World Cup Brazil 2014 News
The bad news then is that although the World Cup will be coming to Brazil in 2014, it will not be making its way to Floripa. FIFA chose the host cities for Brazil 2014 during their undoubtedly highly pressurised decision-making process roaming around Nassau Town, and Florianópolis did not make the cut. Perhaps having so many beautiful beaches close by didn’t seem so important to the FIFA Executive Committee while they were in the Bahamas.
Other facilities that possibly let Florianópolis down were the size and state of Figueira’s stadium, and the amount of infrastructure improvements FIFA had deemed necessary in order for the city to be one of the 12 hosts. While being far from the only stadium that needed multi-millions of reais of improvements, the stipulation of a rapid transit system from the airport through the city and across the straits to the stadium may have been a financial step too far. There would have been no shortage of hotels in Florianópolis, but perhaps the prospect of the traffic on the beach roads swung the vote away...
In reality though, Florianópolis was up against some tough competition from the larger Brazilian state capitals. With South Brazil already having huge stadiums, support and history in Porto Alegre and Curitiba, it always looked unlikely that a quarter of the host cities would be in the three southernmost states. As well as those two, the other ten host cities are spread around the country, and Go Floripa thinks that the choices are probably fair, if disappointing from a local perspective:
In the South-East, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo don’t need any justification with stadiums such as the Maracanã and the Morumbi. Belo Horizonte has the third largest population of Brazil’s metropolis, and it also has the huge, if crumbling, Mineirão.
Brasília being the capital and a source of Brazilian pride was always a guaranteed choice, while the Central-West also has Cuiabá as a geographical and commercial boost to the deep interior of Brazil. The selection of Manaus may surprise some people, being so far from any other city. Manaus has been receiving thousands of tourists for decades though, and has its own international airport. The population is so used to dealing with foreigners that you meet locals speaking many different languages despite never leaving Brazil. With hotels, lodges and cruise boats galore, as well as its geographical significance for such an enormous area, Manaus is a fine choice as a host city. The World Cup and The Amazon Jungle – a winning combination.
The North-East might be one geographical area, one long beach separated by rocks, but the sheer size of it means that Fortaleza, Natal, Recife and Salvador are all independent of one another. All have large populations with a reasonable amount of city hotels and beaches. With stunning beach towns such as Jericoacoa, Canoa Quebrada, Praia da Pipa, Porto da Galinhas, Praia do Forte and Morro do São Paulo close by, the combination of beautiful Brazilian beaches and World Cup Football will be irresistible for thousands.
So all in all, Florianópolis has no real room for complaint, and can still play a part. If you are planning on visiting Brazil for the 2014 World Cup - and can you really afford to miss out on the biggest party the world has ever seen? – then you will have to hope that your own national team gets knocked out in the first group stage. That way you can come to Floripa and enjoy the rest of it with a caipirinha on a Santa Catarina beach.