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Summary Brazil's new sports minister Aldo Rebelo has pledged that his country will put on a great World Cup.
Brazils new sports minister Aldo Rebelo pledged Monday that the South American country will put on a great World Cup.Addressing corruption scandals and delays surrounding the 2014 World Cup, Rebelo spoke just days after Brazilian media reported that Ricardo Teixeira, the president of the 2014 World Cup organizing committee, is preparing to resign.Teixeira, a member of FIFAs executive committee, is being linked to an investigation of kickbacks at ISL, the marketing agency that owned World Cup television rights until its 2001 bankruptcy with debts of around $300 million.Rebelo was named in October to replace Orlando Silva, who resigned after being embroiled in his own corruption scandal.Rebelo spoke at the opening ceremony of Soccerex in Rio de Janeiro, a global trade show for the football industry.It is not only the world of football that is going through tough times because of claims of corruption, problems with racism, intolerance, Rebelo told hundreds of delegates at the convention. These facts are undesirable. These are things that are happening in the whole world.The ministers comments touched on problems surrounding Sepp Blatter, the embattled president of FIFA, who has been under growing pressure to reform footballs world governing body following a series of scandals.FIFA has promised to publish Swiss court papers in December identifying senior officials who took payment from ISL. British broadcaster BBC has named the officials as Teixeira and his former father-in-law Joao Havelange, the longtime FIFA president who Blatter succeeded in 1998.Speaking on the sidelines after his address, Rebelo was asked about the tension between FIFA and Teixeira. He hinted new blood might be needed.This is nothing new, this has always been my opinion, he said. The renewal and rotating system in any institution is always a good thing for sport and democracy.Rebelo also addressed organizational problems in building infrastructure such as airports and stadiums and getting World Cup venues ready on time.
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