Rio de Janeiro, Sep 16 (IANS) At least two Brazilian cities have reportedly declined requests to provide a World Cup base for the United States football team next year.
According to local daily Folha de S. Paulo, cities in Bahia and Minas Gerais states were sought to host the US team during the June 12-July 13, 2014 tournament, Xinhua reports.
But they were unable to guarantee the “sophisticated technological facilities” and health and safety standards demanded by the US team, the newspaper said.
“They consider the cost-benefit of receiving the US team to be a bad deal given the enormous security demands that the team has,” the newspaper said.
According to the report, the US team has requested a large area surrounding their hotel and training base to be sectioned off from the general public.
Mogi das Cruzes, a city in Sao Paulo state, is understood to be in “advanced” negotiations with US officials to provide the team’s base.