Fifa World Cup 'hits the poorest hardest'

The Swiss-based NGO, Terre des Hommes, which is dedicated to stopping child exploitation in developing countries, wants to see a number of financial and social changes around World Cups and Olympic Games.It wants Fifa - as a global group with a World Cup "product" worth billions of dollars - to implement the same stringent rules of corporate responsibility expected from other transglobal corporations."Just as garment retailers bear responsibility for the production conditions of their suppliers, this must also apply to Fifa and the whole of its 'commercial product' - the World Cup tournament," says Terre des Hommes chief executive Danuta Sacher."They must ensure that the World Cup is being produced for them under clean and safe conditions for children and their families."'Social and financial price'But according to Terre des Hommes, some 170,000 people lost their homes during the preparations for this summer's World Cup in Brazil due to the building or renovation of stadiums, roads, airports and other infrastructure projects.It also says that thousands of families were forcibly resettled in basic huts without electricity and water. It warns that uprooting strongly increases the risk of families falling into poverty."If you look at the effects of such big sports events, they disproportionately hit the worst-off," says Ms Sacher."Host countries pay a social price, and also a high financial price, which then has a knock-on effect in the amount of social provision that the host nation can provide."She says that estimates of the total cost of the World Cup to Brazil's public budget were between 6.5bn and 9.8bn euros (£5.16bn and £7.77bn).Ms Sacher says that figure corresponds roughly to the amount spent in the whole of 2013 for Brazil's social welfare programme Bolsa Familia, which supports 50 million people.Ms Sacher believes it is unfair that the host nation has to meet the bill for all of the infrastructure needed, while Fifa - which enjoys tax breaks and exemptions from World Cup host nations - makes billions of dollars out of the event.Street vendorsAnother concern Terre des Hommes has is around the banning of local people selling food, drink and trinkets on the streets around the stadiums. Fifa asks the host organisers to only allow licensed products from its own sponsors to be sold in the stadium environs.Ms Sacher says that this ban creates hardship and poverty for tens of thousands of families, who are prevented from making a meagre, but desperately needed, living."We are asking for the global organisers to take into account the situation of the excluded and poor when they are planning their big sporting events - to make sure they are held for the advantage of everyone," she adds.(BBC)Bakudaily.Az