Usually driven by the Southern based media, the North South divide is not just an English phenomena as on the over side of the globe a certain country who will be hosting one helluva footballing carnival has just that soccer situation.
Brazil’s southern cities of Rio & San Paulo and to lesser extent Porto Alegre are the mainstay of club football in Brazil.
In comparison to the Northern part of this vast country the silverware is all down south, season after season.
The maddening chaotic government have had years to prepare for this truly global event but in an effort to appease everyone they have appeased no-one really.
The individual States of this country which is the size of a continent all have their own agendas, that is to line the fat cat pockets of the suits.
So no national agreement on costs or shared responsibility was forthcoming, hence the riots at The Confederations Cup last year.
Money for all the stadia, both new and refurbs plus a revamped infrastructure, roads & airports was supposed to be all funded by private investment.
That sadly never happened and to deliver WC14 on time only the stadiums have been sorted out and that with tax payers money, hence the unrest.
The population are getting nowt out of it long term, except building a few white elephant stadiums in the Amazon at Manaus and Cuiaba, neither really has a true footballing justification.
However the staging of games there will take people close to two of Brazil’s major natural attractions, the rain forest and the Pantanal wetlands.
So The Tourist board will be happy with the foreign influx.
Perhaps some footballing good will come out of it all, the club sides up North all have passionate fans with remarkable attendances to suit in view of the lack of Cups in their respective boardrooms.
The upgrade of the stadiums will mean more money on matchday due to hospitality and higher admission fees which could see an influx of better players moving from the south, making it more even the pitch.
Brazil in June & July offers a climatic challenge, the winter bites hard in the south with sub zero temperatures possible and the sun will have it’s hat on all the time up north, just like England then !
All the competing teams have to criss-cross the country but Argentina have the easiest draw of all, the other teams in Group F and certainly no disrespect to any of them but Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria shouldn’t hold to many fears for The La Albicelestes.
Also location, location, location… it is ideal for them, close to their homeland they will be playing all their group games and any subsequent knockout matches with no searing temperatures in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre.
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