Brazil in the World Cup 2010

Back in November 2009, we published a post called who’s favourite to win the World Cup 2010.

Well, the ball started rolling today. Below, the more current odds, according to traditional online brokers.

In London: Ladbrokes.

Spain is still top favorite and Brazil is second (but both are paying higher – meaning their favoritism is smaller); Argentina was fourth, now is third (is Messi causing a good impression among betters?); England was third, and fell to fourth, below Argentina; another switch over was Holland passing Germany and Italy (Germans lost Ballack, and betters seemingly didn’t like the Italian roster); the USA Team odds were 66/1, and are now at 67/1.

In the USA: William Hill.

Again, some minor changes. Brazil and Spain were tied, now Spain is leading at 4/1 and Brazil is second at 5/1; also among Americans, Argentina became more favorite than England; and also among Americans, Holland has now more chances of being champion than Germany and Italy.

In one month time, we shall see how well betters could predict the winner of World Cup 2010.

If Brazil wins the World Cup 2010, each Brazilian player will have a cash prize of R$ 1,000,000.00, which, by current rates, would be exchanged by a bit more than US$ 500,000 or a bit more than € 400,000.

Is that plenty or little?

Today, minimum wage in Brazil is R$ 550 per month. So, a worker in Brazil who gets minimum wage would have to work more than 150 years to get that much of money.  That makes R$ 1,000,000.00 look like a lot of money.

However, several players in Brazil are paid more than a million dollars per year; sponsors of the Brazil team pay millions and millions per year; FIFA pays about US$ 30 million to the country who wins the World Cup. After winning the European Champions League, each player of Inter Milan was paid € 300,000.  Thinking that way, US$ 500,000 or € 400,000 don’t look too impressive.

However, it is unlikely that any Brazilian player complain about that.

First, because several players seem to be thankful just for being in the team. There was a strong popular clamor for coach Dunga to leave out players like Josue, Felipe Melo and Elano and call up Ronaldinho, Ganso, Neymar instead.

Second, because all players know that they would be accused of being anti-patriotic or mercenaries. In the 1990 World Cup, all Brazilian players agreed that the prize proposed by CBF was too small, and posed for a photo with their hands covering the sponsor brand; it ended up that that team had one of the worst performances ever.

For some time now, South Africa have been facing a crisis in Power supply (see note by The New York Times from 2007, and by The Economist from 2008), and Johannesburg has been submited to a rationing of electricity; each week, a sector of the city goes without electricity.

With winter approaching (in the Southern Hemisphere, winter lasts from July to September), and as the wheels of the World Cup Economy start to spin, the consumption of energy tends to increase, and matters get worse.

Yesterday (May 17th 2010), Eskom, the South African utility company (7th largest in the World), issued a warning (the image to the left is the cover of newspaper The Star, issue May 18th 2010):

South Africa’s electricity company expects to be under pressure during the FIFA World Cup.

State-owned Eskom says it will regularly update South Africans on supply during the tournament, which starts June 11, and ask them to turn off some appliances if power runs low.

Under the worst circumstances, South Africans will be asked to turn off everything but one TV – so they can continue to get updates – and one light.

The utility says “although electricity supply is expected to be sufficient over this period, cold winter temperatures combined with high electricity demand is likely to place Eskom under additional pressure”.

At the same time that citizens are asked to save energy, the lights of the Soccer City are kept full lit 24 hours a day (photo).

And will Brazil be ready to supply power to the World Cup 2014?

Today, Brazil has no shortage of power; however, the country is growing fast and new projects are delayed. This is another point FIFA should pay attention to.

CBF and Nike presented today the new yellow Brazilian jersey for the World Cup 2014; the uniform will be worn for the first time in the match against Ireland, on March 2nd.

This new uniform is eco-friendly, made of recycled polyester; each jersey is, according to CBF, recycled from eight PET bottles.

Buy Brazil Uniform

The design was inspired in the uniform of the World Cup 1970; the collar is green and round; there is a green strip on each shoulder, with small perfurations to allow transpiration.

Talking about easy transpiration, Nike used the same Dri-fit technology in the fabric, but made it 13% lighter; Dri-fit technology forces sweat to the external side of the shirt, keeping players drier and with a lower body temperature.

