adminRIO DE JANEIRO. — Fifa president Sepp Blatter declared on Wednesday that the World Cup soccer finals in Brazil were a success, saying fears of anti-tournament protests had not materialised.
“I am a very happy man today,” Blatter said at a sport management seminar in Rio de Janeiro. “It is a success of the country, of this game,” he said.
The World Cup has escaped the massive protests that marred last year’s warm-up tournament, the Confederations Cup, when hundreds of thousands of people swarmed the streets to denounce the record US$11 billion spent on hosting the event.
The protests have been much smaller during the World Cup, drawing a few hundred demonstrators still angry that the country spent so much on stadiums instead of hospitals, schools and public transport.
“I would like to address my compliments to the people of Brazil. They accepted this World Cup.” — AFP.
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