True Impact of the World Cup - with Maria Luisa Mendonca

Much of the world is focused on the World Cup games currently going on in Brazil. With that, attention is also turning to the effects the games are having on the nation. Some of this notice is centered on the organization managing the games.

The international governing body of soccer, or international football, is called FIFA. Their headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland. Critics charge the group works to change laws governing those allowed access to the games.

Some observers also question the wisdom of building stadiums capable of hosting 50,000 people when no local team could attract even 10 percent of that audience.

Maria Luisa Mendonca is director of the Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil. She is also a professor of international relations at the University of Rio De Janeiro.

Mendonca is our guest on the show today. She is here to talk to us about the World Cup, and its effects on Brazil. We will discuss FIFA, and the role they play in the games. We will talk about the history of the World Cup, and how communities have been changed by the world’s most popular sporting event. Finally, we will discuss the future of the games, and how they might be managed.