World Cup 2014: football really is coming home, says Brazil's president

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jun/08/football-coming-home-brazil-dilma-rousseff

Version 0 of 1.

Starting on Thursday, the eyes and hearts of the world will be turned to Brazil. Thirty-two national teams representing the best in football will be vying for the World Cup, the event that, every four years, makes football fans of us all.

This is the time for football's largest international festival, but it is also time for us to celebrate, thanks to football, the values of fair play and peaceful coexistence among all peoples. It is an opportunity to reinvigorate the humanistic values of Pierre de Coubertin, values of peace, harmony and tolerance.

The "cup of cups," as we affectionately call it, will also be the cup for peace and against racism, the cup for inclusion and against all forms of discrimination, the cup for tolerance, dialogue, understanding and sustainability.

Organising the World Cup is a source of pride for Brazilians. On and off the field, we are united and dedicated to providing a great spectacle. For one month, visitors coming to our country will discover that Brazil has become a mature, thriving democracy. Over the last 12 years we have advanced one of the world's most successful projects to raise income distribution, employment levels and social inclusion. We have massively reduced inequality, bringing 42 million Brazilians into the middle class and lifting 36 million out of extreme poverty in one decade.

We are also now a vibrant democracy, despite living under a dictatorship a few decades ago. We enjoy complete freedom and coexist harmoniously with popular demonstrations and demands, which help us improve and perfect our democratic institutions.

In all 12 host cities of the World Cup, visitors can get a close-up view of the diversity of our culture and geography. We are a country of music, of natural beauty, of cultural diversity, of ethnic and religious harmony, of respect for the environment.

It is true that football was born in England, but we like to think that it was in Brazil that it made its home. It is here that Pelé, Garrincha and Didi and many other football masters who have dazzled millions around the world were born. So when the World Cup comes back to Brazil after 64 years, it feels like football has returned home.

We are the land of football because of our glorious history of five world championships and for the passion that every Brazilian dedicates to their team, to their heroes and to the Seleção, our national team. The love of our people for football has become part of our national identity. For us, football is a celebration of life.

On behalf of 201 million Brazilians, I would like to extend our warm welcome to all fans from the UK and to all visitors who have come to Brazil to share the "cup of cups" with us.