By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has given reason why the South American country has dropped out of the race to secure the hosting right for the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) Women’s World Cup final in 2023.
An official statement from CBF said the government of Brazil did not consider it wise to offer financial guarantees required by the world football governing body FIFA in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world Brazil inclusive.
CBF said Brazil will now support Colombia’s proposal, which is up against Japan and a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand to host the 32-team tournament.
It will be recalled that FIFA will vote to select the 2023 Women’s World Cup host nation on June 25.
PromptNews can confirm that the negative economic impact of Covid-19 on Brazil’s economy means that the government will not have the financial strengths to support CBF bid.
“Because of the fiscal and economic austerity brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, [the government] thought it would not be recommended to right now sign the guarantees asked for by FIFA,” said a CBF statement.
Brazil has hosted a number of major international sporting competitions in recent years, including the men’s FIFA World Cup in 2014, the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the Copa America in 2019. But the CBF felt it was an outsider to host yet another big event.
The country has been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 35,000 deaths and in excess of 640,000 confirmed infections, but the latter number is believed to be much higher because of insufficient testing.
