Tuesday, October 4, 2011

The President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff met with FIFA


BRUSSELS -- The president of Brazil met with a top FIFA executive Monday in an effort to improve relations over the organization of the 2014 World Cup. Brazil President Dilma Rousseff and FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke met privately in Belgium. Rouseff is in Belgium for... Tuesday's European Union summit. Government spokeswoman Lais Garcia said it was the first meeting between the two and both sides agree they need to communicate better. The World Cup organizing country and soccer's governing body often spar for months over potential conflicts, ranging from sponsorship demands to taxes and other financial issues. "We never compromise on the protection of our commercial partners," Valcke said. At the same time, Brazil's legislators want to make sure that a World Cup bill currently going through congress does not compromise the rights of Brazilians.

A federal judge issued an injunction to halt construction at the Sao Paulo international airport because the expansion project was allegedly initiated without a bidding process. FIFA and government officials have been saying that improving Brazil's outdated airport infrastructure is one of the main challenges the country faces in preparing for the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The World Cup will be played in 12 cities across Brazil and there has been criticism of slow work on new or renovated stadiums.

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