Brazil World Cup 2014 News: FIFA Says 'No Speeches' To Avoid Protests

FIFA has announced that there will be no speeches during the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Rio de Janeiro after fears that protesters might interrupt celebrations emerged. Last year, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was booed by fans at the opening match of the Confederations Cup. FIFA director Sep Blatter revealed that there was growing concern about social unrest in Brazil after a recent spate of protests took over Brazilian streets in opposition to corruption and the high cost of World Cup and 2016 Olympics preparations.

There has also been some concern about Brazil's readiness to host the giant event. There are still a number of arenas under construction. However, Mr. Blatter insisted that everything would be ready in time for the start of the World Cup: "Everything with the stadiums will work out. This is not my first World Cup. In the end, all the stadiums will be ready," Mr Blatter told DPA news agency. He did not elaborate on the decision to scrap the speeches from the opening ceremony.

Mr. Blatter in fact insisted that the Wolrd Cup would have a positive impact on the country: "We hope that the World Cup will play a part in calming down the social unrest that we experienced during the Confederations Cup." Mr. Blatter is of course referring to the incident in Brasilia last year when Ms. Rousseff was booed by fans. Mr Blatter also said that "the human rights situation" will be taken into account when FIFA awards the rights to host World Cups in the future.