It's Only a Game...

The 2014 World Cup is now in full swing in Brazil, and as a result the country has been placed under a microscope. In the run up to the start of the tournament there have been concerns over the completion and safety of stadiums, and there have been reports on the anticipated increase in sex tourism; the revelations about child prostitution are particularly distressing:

Child Prostitutes Forced to Cash-in on Fans at Brazil World Cup 

The spotlight has also be turned to environmental issues in Brazil. The mascot for the World Cup, 'Fuleco', is an endangered three-banded armadillo and has received much attention from world media. The name is a combination of the words futebol (football) and ecologia (ecology) and appears to demonstrate environmental awareness on the part of FIFA. While the choice of mascot may help raise awareness of the plight of this creature, FIFA has been criticised for not doing more to help secure the future of the animal that is being used to market the World Cup.

Huffington Post: Armadillo, Mascot of the 2014 World Cup, Threatened with Extinction

BBC News: Row Over Protection for World Cup Mascot Armadillo

Paddy Power has used the World Cup as an opportunity to raise awareness of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest...or did they use deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest to raise awareness of Paddy Power and the World Cup?

The entire story and the way in which it unfolded is documented on the Paddy Power website (below).

The Truth about Paddy Power's Stunt in the Amazon Rainforest

The online backlash that Paddy Power received when people thought they had contributed to deforestation demonstrates the general public's awareness of the issue and their concern for the "lungs of the world". However, once the truth had been revealed the conversation quickly changed from concern for the Amazon to praise for the creativity and originality of the publicity stunt.

The 2014 World Cup could be a great opportunity to highlight and tackle important environmental issues, but what we have seen so far has been little more than lip service; the true goal is self promotion and publicity. While it is unrealistic to expect FIFA to tackle environmental issues in any meaningful way, the very least we can do is recognise that insincere marketing strategies exploit environmental issues and exploit the public.