The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international football tournament that is scheduled to take place between June and July 2014 in Brazil.

This will be the second time the country has hosted the competition, the first being the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Brazil will become the fifth country to have hosted the FIFA World Cup twice, after Mexico, Italy, France and Germany. It will be the first World Cup to be held in South America since the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, and the first time two consecutive World Cups are staged outside Europe (the 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa).

On 7 March 2003, FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in South America for the first time since Argentina hosted the competition in 1978, in line with its policy of rotating the right to host the World Cup amongst different confederations. On 3 June 2003, CONMEBOL announced that Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia wanted to host the 2014 World Cup finals. By 17 March 2004, the CONMEBOL associations had voted unanimously to adopt Brazil as their sole candidate.

Brazil formally declared its candidacy in December 2006 and Colombia did so as well a few days later. The Argentina bid never materialized. On 11 April 2007, Colombia officially withdrew its bid, Francisco Santos Calderón the vice president of Colombia announced that instead Colombia would be hosting the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. With this Brazil was the only official candidate to host the event in 2014. Brazil won the right to host the event on 30 October 2007 as the only country to enter a bid.

The qualification draw for the 2014 World Cup will be held at a yet-to-be-determined location on 31 July 2011. As the host nation, Brazil qualify automatically for the tournament.

Seventeen cities showed interest in being chosen as World Cup host cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Brasília, Belém, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Goiânia, Manaus, Natal, Recife (a stadium would be shared by both cities), Rio Branco and Salvador. Maceió withdrew in January 2009.

According to current FIFA practice, no more than one city may use two stadiums, and the number of host cities is limited between eight and ten. The Brazilian Confederation requested permission to assign twelve cities hosting World Cup Finals. On 26 December 2008, FIFA gave the green light to the 12-city plan.

Even before the twelve host cities were selected, there are few doubts that the chosen venue for the final match will be the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, which also hosted the decisive match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Originally the CBF's intentions were to have the opening match at Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil. However, on the 14th June 2010 the stadium was excluded from hosting games in the tournament due to a failure to provide financial guarantees for the improvements needed to have it as an eligible venue. In the end of August 2010, CBF announced that the new Corinthians stadium will host the matches in São Paulo.

The twelve host cities for the 2014 World Cup were announced on 31 May 2009. Belém, Campo Grande, Florianópolis, Goiânia and Rio Branco were rejected.

The logo is called "Inspiration", and was created by Brazilian agency "Africa". The design stems from an iconic photograph of three victorious hands together raising the world's most famous trophy. As well as depicting the humanitarian notion of hands interlinking, the portrayal of the hands is also symbolic of the yellow and green of Brazil warmly welcoming the world to their country. The logo was unveiled at a ceremony held in Johannesburg, South Africa on 8 July 2010.

FIFA and the Brazil LOC invited 25 Brazilian-based agencies to submit designs for the Official Emblem of the 2014 tournament and the task of picking the winner was awarded to a high-profile seven-strong judging panel consisting of Brazilian Football Confederation chairman Ricardo Teixeira, FIFA executive secretary Jérôme Valcke, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, architect Oscar Niemeyer, writer Paulo Coelho, singer Ivete Sangalo, and designer Hans Donner.

Brazilian graphic designer Alexandre Wollner has criticized the design, suggesting it resembles a hand covering a face in shame, and the process through which it was chosen, having a jury that excluded professional graphic designers.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) estimates that the cost of construction and remodeling of stadiums alone will be approximately over R$ 1.9 billion (US$ 1.1 billion, £ 550 million). In addition to the stadium upgrades and renovations, there will be millions more spent on basic infrastructure needs to get the country ready.

When informed of the decision to host the tournament, CBF President Ricardo Teixeira said "We are a civilized nation, a nation that is going through an excellent phase, and we have got everything prepared to receive adequately the honor to organize an excellent World Cup." Teixeira was on hand at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich when the announcement was made.

