The Brazilian federal government did not withhold resources from education, health, public security or urban infrastructure to fund stadiums for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. “Quite the opposite, the World Cup will yield benefits – material and immaterial – that will complementinvestments the federal government has already made in areas that the President considers aspriority,” said Minister of the Secretariat for Communication of the Presidency of the Republic (SECOM) Thomas Traumann. He mentioned that the 12 stadiums built or modernized in the host cities cost R$ 8 billion. Of this total, R$ 4 billion represent resources from state and municipal governments and from private companies; the remaining R$ 4 billion was provided through financing from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES). 

“This is not a non-recoverable donation. The money has to be returned with interest by club sand construction companies, or by the companies that operate the stadiums,” explained Traumann. He pointed out that the BNDES has the lowest default rate in the national financial system. “The rigor with which the bank releases its resources was responsible for postponing the work on some stadiums at the very beginning,” he recalled. This happened because the bank demanded full guarantees that the loans would be honored. A further R$ 17.6 billion worth of public resources are being invested in infrastructure in the cities hosting the games. This investment is for the benefit of Brazilians in general, with a return in the form of improvements to urban mobility, airports, ports, security, tourism and telecommunications. 

“These serve the World Cup, but they will remain as a legacy for the people,” stressed the Minister. The total of investments in the tournament amounts to R$ 25.6 billion. The SECOM Minister stated that not a single real earmarked for schools or hospitals was deviated to build stadiums. “In the area of health alone, last year the federal government spent R$ 83 billion. The total spent on education was $R 101.9 billion,” he reported. Since 2010, when the actions and works for the World Cup became more intense, the federal government invested R$ 825 billion in education and health – that is to say – 33 times more than the cost of the tournament.  

Minister Traumann makes what he feels is a simple comparison with the recent past, which shows an impressive scenario: in 2002, federal spending on health was nominally R$ 24.74 billion and on education was R$ 18.01 billion. In current figures, the 2002 investments in health correspond to R$ 47.56 billion. “The difference in education is striking: R$ 34.6 billion were invested in 2002, in updated figures, compared to R$ 101.9 billion by the Rousseff administration last year. In other words, in today’s money, where the government invested R$ 100 in 2002, the present federal government invested R$ 300 in 2013,” he noted.  

The Minister said that when the World Cup is over, it will already be paid for. The Foundation for Economic Studies and Research (Fipe) of the University of São Paulo (USP) published a study on the 2013 Confederations Cup , which showed that the economic impact was an increase of R$ 9.7 billion to Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP). 

Taking into account its duration, the number of host cities, the attraction of national and foreign tourists, the world-wide television exposure and its relevance to the sports community, the World Cup is expected to be at least three times more significant and profitable than the Confederations Cup in 2013. According to the conservative forecast made by Fipe, the World Cup will yield a total of R$ 30 billion. To be added to this total is the impact the World Cup will have abroad, for the benefit of the national economy, sports and tourism.  

Traumann mentioned that, in addition to the positive aspects for the international image of Brazil, the infrastructure developments, including those to be concluded in the forthcoming weeks or months, will increase the quality of life for millions of Brazilians. “The host cities benefit from improved transportation and better transit conditions on its streets and avenues.

The whole country also benefits with the improvements made to airports, ports and the modernization of telecommunications,” he stated. Public security will benefit from the renovations of several police agencies and the integration of intelligence operations on the national level. Starting with the World Cup, from now on this will be essential in the fight against organized crime and drug and arms trafficking. As President Dilma Rousseff pointed out: “Everything the government promised for the World Cup was in fact delivered.”

 URBAN MOBILITY: The federal government invested R$ 8 billion in 42 urban mobility projects. The beneficiaries of which are the 62 million inhabitants of the metropolitan areas of the 12 host cities of the World Cup. Among these projects, below are a few highlights:

BELO HORIZONTE: Construction on the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the Santos Dumont and Paraná Avenues and the Via Minério-Tereza Cristina and Boulevard  Arrudas-Tereza Cristina connections. Investment: R$ 439.5 million 

Status: The Cristiano Machado BRT, connecting the city center with the northeastern part of the city, is 87 percent complete. 

BRASÍLIA: Expansion of the DF-407 road to access the Juscelino Kubitschek Airport. Investment: R$ 49 million Status: Complete 

CUIABÁ: Development of two light rail transit (LRT) lines connecting the airport to the eastern and western regions of the city as well as the Coxipó neighborhood to downtown. Investment: R$ 1.56 billion  Status: The widening of Mário Andreazza Avenue and construction of the bus-only lane projects are 93 percent complete 

CURITIBA: Implementation of control and monitoring system for vehicle transit in the seven districts of the metropolitan region. Status: 95 percent complete 

FORTALEZA: The Alberto Craveiro Avenue BRT, which connects the airport to Castelão Stadium and the hotels area. Investment: R$ 3.7 million  Status: 96.7 percent complete 

RECIFE: Vila Mangue Corridor. Investment: R$ 433.2 million Status: 95 percent complete 

RIO DE JANEIRO: Construction of the BRT Transcarioca connecting the Tom Jobim Airport to the Alvorada Bus Terminal in Barra da Tijuca and to the subway system for connection to the Maracanã stadium (39km in length).

Investment: R$ 1.70 billion  Status: Complete  

AIRPORTS: The projects for the World Cup in the airports of the 12 host cities are concluded, and those to be used for transfers of delegations between the training centers and the stadiums. The 21 works involving renovation and construction of terminals will at least double the capacity of the boarding and arrival areas of those airports. The highlight is the modernization of the Guarulhos Airport (the new fourth terminal has three times the operational capacity of the three existing terminals), Galeão (a second terminal, which has already been inaugurated) and Brasília (a new terminal, with 18 new gates). Work currently still in progress throughout the rest of the country is not directly related to the World Cup.  

PORTS: Renovation of the Ports of Manaus, Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, Salvador and Santos, which includes docking of large vessels, and construction, expansion and alignment of docks, construction of terminals for passengers and urbanization developments for access to parking areas are all beneficial to welcoming tourists during the World Cup and in the future.  

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: An investment of R$ 404 million, R$ 233 million of which came from Telebras and R$ 171 million from the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), was made for telecommunications modernization, particularly in the implementation of 4G technology in the 12 host cities, which is ten times faster than the current technology. The use of wireless Internet networks (Wi-Fi) in the stadiums will depend on private negotiations between telephone operators and the management of the stadiums.  

TOURISM: There is no better opportunity to attract international tourists than a successful World Cup event. Six hundred thousand foreigners have bought tickets to the matches. They will come to Brazil, enjoy the Brazilian hospitality, return to their countries and through a sort of word-of-mouth marketing, they will advertise our other virtues, not just our football abilities. The idea is to show the cultural diversity, the scenic beauty, the ethnic and religious harmony of Brazilians, our respect for the environment and the full exercise of democracy, as witnessed in the streets in the form of freedom of expression and demonstration. The Brazilian government estimates that 3 billion people around the world will view the World Cup on TV.  

The power of the message is that they will be our tourists in the future. In order to receive well the visitors of today and put in place the infrastructure to receive the visitors of tomorrow, the government invested R$ 196 million in the World Cup’s host cities by establishing modern Tourist Service Centers, as well as proper signage and accessibility.