Bárbara Schausteck de Almeida

Rationales, rhetoric and realities: FIFA’s World Cup in South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was heralded by mainstream media outlets, the local organisers, the South African government and FIFA as an unequivocal success. The month-long spectacle saw South Africa take centre stage and host the world’s largest single sporting event. This occurred against a backdrop of rationales and promises made that the event would leave lasting legacies for all, in particular marginalised South Africans. The reality is quite different. In this article we consider the South African World Cup in the build up to Brazil 2014. We argue that the rationales and rhetoric are similar in both countries and suggest the reality for Brazil 2014 will be the same as South Africa 2010 in that the mega-event will be primarily funded by significant public investment, while the primary beneficiaries will be private capital and FIFA.

Comitê olímpico Brasileiro e o financiamento das confederações brasileiras

The Olympic Sport in Brazil has as main management institutions the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and the Brazilian Confederations of Olympic sports (CBs). As responsible for developing sport in Brazil, what financial relation these entities have? After data collection in official sources and with theoretical subsidies of Pierre Bourdieu, we could find that the COB transferences to CBs reinforce dominant and dominated positions in the sporting field. COB justifies this current management in a paradox mean if we compare that this entity proposes the development of sport. In this sense, we consider that some Bourdieusian concepts can unveil hidden mechanisms of domination in the sporting field of the 2016 Olympic Games host country. Key-words: Brazil; Sport; Organization and Administration.

O financiamento dos programas Federais de esporte e lazer no Brasil (2004 a 2008)

In this research, we propose to answer two questions: how much money sport and leisure programs received from federal government of Brazil through direct investments and transferences to states and cities between 2004 and 2008? Which facts can justify the priority investments of the federal government in these five years? Collecting data from the Union’s General Controllership, we exposed that the investments had as priority high level sport. With Pierre Bourdieu reflexive sociology contribution, we outline some reasons related to the comprehension of politic field logics to understand this priority during these years.

Federal government funding and sport: the case of Brazil, 2004–2009

In 2009, Brazil won the right to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. International media coverage of the bid process revealed the involvement of the then Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the project application. To further understand the governments involvement in Brazilian Olympic sport, we undertook an analysis of federal investment in sport between 2004 and 2009. We reviewed both quantitative and qualitative data showing Brazils public investment in Olympic sport by analysing official information available through the federal government. Noting that sports, especially Olympic sports, were the recipient of federal funds, we critique the rationale underlying the governments interest in providing financial support to this elite sport. Our analysis shows that federal funding for sports goes disproportionately to elite training and support for mega-events, despite constitutional guidelines to the contrary.

ESPORTE PARA O DESENVOLVIMENTO E A PAZ: LEITURAS ACADÊMICAS EM DIÁLOGO COM OS USOS DO ESPORTE PARA A PACIFICAÇÃO NO RIO DE JANEIRO

This article discusses the use of sports to promote peace and the main aspects analyzed in the international context, indicating similarities to and differences from the actions promoted in the so-called “pacification” in areas in Rio de Janeiro. A literature review based on systematic review procedures found that the lack of cultural sensitivity and consideration for social exclusion processes by its creators results in increasing militarization of space in those communities, which restricts the long-term sustainability of those sports projects.

Do sports mega-events boost public funding in sports programs? The case of Brazil (2004–2015)

This article explores public expenditure in Brazilian sport from 2004 to 2015 and aims to understand if hosting sport mega-events has influenced investments in different types of sport (elite sport and educational/participation sport). Data were collected through governmental records and examined through descriptive statistics. Positive and negative variations of spending were reported, regarding both the overall budget allocated to sport and among the different types of sport. This study concluded that sport mega-events have influenced the funding of sports programs to some extent, but other aspects of public funding are likely to be more significant influencers on the observed variations. The study also argues that further research on different host countries is necessary to understand the impact of sport mega-events on public sport funding.

