World Cup in Brazil
The FIFA World Cup kicked off last week in Brazil amid worries that the 12 venues would not be ready for action and protests about the economic burden of the games. NPR South America correspondent Lourdes Garcia-Navarro said on All Sides with Ann Fisher that, although most World Cup tourists are too far away to see, police have been cracking down on protests across the country. "The police were the ones that started launching tear gas without any provocation, and it escalated from there," Garcia-Navarro said. "Two CNN journalists were injured, and we saw images of a policeman putting pepper spray in the eyes of a restrained protester, you know, really ugly scenes." Garcia-Navarro said that although preparations for the games has been he subject of significant negative publicity, when the World Cup kicked off, most Brazilians were quick to forget or at least set aside their discontent. "FIFA, soccer's world governing body, called them some of the worst preparations theyâve ever been involved in," Garcia-Navarro said. "Whats happened, of course, is that once these games have gotten underway, the focus has shifted, which is why I think the government and FIFA were desperately waiting for the kickoff moment."
Soccer in the USA
Every four years, the World Cup refocuses attention on soccer in the U.S., where the sport continues a slow but steady gain in popularity, putting it on par with baseball. "For the first time in the 20-year history, Major League Soccer has caught up with Major League Baseball," said Jim Sturm, the president of the Mid-Ohio Select Soccer League. "Eighteen percent of 17- to 21-year-olds are avid fans of the sport. Twenty years ago, nobody knew soccer. Now soccer is as popular as the often quoted âAmerica's pastime,â baseball." To find out more about Brazil's preparations for the World Cup and the growing popularity of soccer in the U.S., listen to the full hour of All Sides with Ann Fisher.
Guests
- Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR's South America correspondent
- Jim Sturm, President, Mid Ohio Select Soccer League
- Mike Malo, the Crewâs Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing
- Andrew Arthurs, Â the crew's Senior Vice President of Soccer Business Development, & Executive Director of Crew Juniors