"Over the next few years we will have a consistent influx of investments. The 2014 World Cup will enable Brazil to have a modern infrastructure" Teixeira said. "In social terms will be very beneficial. Our objective is to make Brazil become more visible in global arenas," he added. "The World Cup goes far beyond a mere sporting event. It's going to be an interesting tool to promote social transformation."

In September 2008, Brazil's Transport Ministry announced the High-speed rail in Brazil, a project for the World Cup connecting Campinas, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. This would cost R$11 billion (approx. US$ 6.25 billion, £ 4.1 billion). The technology will most likely be provided by companies from France, Japan, South Korea or Germany which will form consortia with Brazilian engineering firms. However, on 2 July 2010, it was announced that the line is now not expected to open before late 2016.

On 31 August 2009 the state airport management agency Infraero unveiled a R$ 5.3 billion (approx. US$ 3 billion, £ 2 billion) investment plan to upgrade airports of ten of the venue cities, increasing their capacity and comfort for the hundreds of thousands of tourists expected for the Cup. Natal and Salvador are excluded because their upgrade works have been recently completed. A significant amount (55.3%) of the money will be spent overhauling the airports of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The investment figure covers works to be carried out up to 2014.

The announcement by Infraero came in reply to criticism made by the Brazilian General Aviation Association, a grouping of private aircraft owners, that Brazil's airports currently could not cope with the World Cup inflow. The vice-president of the association, Adalberto Febeliano, told reporters that more than 500,000 football fans were expected, with each one taking between six and fourteen flights during the tournament to get to the games in various cities.

The majority of Brazil's airports were built before the end of World War II, and several were at saturation point in terms of passengers, according to the association. It added that it should be possible to renovate the facilities "within three or four years" if the political will exists. Infraero said in a statement: "In the race against time, Infraero is making sure that the sixty-seven airports in its network are in perfect condition and can welcome in comfort and security passengers in Brazil and from abroad." In May 2010, the Brazilian Government changed the bidding legislation to allow more flexibility to Infraero.

The Maracanã Stadium, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, was elected for the final match. The Maracana Stadium was inaugurated in 1950, when Brazil hosted their first World Cup. For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, among other adaptations, will be built a new cover. The project also includes construction of a building for parking, above the lines of Supervia and subways, with 3,500 vacancies. The estimated cost of retirement is R$ 460 million. According to the study of Sinaenco, Maracana needed to correct the visibility hampered the first few rows behind the cabins, redo the access for people with special needs, today with insufficient size, and health reform.

The project can go beyond the stage of reform, including the restoration of the Quinta da Boa Vista and the Museum of de São Cristóvão, in addition to redevelopment and revitalization of neighborhoods and Maracanã Tijuca. The Engenhão, João Havelange Olympic Stadium, completed for 2007 Pan American Games, has a capacity of 45,000 people. As was recently concluded meets the requirements of FIFA and will serve as a training center for the World Cup.

An investment of R$ 5 billion is going to meet the requirements that the city faces in the final tournament and other games, including three areas: logistics (roads, railways, ports, waterways and airports), energy (generation and transmission of electric power, petroleum, natural gas and renewables) and social and urban (light, sanitation, housing, subways, water resources). In relation to the Rio de Janeiro Metro, the state Department of Transportation in Rio de Janeiro has held a public hearing for the extension of its lines. The new project is 13.5 km (8.4 mi) and six seasons, and should cross the South Zone of the city, carrying around 200,000 passengers per day for six metro stations.

The Brazilian federal government has earmarked R$ 3 billion (US$ 1.8 billion, £ 1.1 billion) for investment in works turned to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and intends to release a package of works, entitled the FIFA World Cup PAC (Portuguese acronym for Growth Acceleration Programme). According to the Brazilian minister of cities, Márcio Fortes, the bulk of funds should go to works pertaining to the world football championship, but the total figure will only be defined after a meeting with representatives of the municipalities that will host the matches.

