Barack Obama pledges to help with organization of Cup and Olympics

The United States will be co-operating with Brazil in the organization of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ and also the 2016 Summer Olympic Games which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, according to the terms of a memorandum of intentions which was signed this Saturday (March 19th) during the visit of President Barack Obama to the country. The President spoke about the issue during his speech at the Brazilian Presidential Palace:

“As Brazil is getting ready to host the World Cup and the Olympics, we are assuring that American companies will have an essential role in the exchange of technologies and information, and will also participate in the construction of the infrastructure for these two events.”

The document also adds that the Americans, who organized the World Cup in 1994 and the Olympics several times, most recently in 1996, in Atlanta, will provide Brazil with their experience in areas such as planning, strategic development, infrastructure, security, support for tourism and “commercial projects for the benefit of the population as a whole at any level of society, in an environmentally sustainable way”.

The co-operation includes visits to American cities that have organized major international Sporting events, the promotion of public-private associations, commercial missions in both countries, and also the training of specialized labor through programmes such as that of teaching the English Language.

According to this memorandum, both the World Cup and the Olympics represent “an opportunity to contribute towards the strengthening, the prosperity and the diversity of the Brazilian economy” and will leave as a legacy “Sporting, social, cultural and educational benefits”.

In this regard, the document signed by the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Antonio Patriota, and the American Ambassador to Brazil, Thomas Shannon, says that these events are also an opportunity to “promote the elimination of racial and ethnic discrimination, the advancement of women, social inclusion and environmental sustainability”.

Mr. Obama also joked about the victory of Rio de Janeiro in the Olympic ballot for 2016 – at that time, the city of Chicago, which is Mr. Obama’s political stronghold, was still in the race:

- Brazil is going to host important Sporting events and we would like to participate. However, it still hurts and I have said this before, as Lula defeated me in this race.