FIFA makes me sick

FIFA has asked that the State government of Rio de Janeiro change the architectural plans for the Maracanã project, asking to cancel this week's call for construction proposals to "modernize" the stadium. Why? The architectural plans for the lower seats are "not inclined enough". I had assumed that there had been an error of some kind in the drawings, or that the presence of the new luxury boxes would have changed the angles, or something more obvious, like the seat backs for the FIFA overlords weren't high enough, or wide enough, or didn't vibrate with a Swiss twizzler, French tickler option button. But it was worse than I imagined:


As reported by Lance! and passed on at copa2014.org.br:
"O problema principal é a mudança da altura das placas de publicidade instaladas ao lado dos gramados, de 90 cm para um metro, definida pela federação internacional de futebol. Com essa barreira visual mais alta, toda a visibilidade dos torcedores seria alterada e daí a necessidade de reestruturar os projetos de arquibancadas."


The principal problem is the change in height of the advertizing boards that line the field, from 90cm to one meter, as defined by FIFA. With the higher visual barrier, all of the sightlines of the spectators will be altered and as a result the entire structure of the stands will need to be changed. 


Let me get this straight. FIFA is demanding that at least 4 of the current stadium projects (Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Rio, Belo Horizonte), worth billions of public Reales, be delayed and their architecture refigured (increasing their already astronomical prices), so that their advertisers can have 30cm more height during the 64 games of the 2014 World Cup? Pelo amor de Deus gente! It's a crime! It's the most rediculous thing I have ever heard! The website that reported the news is sponsored by the national syndicate or architecture and engineering (SINAENCO), and not a sound of protest! Hey! FIFA! Vai tomar no c*!

Let me repeat: FIFA is demanding that at least 4 publicly funded World Cup stadiums change their architectural plans and delay the start of construction so that their "partners" can have ads that are 30cm higher. Hey! FIFA! Vai tomar no c*!

As I have catalogued here time and time again, the projects are already behind schedule, which will increase the cost of every stadium project. Since 2009, the total bill for the 12 stadium projects has increased by 20% and South Africa has just reported that their stadiums cost twice the original estimates. Can you imagine what the cost of the Brazilian stadiums will be 4 years from now? The obvious well and truly boggles the mind.