Nike improved also on the ventilation zones in either side of the jersey, as well as in the area below the waist; there are now about 200 laser drilled small holes, with a reinforcement patch to prevent tearings, which increase air flow by up to 7% compared to the previous design, with 10% more elasticity.

Buy Brazil Jersey

In the back of the collar there is a tag with the inscription “Brasil”, and in the inner collar there is a tag with a small Brazilian flag and the inscription “Nascido para jogar futebol”, meaning “Born to play football”. In the back of the CBF badge (i.e., on the heart of the players), there is an inscription “Com muito orgulho, com muito amor”, meaning “With much pride, with much love” (a kind of anthem that the Brazilian crowd loves to sing, which goes: “I am Brazilian, with much pride, with much love” – see video below).

The matching shorts are in blue Royal, with a white strip in each side, again inspired in the 1970 team; in the inner side of the waist line there are five stars sewed in white.

Socks are white, with a green stripe, and the world “Brasil” in each side.

The blog about the World Cup in Brazil has attracted several people looking for “jobs in Brazil during the World Cup Brazil 2014” and similars.

It is a necessity for the host country to find skilled professionals to work in a major event such a World Cup. And as it is difficult to have large pools of professionals to perform in just a short term event, it is a tradition to invite volunteers (both from the home country and from abroad) to help in the works.

So, let’s take a look at how FIFA and the South Africa Committee is handling this matter.

On September 2008, FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) issued a first call for volunteers, aimed at only South African citizens; until September of 2009, right before the Confederations Cup, a total of 35,000 candidates had volunteered, and a number of 4,030 were chosen “to assist in operational areas such as accreditation, administration, information technology, language support, logistics, transport, information services, media and marketing”.

On July 20th 2009, FIFA and LOC issued a call for volunteers from all over the world. On the occasion, it was stated: “From ushering people to their seats, to assisting the media and foreign language speakers, welcoming people at the airport and driving guests around, it is the volunteers that actually make the tournament happen.”

The paragraph defined what is expected from volunteers: speak languages, friendly personality, willing to make the Cup a successful event (for example, an University student who plays football, speaks English and Chinese besides Japanese, and has an easy going personality, will have strong chances to be admitted as volunteer).

FIFA provided a form (not available any more) for applications. All applications were examined by the Committee, and potential candidates were called for an interview, in person if South Americans, online if foreigners.

And what would a volunteer gain in return? Volunteers would not get paid, would not get free access to matches. From the FIFA website:

What will I receive from the OC and Host City as a volunteer?
The OC and Host City will offer no financial remuneration, but volunteers will receive meals while at work. Over and above the tournament-specific training, volunteers are afforded an opportunity to participate in the world’s largest sporting event, a certificate of acknowledgement for participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, invaluable work experience and an official 2010 FIFA World Cup™ volunteer uniform. You will also get a once in a lifetime opportunity to build friendships with people of different cultures, races, backgrounds, ages and nationalities.

What will NOT be provided to me as a volunteer?
• Accommodation will not be provided.
• Fuel allowance will not be provided.
• No travel will be paid to get to the Host City where you have been selected to be a volunteer.
• The OC will also not pay for travel, accommodation and Visa for International Volunteers that wish to participate as volunteer during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

Of course, besides these volunteer opportunities, there will be several jobs available in the private sectors. For job opportunities in Brazil in 2014, read this post.

Now that the Qualifying is over and all countries to participate in World Cup 2010 are defined, it’s time to start talk about bettings, odds, and favorites to win the World Cup.

FIFA just announced the ranking of the best countries in the year so far. Do betters agree with FIFA?

The table below shows who are favourites, according to betters of Ladbrokes, the most traditional betting house in England (table is online today, November 23rd; bets are accepted till December 4th).

According to them, Spain is the main favorite to win the World Cup, with odds of 4:1 (betters make US$ 4 for each US$ 1 they bet). Brazil is second, with slightly higher odds of 9:2 (or 4.5:1). Other relevant candidates to winning are, in order: England, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Holland, Portugal and France. Countries with the highest odds (not shown in the table above) are North Korea (350:1), Honduras and New Zealand (both with 500:1).

Below, the current betting odds at William Hill, one of the major houses in the United States. Among the top ten favorites, the only difference between Americans and British betters is at 8th and 9th position, where France and Portugal switch positions.

