The World Cup 2014 was built up as not simply the key event of the 2014 in Brazil, but as the major event of the year worldwide (Pillay and Bass para. 2); therefore, it is reasonable to assume that its implications are just as huge. While sports is often viewed isolated from politics and economy, the concept, is, in fact, inseparable from the state’s political and economic affairs, as it is considered one of the primary methods of promoting the states receiving most of the attention, like every single FIFA competition does (Szymanski 1).
Although the results of the World Cup 2014 have turned out disgraceful for the devoted fans and the team, especially in the light of impressive costs taken for partaking in the event, the outcomes of the World Cup can be interpreted as a reason for the Brazilian people to take matters into their own hands and steer the political and economic course of the state by choosing a more efficient leader with an adequate program for improving the state’s political and economic life.
Weirdly enough, the devastating failure, which the Brazilian team suffered in the course of the tournament, can and must be used as a means to boost the state economy and affect the current political situation in a positive way (Gordon and Barbosa para. 2). The attention, which Brazil has received, and the flow of the foreign investments into the state, can be viewed as two key positive effects of the participation in the World Cup (Collet para. 12).
On the one hand, it could be argued that the expenditures from the organization of the event were too much for the Brazil economy to take after it became obvious that the state was not going to win the championship. On the other hand, there is no secret that “mega sports events create flows of investment and expenditures into the host/region from different sources leading ultimately to income generation and job creation” (Abuzayed 134). Therefore, it will be safe to say that the unemployment rates within the state are going to be reduced as a result of the capital flow and the changes in the economic strategies adopted by the state authorities.
Indeed, a closer look at the alterations that can be made to the current economic system of Brazil will show that the so-called “Extended Input-Output model based on the Input-Output Table of the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute” (“Sustainable Brazil: A Social and Economic Impacts of the 2014 World Cup” 4) based on the principle of sustainability may be integrated into the body of the state economy. As a result, small and medium entrepreneurship will have a chance to expand into the world market, contributing to a steep rise in Brazil’s GDP. As researchers claim, 55 new economic activities, 110 product categories, and 10 income/spending profiles (“Sustainable Brazil: A Social and Economic Impacts of the 2014 World Cup” 4) can be integrated into the current economy of Brazil.
Needless to say, the totally unexpected defeat of the world’s renowned football leaders triggered a major drop in the state’s economic and political success. However, despite the obvious economic concerns, which the country is going to face due to the defeat of the football team, the event may be viewed as a positive reinforcement for the government and a way of changing the course of the current policy towards the state economy. According to the recent report, the Brazilian government pays little to no attention to the current economic issues, such as the poverty rates, which have been turning increasingly high over the past few years, the deplorable state of the Brazilian infrastructure, the despicable state of the transportation services, etc. (Magalhães et al. 133)
Therefore, the loss of the Brazilian team could also be viewed as a tool for triggering a social responsibility towards the incompetent actions represented as political strategies of the current Brazil government. While it goes without saying that the current economic issues need to be addressed, the chaos, which nationwide unrest is most likely to cause, will result in an even more drastic political situation and an economic collapse of Brazil (Thornburg para. 2). Thus, it would be wrong to deny the fact that the loss in the World Cup is going to trigger several essential political conclusions for the Brazilian people. These political legacies, however, may have a devastating effect on the Brazil economy and make its political stance even more complicated if political unrest is started (Fourie and Santana-Gallego 7).
Completely unexpected and utterly shocking, the defeat that the Brazilian team suffered at the very end of the World Cup 2014 has caused a major increase in the amount of undecided voters all over the state. While the Brazilian people clearly disagree with the general political course chosen by the current leader, making a choice of the people, who can make a difference in the political and economic system of the state, is rather pointless, seeing that none of the presidential candidates offers a program that may promote the required alterations. The outcomes of the tournament, therefore, are most likely to introduce democracy to the state (“Socrates and the Corinthians’ Democracy” para. 2).
Apart from the evident blow to the economic development of the state, the defeat that the Brazil FIFA squad suffered is clearly destructive to the national identity of the Brazilian people (Alfaro para. 1). Having seemingly little effect on the development of economic, political and financial relationships between the Brazilians and the rest of the world, national identity, in fact, shapes the political course of the state to a considerable extent (Prahabba para. 4). The loss in 2014 is going to have a tremendous effect on the position of the state in the global public sphere, as it has hurt the national pride of the Brazilian people.
