London, Mar 12 (ANI): World football governing body FIFA has reportedly announced that there will be no speeches at the opening ceremony of the Brazil World Cup in June.
Last year, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was booed by fans at the opening match of the Confederations Cup - a curtain-raiser for the World Cup.
According to the BBC, FIFA head Sepp Blatter expressed concern about social unrest in Brazil, although he did not elaborate on his decision to scrap the speeches from the opening ceremony.
However, the report mentioned that Blatter came out in the support of Rousseff when she was booed by football fans at the Confederations Cup, adding that it is not clear whether the Brazilian government was involved in the decision to remove Rousseff's speech from the opening ceremony.
Among the venues still being built is the Arena Corinthians, in Sao Paulo, where the opening match between Brazil and Croatia is due to be played on 12 June, although Blatter downplayed concerns that the stadiums will not be finished in time for the event and hoped the event would play a part in calming down the protests.
Protesters took to the streets of many Brazilian cities shortly before the Confederations Cup, denouncing corruption and the perceived high cost of preparations for the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, which will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro, the report added. (ANI)
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