"This is only an initial figure. We have not set a figure yet. These R$3 billion will allow us to take the first step. The total value of projects is not known yet. We are going to hold talks with mayors to learn which projects are priorities," said the minister. The funds will be supplied by Pró-Transporte, a financing programme funded by the Severance Pay Indemnity Fund (FGTS) whose regulation was passed last year by the fund's Board of Curators.

According to Fortes, several city councils have already contacted the ministry and showed interest in partnership for carrying out infrastructure work turned exclusively to the Cup that will be held in Brazil. "For some time now, the city councils that will host the matches have been contacting us. The city councils have had meetings with the FIFA and several projects were outlined. Our approach consists of dealing only with projects exclusively turned to the Cup. Our goal right now is not to solve transport-related issues in the city. We are going to help solve the issues pertaining to the events," he stated. According to the minister, another factor to be analysed by the Ministry of Cities is usefulness and sustainability of the investment after the competition is over. "We are not going to deal with huge projects. The cheapest and most efficient means of transport will be used. Of course, each case will be analysed separately," he explained.

Fortes stated that the PAC of the Cup is going to include partnerships with city councils and state governments, as well as some partnerships with the private sector. "The keyword is partnership. The federal government will not undertake anything by itself. It will be similar to the infrastructure PAC, in which we already have partnerships with city councils and state governments, as well as public-private partnerships. We are going to review the type of investment proposed, analyse their size, and the need for private sector participation, which may take place in different ways. The private sector may build and then lease the assets, or perhaps operate them. All of that will be discussed," he stated.

The minister also informed that preparations for the World Cup already include the creation of a line of financing for renewing the bus fleet across the country, a decision made approximately two months ago. The line will be made available by the Brazilian Federal Savings Bank with total funds of R$1 billion (US$ 600 million, £ 375 million).

In 1950, host cities of the World Cup were concentrated in the southeast and south. In 2014, the host cities are more evenly distributed. All the host cities are capitals of their state. 

The selection covers all the main regions of Brazil and as a result the tournament will require significant long-distance travel for teams. Brazil is the fifth largest nation in the world by geographical size. Although Brazil straddles the equator, all the proposed match venues are in the southern hemisphere, meaning that the games will be held in the winter period (although most venues for the tournament are situated in the tropics). The cold front comes from Antarctica causing cold weather in the south and central part of the country, and rainy weather in the north. However, the future stadiums are being prepared for these conditions.

FIFA, which held its annual Congress in the Bahamas, agreed to increase the number of host cities from ten to twelve because of the size of Brazil. "In the very beginning, ten cities were going to be chosen, but thanks to the influence of (Brazilian Football Confederation president) Ricardo Teixeira and the interest of the whole country, we agreed increasing the number to twelve," said FIFA president Sepp Blatter. Teixeira briefed FIFA members about all seventeen candidate cities.

A reported US$1 billion (approx. £650 million) is to be approved for the repair, upgrading and maintenance of Brazilian stadiums. However, aiming to build "state of the art" stadiums and, therefore, increasing their chances to be part of 2014's tournament, some Brazilian states are searching for expertise abroad. Recently delegations from Recife and Porto Alegre, for example, visited the Amsterdam Arena in order to understand the formula which made that stadium highly profitable. Amsterdam Arena, the home of Ajax FC, has developed and is offering its expertise on the multi-use-purpose stadium concept and management. 

Amsterdam Arena has been developed to accommodate not only football matches but also concerts and events. Amsterdam Arena is currently developing two projects for Brazil: Recife/Olinda and Porto Alegre (Grêmio).

The FIFA World Cup contributes to zero inflation in Brazil. Consumption patterns adopted by fans in Brazil amid the 2010 South Africa contributed to the country's inflation in June to be nil, officials said on Wednesday. "The variation of zero inflation (National Index of Consumer Price Index - IPCA) is directly linked to the World Cup," said economist Eulina Nunes dos Santos, coordinator of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in conference today to explain the content June. The institute announced on Wednesday that the official price index did not change in June, causing the country to reach the lowest inflation for a month of June in the last four years. The result was not as favorable since June 2006 when Brazil recorded a deflation of 0.21%.

