In 2014, the world will have their eyes glued to Brazil and the phenomenal spectacle that is the World Cup.
Although there have been concerns about the speed of the preparations, there is already a real sense of anticipation already about the ‘Samba Kings’ hosting the tournament.
It can be argued that football will be showcased in its rightful settings. On the land where football is religion and flair is everything, they have consistently produced some of the best players in the game and the World Cup winners of 1970 are considered to be the greatest international team in the history of association football.
They are renowned for breeding quick and skilful players, who combine entertainment with getting results in a metronomic fashion.
One of the finest exponents of that exciting brand of football, Roberto Carlos, was subjected to racist abuse whilst playing for the Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala against Krylya Sovetov.
A banana was shamelessly thrown at him from the stands, prompting Carlos to walk off the pitch looking visibly shaken.
It is not the first time that Carlos has been targeted and it only serves to fuel the argument against choosing Russia as the host nation for the 2018 World Cup.
When we discovered that Russia had been chosen ahead of our campaign, we acted with a typically British sense of injustice.
Cries of outrage came in from pundits and the public alike. ‘Where is the infrastructure?’ and ‘A country with a proven track record of racism doesn’t deserve it’ were accusations banded about.
The realists in us simply thought that FIFA didn’t like us as a nation, and that our bid was severely damaged by a BBC Panorama investigation into the dealings of FIFA.
Allegations of bribery were also banded about, resulting in an investigation into the conduct of four officials.
Russia is the largest nation in the world and therefore transport takes on a role of greater importance. The Russian government hopes to have invested one trillion dollars by 2020, which is proof that the infrastructure is not at where it should be for an international event.
FIFA judged Russia as a medium operational risk and air transport as high risk, something that Britain or Spain would not have to contend with.
I can grimly envisage fans missing out on games because of flight delays, or slow, lethargic games due to jet lag from some of the mammoth journeys.
Secondly, why would FIFA award the most important football competition in the world to a country where many fans do not adhere to the moral code expected in international and domestic competition.
Roberto Carlos is certainly not the first victim to suffer from a disgraceful incident like this in Russia and I dread to think of some of the scenes that might occur when African nations play, particularly if they are drawn against the home nation in the group stages.
I do however, want to balance out what so far is a one sided barrage on Russia. Like many areas around the world, Russia has its cosmopolitan cities and its closed minded villages. It is unfair to suggest that the actions of some uneducated morons in tribal areas represent the Russian people as a whole.
I’m also sure that Russian officials will be trying their hardest to ensure that regretful scenes such as these will not occur at the World Cup.
However, FIFA have a myriad of problems to combat and this latest show of abuse to Roberto Carlos should put anti-racism at the top of the list.
I cannot see Russia capturing the imagination that Brazil will in 2014. Perhaps England would have, who knows?
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