Brazil faces up to Fifa over World Cup 2014 Bill

Fifas's slogan for the 2014
World Cup tournament

Just over a week ago, IP Tango reported on the Bill which has been drafted to protect IP rights in the 2014 football World Cup.  The Irish Times reports today that this Bill is by no means pleasing to Fifa, the sport's international governing body.  According to the article:

"Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff will meet Fifa president Joseph Blatter in Brussels today in a bid to defuse mounting tensions between her government and Fifa over preparations for the 2014 World Cup. Football’s governing body is reportedly unhappy with a bill sent by Ms Rousseff to Brazil’s congress last month which will regulate the organisation of the tournament within the country.

Once passed, the legislation has the potential to upset Fifa’s financial projections for the tournament as it would place severe restrictions on its ticketing policy and potentially prevent its sponsor Budweiser from selling beer inside World Cup stadiums. ...

... Since her inauguration in January, Ms Rousseff has hardened Brazil’s stance in negotiations with Fifa. In August she reportedly told its executives she considered “absurd” their demands that the Brazilian state accept responsibility for any damages suffered by Fifa, its leaders and installations during the tournament. She has made it clear that Brazil will not let Fifa impose its demands on Brazil in the same way it did with South Africa ahead of the 2010 tournament.

As a result, Ms Rousseff has ensured that the new bill complies with Brazil’s constitution regardless of Fifa’s demands. It respects a national law that guarantees half-price admission for students and pensioners, a move vigorously opposed by Fifa which demands full control over the sale of tickets for the tournament. It also does not meet Fifa’s call to guarantee the sale of alcohol in stadiums during the tournament. Under Brazilian law, such sales are regulated by state governments. This means if the bill passes unaltered, Fifa would have to negotiate alcohol sales with each of the 12 state administrations with jurisdiction over the 12 host cities.

The bill also fails to meet Fifa’s demand that anyone caught distributing falsified World Cup merchandise be punished with between three months and one year in prison. Instead, the proposed General Law of the Cup follows more lenient Brazilian legislation that sets a maximum of three months in jail as punishment. ...".

This blogger is personally thrilled to see the President stand up to the bullying of the Fifa tyranny and to be prepared to uphold her country's constitution. He hopes that this will give heart to others to do likewise. He is of course willing to hear the opinions of others, if they care to let this weblog have their comments.

Source: "Fifa to meet Brazil's president as row escalates over World Cup preparations", Tom Hennigan, Irish Times, 3 October 2011