As far as the national identity is concerned, the aftermath of the defeat may range from a complete disintegration of the national identity within the state (“1950 World Cup Final… the Saddest Day in Brazilian Football – Video” 00:05.32) and the following economic demise of the state to a sharp increase in the nationalist moods in the society as a defense mechanism against the severe blow to the national identity, as the 1950 tournament has shown (Gaffney 16). The latter may also cause a significant rise in the influence of the nationalist movement in the state and the resulting ethnic conflict between the Brazilian people and the national minorities inhabiting the state.
The deprivation of joyful patriotism, which may at first seem a rather insignificant factor for the shaping of the state’s political stance, does, in fact, affect the course, which the government takes as its primary principle of political interactions with its citizens and economic partners (Goldblatt 17). Patriotism in its peaceful manifestations contributes to integrity within the society (Butterworth 221) and, therefore, is a positive reinforcement for the economic endeavors of the local SMEs and corporations. The lack thereof, in its turn, stirs dissatisfaction among the state residents and leads to the development of nationalist moods within the society, as well as the need to level the playfield and compensate for the loss of the national pride.
Finally, the issue concerning the political relationships between Brazil and other states must be touched upon as one of the key effects of the World Cup 2014 outcomes. Since the participation in the specified event presupposes major costs and can be interpreted as the method of advertising the state’s economic and financial advances, it can be assumed that the aftermath of Brazil’s failure can be mitigated by the attention that Brazil is going to receive from tourists, new customers and possible investors. After all, even negative portrayal of a state in modern and traditional media can be used as a means to promote the former and, therefore, improve its current economic position: “The branding of destinations as desirable sites for new investment and tourist consumption has included sport and sporting events as key elements of new economic development strategies” (Nauright 1333).
Therefore, from the specified perspective, the promotion of the state’s brands, the integration of foreign capital into the country and the following improvement of the state infrastructure, as well as the upgrade of the state economy, particularly, the encouragement of private entrepreneurship, including the local SMEs and the major corporations. Speaking of which, it is essential to bear in mind that the event took place in the realm of the 21st-century globalized environment; therefore, it has contributed to the evolution of international relationships greatly. Being in the spotlight of the event, Brazil has triggered the attention of the world’s most powerful states, therefore, creating the premises for future partnership with some of the most influential countries.
As a result, the expansion of the state economy and the extension of the consumer markets has become a possibility for the state. The opportunity for Brazil to establish a successful communication process with some of the world leaders has also been enhanced by the significant increase in the pace of the urbanization process, which was facilitated by the preparations for the event: “The FIFA World Cup works as a motivation to ‘urban boosterism’, justifying and accelerating infrastructural investments” (Almeida, Bolsmann, Marchi and Souza 2). The integration of urbanization into the set of principles used by the Brazilian government in their attempt to create the environment for holding the event is going to have an impressive effect on the state infrastructure, which leaves much to be desired at present (“Which FIFA for the 21st Century?” para. 5).
It would be a mistake to assume that nothing can be changed to improve the effects of the defeat in the 2014 FIFA for Brazil. The country is obviously going through a major economic crisis enhanced by the loss of the national integrity of the society. Still, no matter how painful it may be for Brazil to recognize its failure, the residents of the state must find courage to acknowledge their defeat, thus, setting the grounds for further development.
As soon as the obvious loss is identified, essential lessons can be learned from it and crucial conclusions can be drawn from the experience. First and foremost, the state will have to use the promotion that it has received in order to attract new investors and, therefore, create the environment for the development of entrepreneurship evolution. By creating mergers with foreign partners and being acquired by more powerful companies, the Brazilian organizations will be able to split liabilities and risks, thus, raising their net revenues and raising the state’s GNP (Rejda and McNamara 362).
Even in the light of the devastating defeat, which the Brazilian team suffered in the half final of the world Cup 2014, the boost, which the state economy has received as a result of participating in the competition, can be considered a significant contribution to the improvement of Brazilin economy and the evolution of the country’s SMEs and corporations. Because of the rapid increase in the urbanization rates, which the state has experienced over the course of the preparations for the World Cup, as well as the attention that the state has received in both modern and traditional media, considerable changes are expected in the economy of Brazil.
Finally, the dissatisfaction with the current course of the Brazilian government, which people are most likely to experience, are bound to lead to a major change in the attitudes towards the current Brazilian government and the following decrease of loyalty rates towards the current Brazilian leader, Dilma Roussef, among the residents of the state. Although the defeat of the Brazilian team during the Wrold Cup 2014 is considered one of the most mournful events to happen to the state in 2014, it has empowered the Brazilian people for changing their lives and, therefore, making a difference in the political principles, according to which their country is run.
Works Cited
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