Below, the odds at Sports Betting, another major American house; also, no change among the top favorites:

A few remarks about these odds: all but one ex-champions are among the favorites (the only exception is Uruguay); Spain, the top favorite so far (Spain is also favorite according to other parties, such as Goal and Eurosport), is top of the FIFA rankings, current European champion, and qualified to the Cup winning ten out of ten matches (in a group which included also Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Estonia and Armenia); Brazil, as usual, is among the top favorites (not surprisingly, as Brazil finished first in the Qualifying, with three rounds in advance); Argentina had a very difficult time to secure a slot in the Cup, but also, as usual, ranks among the favorites.

How accurate are these odds? In 2006, the absolute favorite was Brazil, but the team failed long before the finals; the same happened in 2002, when France was favorite, and in 1998, when Argentina was favorite.

The History of World Cups show that not always the favorite wins, and one of the “usual suspects” take the title.

Respected Brazilian newspaper Jornal do Brasil, an affiliated of Terra, published a report informing that the uniform of the Brazilian team was elected the most beautiful of all times; Terra cited a survey conducted by British newspaper Daily Mail among fashion specialists in Britain, but didn’t provide any link to this supposed survey.

These would be the most beautiful uniforms of all time:
1 – Brazil Team
2 – Real Madrid
3 – Ajax
4 – Leeds United (1973)
5 – Hull City (1994)
6 – Barcelona
7 – English Team
8 – Arsenal (1992)
9 – Crystal Palace (1980)
10 – Coventry City (1978)

The Brazilian uniform is made by Nike, which is also one of the sponsors of the team. The Brazilian jersey is one of the most popular sports attire in the world, which causes CBF and Nike to be very cautious to make changes.

The latest revision of the uniform was released for the season 2007/08 (see CBF page); this uniform was inspired in the World Cup 1958, the first one which Brazil won; the Brazilian team worn this uniform in the Confederation Cup 2009.

CBF and Nike still haven’t announced a new uniform for the World Cup 2010, but that is very likely to happen anytime soon; for the Germany World Cup, the new uniform was announced in February 2006, only four months before the opening of the event.

Matches of the Brazilian team are always amongst the most viewed events in Brazil, even more so during a major event such as the World Cup. So, several large companies want to associate their brands with the Brazilian team.

In Brazil, the manager of the image of the Brazilian team is CBF, the Brazilian Confederation of Football; CBF is a private entity, and can, within the boundaries of law, sign the marketing contracts they consider to be best for the team and CBF.

Currently, the sponsors of the Brazilian team are:

Nike. American manufacturer of  sports shoes, clothing and gears. Nike supplies all the uniform set of the Brazilian team.

Itaú. The largest private bank in Brazil; in 2008, Itaú, which was already one of the largest banks in Brazil, announced a merge with another large bank, Unibanco.  Interbrand rates Itaú as the most valuable brand in Brazil. The name is of Indigenous origin and means  “black stone” (ita =stone, ú = black).

Vivo. The largest cellular phone company in Brazil. The name means Alive.

Guaraná Antarctica. Guaraná is a berry fruit from the Amazon, used to produce a soft drink of same name. It is the biggest competitor of Coca-Cola in Brazil; until a few years ago, Coca-Cola was a sponsor, but Antarctica seems to have outbid them.

Gillete. The American manufacturer of razor blades has a strong presence in Brazil. The Mach 3 commercials (starring Roger Federer, Tiger Woods and Kaká) are often seen in TV and magazines.

Extra. A Brazilian supermarket chain; Extra is one of the brands of a larger group called Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf), one of the largest retailers in Brazil. It is a competitor of French Carrefour and American Wal-Mart, which also struggle to become leader of this market in Brazil.

TAM. The largest airline company in Brazil, it is the company flying the team to the Cup and back home; in 2002, the official carrier was Varig (which faced bankruptcy). TAM used to stand for Transportes Aéreos de Marília (Air Transports of Marília – Marília is a somewhat large city in the interior of São Paulo), but as the company grew the name was changed to Transportes Aéreos do Mercosul (Mercosul Air Transports).

Most sponsorships cover all Brazilian teams (Under 17, Under 20, Principals), both genders  (Men and Women) and, at least, as long as the 2010 World Cup. CBF usually doesn’t disclose financial details of the contracts.