There was a time when the life of a sports writer was a relatively risk-free occupation. Okay, so you would occasionally burn the roof of your mouth if you bit into a half-time meat and potato pie before it had had the chance to cool but, on the whole, no-one was deliberately trying to harm you. But that immunity from persecution is now over it appears, thanks to FIFA and the IOC. War correspondents across the world must have already been sniggering away to themselves in their reinforced bunkers at the thought of thousands of ‘soft’ sports journalists scouring the mean streets of Johannesburg in search of stories during next year’s World Cup, and now the Olympics are going to Rio! Despite President Obama’s presence in Copenhagen, where the IOC had convened to decide which city would follow London in 2012, long-time ante-post favourites Chicago were the first city to be eliminated in the final round of voting, swiftly followed by the strongly-fancied Tokyo. That left Madrid as the only barrier between Rio De Janeiro and the honour of being the first South American city to host the Olympiad. Now don’t get me wrong, Brazil‘s first city is undoubtedly pleasing on the eye when it comes to postcard images. The beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, the iconic giant statue of Christ The Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain and, of course, the legendary Maracana Stadium. But how, in a city where fatal shootings are as common as mobile phone thefts and where the disappearance of children is no longer considered newsworthy, do the authorities plan to guarantee the safety of millions of spectators and, more importantly from my viewpoint, ensure that reporters aren’t gunned down the moments they stray out of their hotel garden not only once but twice because, of course, the World Cup in seven years time is also being staged in the city? I can tell you, there’s going to be more than a few of us dressed up like Robocop if we are ‘lucky’ enough to be given assignments in South America in 2014 and 2016. Paddy Power are offering odds of 3-1 that Brazil win the football gold medal in 2016 and 10-1 that they win both the gold medal and the World Cup in 2014. But franky, that’s the least of my concerns.
Sports News – Rio Get Ready For An Olympic Party
4th October 2009 /
