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Mas Que Nada (FIFA World Cup Coverage)

A rise in bus fares, poor public services and other ills in the midst of an over $11 billion investment in staging the FIFA World Cup in Brazil has led many Brazilians to take the streets in air their grievances at their government, as well as FIFA, soccer's governing body. (Davi Pinheiro/Reuters)
Bus fare hikes, poor public services and other ills in the midst of a multi-billion investment to host the World Cup has led many Brazilians to rally against their government, as well as FIFA, soccer’s governing body. (Davi Pinheiro/Reuters)

“Mas Que Nada,” which is the title of a very famous and melodic Brazilian song by Jorge Ben, and later covered/popularized by Sérgio Mendes, roughly translates to “Yeah, right” in English (from Portuguese). But while so many people in Brazil and around the world are at a fever pitch at the beginning of the 20th edition of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, there are hundreds of native Brazilians who are also, at the very least, skeptical of the event, and are saying “Yeah, right” to this footballing extravaganza in many different ways – from protests to more disruptive, and sometimes, violent demonstrations.

Our latest interview for The A Lot of Sports Talk Podcast is with Peter Azen, an award-winning New York City-based filmmaker who was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. In our insightful conversation, he mentions in great detail why he is not supporting the national team’s possible success (and how Brazil winning the World Cup may make things worse for many of its citizens), the neighborhood deterioration he has personally seen in his hometown of Rio since the 2007 announcement of Brazil being named host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and why he would be conflicted if a certain Brazilian domestic league team were in action in the backdrop of the protests going on in Brazil.

[audio:http://10ee5eb6907d78840d63-8e1e5dd8679f231dcbc4aa2ccbe6df56.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com/FIFAWorldCupInterviewPeterAzen.mp3]

This interview will be the main interview in our latest podcast, to be released later today or early Friday. Continue to stay to to A Lot of Sports Talk for more coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.


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