Mundial 2014: Brazil is More than Soccer

... provides a full spectacle, with the World Cup and other international tournaments becoming temporary corporate headquarters. Such parallels are well justified, as well-known Uruguayan author and publicist Eduardo Galeano even has said that "the FIFA is the IMF of football." The game provides the leading soccer power with a palpable post-crisis pop. For example, Spain, the World Cup holder from 2010 until now, is using the soccer economy as an additional buffer against the consequences of its economic slump. Football generates 1.7 percent of its GDP or about nine billion euro annually (the soccer lottery only brings 500 million euro a year), plus is responsible for about 85,000 ...