Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that it was no longer time to "
judge
" the choice of Qatar for the organization of the FIFA World Cup which begins on Sunday.
“
I don't know what the criteria was for choosing Qatar.
Anyway, it's not up to us to judge the criteria.
The choice is made, it's decided
,” he declared in Lisbon, after a meeting with Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
“
The selections have been called, they have started to train.
What we want is for the players to play well to give us all a show
,” added Lula da Silva.
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Since its appointment at the end of 2010 to organize this planetary event, obtained to everyone's surprise at the expense of the United States, Qatar has been the target of numerous criticisms: accusations of corruption to win, fate reserved for migrant workers, respect for the rights women and LGBTQ+ people, environmental impact of the tournament...
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On the sporting level, the president-elect of Brazil affirmed that he "
sincerely
" and "
humbly
" believed in his country's chances of winning the tournament.
"
Twenty years later, it's time for Brazil to be world champions again
," he said at a press conference alongside the Portuguese Prime Minister.
“
First because some important selections are not going well.
Second, because a four-time champion country is not going, which is Italy.
Third, because Cristiano Ronaldo no longer plays like he did fifteen years ago
,” added the 77-year-old former metalworker, making Mr. Costa smile.
The head of the Portuguese government, for his part, wanted to distinguish support for the Portugal team from political considerations concerning the host country of the World Cup.
“
When we go there, we will certainly not go to support the regime in Qatar, the violation of human rights in Qatar or the discrimination of women in Qatar.
No, we will go to support the national team
,” said Mr. Costa.
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