From goalscorer to politician: The case of Romário and football politics in Brazil:

During his playing days, the Brazilian striker Romário was one of the most famous footballers in the world. He played for three of Brazil’s top clubs in Rio de Janeiro, as well as Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven. He won the World Cup and scored over one-thousand goals throughout his career. After this successful career, Romário entered politics, first as a deputy in the city of Rio and later as a senator in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Romário’s electoral success is not simply down to his footballing ability, nor the popularity of the sport in Brazil. Sports stardom, celebrity and celebrity politicians are also engaging with complex cultural processes. He has traded on his footballing stardom, but he also connects with his electorate through specific policy campaigns that resonate particularly well with his Brazilian voters. More importantly, he uses football and his footballer career as a metaphor for the wider problems facing Brazilian society. Drawing on literature from Sports Stardom, Celebrity and Celebrity Politicians, this paper charts the political career of Romário within the socio-political context of Brazil and argues that celebrity politicians still need to engage with their audiences regardless of their previous careers.

Os Jogos Olímpicos na Cidade do México 1968: discursos oficiais, da mídia e da literatura científica

O presente artigo propoe uma analise historica sobre os principais fatos relacionados a candidatura, eleicao e realizacao dos Jogos Olimpicos de 1968 na Cidade do Mexico, verificando a presenca ou ausencia desses e de outros debates no jornal Folha de S.Paulo do ano de 1968, nos relatorios oficiais emitidos pelo Comite Organizador do evento e na literatura cientifica. Assim, foram identificados e descritos o processo de candidatura e eleicao da Cidade do Mexico, assim como os debates acerca da altitude e as manifestacoes politico-sociais durante o processo de preparacao e realizacao do evento - especificamente ao chamado Massacre de Tlatelolco e ao ato de levantar os punhos dos atletas Tommy Smith e John Carlos no podio olimpico. Sem a pretensao de esgotar a descricao dos acontecimentos daquele evento, tais fatos apontam para relevantes indicios daquela edicao dos Jogos Olimpicos. Apesar da especificidade historica daquele contexto politico e esportivo, alguns debates permanecem como desafios para as cidades sedes e para as instituicoes esportivas mesmo apos quase meio seculo.

Por uma reconstrução teórica do futebol a partir do referencial sociológico de Pierre Bourdieu

Neste artigo temos por objetivo retomar a teoria sociologica de Pierre Bourdieu no sentido de demonstrar alguns dos aspectos em que ela pode ser util para estudar o futebol no contexto de globalizacao do espetaculo esportivo, do qual, inclusive, o Brasil se apresenta atualmente como um dos protagonistas por conta, dentre outras coisas, da realizacao da Copa do Mundo da FIFA em 2014 no pais. Na primeira parte do artigo apresentamos entao um esboco do quadro teorico de Bourdieu. Em seguida, exploramos algumas situacoes praticas referentes ao futebol que sao passiveis de serem tratadas pelo prisma de seu referencial. Por fim, e a modo de desfecho, reiteramos aqueles pontos em que seu modelo contribui para avancar no tratamento teorico do futebol, especialmente no Brasil.

A copa do mundo Fifa na África do Sul/2010-como foi a experiência e o que podemos aprender com ela?

Neste ensaio pretendemos problematizar algumas logicas sociais nao explicitas que se articulam ao dominio de realizacao da Copa do Mundo FIFA. Para tanto, privilegiamos como recorte analitico a edicao de 2010 deste evento, de modo a desvelarmos algumas das retoricas e acoes estrategicas que permearam o contexto de sua realizacao na Africa do Sul. Com base em dados obtidos na literatura academica e midia, buscamos apresentar que as motivacoes para o evento se baseavam em discursos desenvolvimentistas por parte tanto da FIFA quanto das elites locais sul-africanas visando o convencimento e apoio por parte de diferentes grupos sociais. Entretanto, as consequencias nao foram necessariamente aquelas prometidas, sendo essas instituicoes as reais beneficiadas em seus interesses economicos e politicos. Nesse ponto, argumentamos que a sociedade brasileira pode e deve aprender com essa experiencia para avaliar de forma critica os motivos menos aparentes de sediar eventos desse porte. In this essay, we intend to discuss some social logics not explicit that articulate the domain of the FIFA World Cup. Therefore, the 2010 edition of this event is used as analytical approach to reveal some of the rhetoric and strategic actions that permeated the context of its realization. Based on data obtained in the academic literature and media, we present that the motivations for the event were based on developmental discourses by both FIFA as well as local elites South African aiming to convince different social groups and conquer their support. However, the consequences are not necessarily those promised, and these institutions were the real beneficiaries in their economic and political mutual interests. At this point, we argue that Brazilian society can and should learn from the experience of South Africa to assess critically the motives less apparent to host such events.