With Brazil hosting next summer's World Cup, which along with the Olympics is the globe's biggest and most famous sporting spectacle, the host and the sport are definitely under the international spotlight. This is usually a welcomed intrusion until there is an accident. The crane that collapsed last week onto one of the Brazilian stadiums under construction, killing two workers, has fed renewed worries about Brazil's capacity to host next year's showcase tournament, as well as the 2016 Olympics. Authorities insist they will be ready for both. But to be prepared means a lot of work - perhaps too much work. Six of Brazil's stadiums are not yet ready for the World Cup next summer. Construction problems and public protests about the money being spent have delayed the preparations. One host city, Cuiaba, has publicly announced it will miss its completion deadline. Even though FIFA insisted on a minimum of eight stadiums to host the World Cup, Brazil decided to go with 12, such was the interest and demand from all parts of this huge nation to be a part of the tournament. But, in hindsight, has Brazil bitten off more than it can chew? FIFA has launched an investigation into the accident but even its most senior figures are wary of jumping to conclusions with details still uncertain. FIFA officials and other global soccer personalities are due in Brazil next week for the high-profile World Cup draw and perhaps from there the reasons for the crane collapse might become clearer. Until then, the immediate explanation is that this accident might have resulted from the need to speed up building work. With so many stadiums well behind schedule, there is a race to finish on time. Sao Paulo's Arena Corinthians was slated to be completed by the end of December, and workers have suggested that speed was a top priority on the construction site with many working 12-hour shifts and skipping vacations. With less than 200 days to go before the World Cup, Brazil might have to start round-the-clock construction work if it is to get things ready for the tournament. In the city of Manaus, construction is now 24 hours a day. Often the rush to complete these large mega projects in any part of the world is for the nation's image but comes at the expense of workers' rights which sometimes become a secondary concern. Construction workers, whether rushed or otherwise, have rights that must be respected. Some of the labor laws of Qatar, which is hosting the 2022 World Cup, have been questioned by Amnesty International, although FIFA head Joseph Blatter said FIFA could look forward to "an amazing World Cup" in Qatar and that its labor laws are already in the process of being amended. Qatari authorities say they are being proactive, and this is what is needed: application of decisions after an overall assessment. The issue is not always speed; this was the fourth fatal accident in World Cup stadiums in Brazil, with two other construction workers killed over the past two years, when there was no need to rush. Football-mad Brazil was never going to host a World Cup of staggering efficiency, as for example Germany did in 2006. The main issue is that when a country wins the right to host one of the world's major sporting events, it had better be prepared for international eyes to focus on it in a way it has never experienced before. This affords the opportunity for global publicity and also to put its best foot forward.
