – football has the capacity to be a powerful force for social change and inspiration.

But in the modern, high-powered world of business and economics, it can also be a dangerous vehicle to make money for all the wrong reasons, often selfishly unaware of the negative repercussions and connotations it spouts until it’s far too late.

And sometimes, what’s worse, it does so knowingly, and in full complicity.

With the World Cup finals just weeks away, the salivating series of matches to come will soon shift into focus. But, with poor planning and preparation already hogging the headlines, the occasion is at risk of being ruined by negativity and catastrophe.

Undoubtedly the most vile of all the bad news coming out of Brazil over the past few months has been the reports of the eight deaths that have occurred on sites under construction for the competition. In a bid to get everything ready for the legions of supporters that are set to swathe Brazil’s major cities over the summer, productivity has increased tenfold after months of lax inaction.

But construction deaths haven’t been the only tragedies to surface on Brazilian soil in the build-up to the most anticipated football event as ordinary citizens have also paid the price for a heavy-handed military approach.

As reported by the BBC, on Saturday, April 12, a 20-year-old was shot dead after reportedly not co-operating with soldiers’ commands after they moved in on Mare, a drug-trafficking shantytown.

For sure, the imprint of Brazil’s legacy looks set to be remembered by many, such as that young man’s family, for all the wrong reasons. And if FIFA are not careful, it could result in the beautiful game falling into disrepute beyond repair – something that is most definitely in full swing right now.

No doubt, unfortunate construction incidents are a shocking indictment of the Brazilian planning authorities that are overseeing the work being done, yet it is also a clear incrimination of FIFA who have failed to take any real responsibility for what’s being going on in Brazil ever since they awarded them the honour of hosting the 20th World Cup.

The repetitive line coming out of Zurich has been one of deflection and finger-pointing as they have continued to shirk huge responsibility time and time again, leading many to frustration and anger at how they’ve handled it all.

FIFA President and controversial figure, Sepp Blatter has merely blasted Brazil’s poor timing, preparation and readiness, but has failed to fully grasp the gravity of the human element of their own ill-conceived plans. Back in November, the 78-year-old took to Twitter to offer his condolences to the workers killed at the Corinthians Arena.

But that has been the extent of his actions so far.

Considering he is the head honcho of world football, it seems unfathomable that his hands are totally tied to stop these kinds of accidents from continuing to happen.

After all, the mourning should not be done by Blatter. He should take action – which is precisely what many Canarinho followers have been doing.

The public outcry has been vast and brash, with rioting and openly-critical demonstrations a regular fixture in the Brazilian papers over the past few months. And with so many so vigorously opposed to the huge amount of money being frittered away on poorly thought-out spending, it’s easy to see just how much the hosting has cost the country.

Primarily, on a human level, it’s caused a deepening of mistrust between large sections of the population and Dilma Rousseff’s government as well as creating even larger rifts between the poor and the powerful. According to the Daily Mirror, the people are outraged at the huge budget oversight that has resulted in £6.6 billion of their money being spent.

It started out as an estimated £1 billion. And now it’s being used up against their will.

Secondly, it’s been problematic on a long-term economic level; the money could definitely have been more wisely and shrewdly spent, with less unnecessary extravagance and more detailed planning.

This has rarely, realistically, been a World Cup for the people and the tide is continuing to turn.

As reported by Reuters at the beginning of April, up to 41 per cent of Brazilians are against hosting the tournament, according to a recent poll.

In short, this is a travesty that continues to tarnish the values of the game. Not only that, but it has been perpetuated by those in charge.

With the 25-year anniversary of Hillsborough having passed recently, we are presented once again with a fresh reminder that it is those in power who are often to blame when tragedies occur. At Sheffield, all those years ago it was the police and the British government who wronged the fans. Ill-judged access routes, poor crowd volume control, continuous cover-ups as well as the fudging of statements – the result was a heart-wrenching 96 fans dead and lives irreparably damaged.

In Qatar, we see a worryingly similar deception with a sickening number of workers reportedly dying every week in preparation for the 2022 World Cup. With such a totalitarian government in place, it’s difficult for the real figures to emerge, but there have been quite a number of reports from genuine sources revealing just how bad the situation is.

The Guardian’s Nick Cohen has revealed that there is a death occurring there for every day of the year.

And in much the same way that Hillsborough remains an ongoing travesty as the families of the victims continue to search for total justice, today’s sickening stories from Qatar and Brazil have once again exposed the involvement of the powerful as paramount to such disasters.

Pure and simple, too much pressure has been placed on the workers in Brazil – after all, you don’t get eight deaths happening when all is going smoothly and according to plan. And with Blatter constantly lambasting the slow pace of progress in the media, it’s little wonder the death count hasn’t reached double figures as yet.

Epitomising the vile lack of human respect that seems to permeate throughout the game today, Blatter is more concerned with having everything spick and span for the opening ceremony than he is with how many workers must die to make it all happen.

It’s stomach-turning, to say the least.

Yet, the show will go on – there’s too much to lose if it doesn’t. And yet, that does not mean that all should be lost in vain. And for those eight workers who have perished to give a spectator a seat to sit on, it is vital that FIFA remember them in as public a way possible when the games finally kick-off.

Legacies are desired for the good they impart and the hope they give to the future, never for the indelibly dark marks they leave behind them. In the present light of day, there are little or no positives for Brazil to take from all of this and the only legacy that looks set to take root is that of corruption and greed on the part of businesses, the government and football’s governing body, FIFA.

The only faint flicker of light that remains is the people of Brazil.

They have shown tremendous fight and resilience amidst the incessant wrongdoing.

They might not be ready for the games. But they can at least fan that glimmering flame by preparing to remember, heal and continue to fight for justice and the true spirit of football.