The Federation of International Football Federation (FIFA) has announced that there will be no speeches at the opening ceremony of the World Cup on June 12.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was booed by fans at the opening match of the 2013 Confederation Cup- a curtain-raiser for this summer World Cup.
FIFA head Sepp Blatter expressed concerns about social unrest in the host nation in an interview with DPA.
Protesters took to the streets of many Brazilian cities shortly before the start of last year’s Confederation Cup.
They denounced the rate of corruption among top government officials and the perceived high cost of preparation for the soccer showpiece and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Sepp Blatter and Dilma Roussef During the Opening Ceremony of the 2013 Confederation Cup.
Mr. Blatter did not make much emphasis on the decision to scrap the speeches from the opening ceremony, but believes the World Cup has a part to play in calming down the protest.
“We hope that the World Cup will play a part in calming down the social unrest that we experienced during the Confederation Cup,” said Blatter.
It is not clear whether the Brazilian government was involved in the decision to remove Miss Rousseff’s opening speech from the opening ceremony.