According to Nunes, the country with five FIFA World Titles historically registered a sharp deceleration of inflation in the months played a World Cup. "Inflation in June 1998 when the Cup was played in France, was the lowest for the first half of this year (0.02%). Inflation May 2002 (World Cup of Japan and South Korea), was also smaller than the first half (0.21%). In June 2006 (World Cup of Germany), Brazil recorded a deflation of 0.21%, "said the economist. The expert attributed these results to a change in the standard of consumption of the Brazilians and the need for traders to reduce prices before the increase in supply of products offered to fans who are more concerned with staying home to watch the games on television than in getting out shopping.

On 11 June 2010, the Federal Government launched a program to protect the tenders for work in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games against the possibility of fraud. The plan, known as Jogando Limpo (Playing It Clean), includes a series of guidelines and nuggets of advice so that the Government institutions, and also the tax authorities, as also the common citizens themselves, may identify and denounce attempts at fraud against the tenders. 

The program, which was launched by the Ministry for Justice and the Ministry for Sport, also plan the establishment of a group especially to keep an eye on tenders, to armor them against the threat of fraud and also to avoid delays in construction work.

This initiative, also boosted by the General Financial Controller of the Union (Controladoria Geral da União), also plans a campaign to make the people aware of the need to pay attention to possible fraud and to always denounce the cases. The program emphasizes measures against cartels and possible agreements between competing companies to set prices above market levels, in an attempt to raise the value of the contracts with the state. "Nothing can be worse than someone taking advantage of these two great opportunities to commit crimes. This is a world phenomenon," said the Minister for Justice, Luiz Paulo Barreto, during the ceremony to launch the program.

"The businesspeople could be entering with an agreement on prices, in order to compete in these tenders. This is something that needs to be tackled. We need to promote fair play also in our tenders," Mr. Barreto added. "Fair play is something we would expect from a country intending to host events of this size," he added. For the Minister, if South Africa opened its World Cup today, Brazil has also started to organize theirs, with the programming of the construction works that shall be necessary for the event and also the definition of investments that shall be made in infrastructure works, services and sporting venues.

Mr. Barreto said that, between 2007 and 2010, there were a total of 265 search and seizure warrants issued in Brazil to tackle the crime of cartel formation. In the same period over 100 people were preventively arrested for the same crime, and currently an additional 251 people are being investigated.

The Federal Government informed on May 17, 2010, that it shall be granting tax breaks for the construction and refurbishment of the stadiums for the 2014 World Cup. In a note, the Ministry for the Treasury said that it shall be "granting tax exemption to the stadium of the World Cup, which shall not need to pay Industrialized Products Tax (Imposto sobre Produtos Industrializados - IPI), Importation Tax (Imposto de Importação - II) or social contributions (PIS/COFINS)."

In addition, the 12 cities that shall be hosting the World Cup matches shall be able to grant exemption from State Value Added Tax (Imposto sobre Circulação de Mercadorias e Serviços - ICMS) on all operations involving merchandise and other goods for the construction or the refurbishment of the stadiums. "Conditional on the cumulative concession of the benefits involving Importation Tax, IPI and PIS/COFINS, the exemption of ICMS on imports shall only be applicable if the goods do not have a similar product produced nationally," the note informed, adding that this decision shall be made feasible through a Law or Provisional Measure.

Last September, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social - BNDES) opened a credit line of R$ 4.8 billion (approx. US$ 2.7 billion, £ 1.75 billion) for the World Cup stadiums. Each host city shall be able to finance up to R$ 400 million (approx. US$ 225 million, £ 145 million) or 75% of the project, with Bank funds.