GENEVA — Campaigners demanding a “fair” 2014 World Cup in Brazil handed a 28,000-signature petition to football's global governing body FIFA Monday, amid mass protests in the host nation over poor public services and graft. Solidar Switzerland, which focuses on social justice issues worldwide, said it was time to “blow the whistle” on FIFA boss Sepp Blatter, who is from the Alpine country. To hammer their point home, the campaigners set up a website fifa-brazil-2014.com — an exact copy of the home page of FIFA's official World Cup site at fifa.com — with an animated Blatter dancing to a samba beat, and the slogan: “We want a fair World Cup.” “Evictions, human rights violations and exploitation are overshadowing preparations for the world championship. The people affected are those already living in poverty,” Solidar Switzerland said in a media statement. FIFA, based in the Swiss city of Zurich, has insisted the protest wave in Brazil is a domestic issue. In a statement, it said Blatter had received Solidar Switzerland's delegation at its Zurich headquarters and had “welcomed the initiative.” Solidar Switzerland insists FIFA must face up to its responsibility as it owns the rights to the World Cup, its main money-spinner. It demanded that FIFA speak out against an image conscious clean-up of Brazil's working class “favela” districts, charging that more than 150,000 people will have been driven from their homes by the time the tournament kicks off in June 2014. It also slammed restrictions on some 300,000 street vendors, inspired by a desire to protect World Cup branding rights, saying it would deprive the poorest of their livelihoods. Solidar Switzerland also blasted tax breaks for both FIFA and World Cup sponsors such as Adidas, Coca-Cola and Budweiser. They “refuse to allow their billions of profits to be taxed in Brazil. But the Brazilian population must bear the cost of the World Cup,” it said. Solidar Switzerland underlined that 2010 World Cup host South Africa was left with debts of almost $3.0 billion, while FIFA's profits hit $3.2 billion. FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke Monday insisted football's world governing body had received no offers from any country to stand in as host for the 2014 World Cup with Brazil racing to be ready in time. “I have never received any official offer from countries around the world to stage the World Cup in 2014,” Valcke said in Rio. Valcke dismissed fears that Brazil would not make the date as it races to overhaul infrastructure and ready 12 venues across the country. Brazilian Minister of Sport Aldo Rebelo said Brazil had a “special commitment to the World Cup and will look to host a celebration as bright as the world and the country expects it to be.” — Agencies
