A football stadium doesn't give away jerseys to anyone.

Jaciara Santos_Bahia247 - The construction of monumental stadiums, the so-called arenas that have been consuming huge sums in Brazil, should not be the main concern of the governments of countries hosting mega sporting events. This is the opinion of South African Luzanda Makidizela, Director of Mobility for the 2010 World Cup at the National Department of Transport of South Africa, one of the speakers at the conference "Major events and their impacts on urban mobility", the opening activity of the 18th Brazilian Congress on Transport and Traffic, promoted by the National Association of Public Transport (ANTP), which takes place at the SulAmérica Convention Center, Rio de Janeiro, until Friday (21).

According to Luzanda, poor countries (such as South Africa and Brazil) should take advantage of the opportunities arising from events like a World Cup to invest in the quality of life of their populations. In this respect, as South Africans are discovering today, the large stadiums have done nothing to improve their daily lives.

But if Brazil wants to learn from the lessons of South Africa, host of the 2010 World Cup, it needs to get moving. After all, less than three years before the kickoff of the mega-football event, the Brazilian government continues to struggle with urban mobility in some of the cities that will host the championship. Salvador, among them.

Also participating in the opening conference, Regina Amélia de Oliveira, Director of Transportation for the Brazilian Olympic Committee, spoke about the opportunities that the 2016 Olympics will present. She warned that, although the official host city is Rio de Janeiro, the event will mobilize the entire country. Salvador, along with São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Brasília—the so-called "football cities"—will have a prominent role, as they will be used as training and acclimatization locations for foreign teams. To fulfill these purposes, the cities will need to improve in several areas, including sustainable transportation that truly promotes full mobility and accessibility.

Absence

The 18th Congress was inaugurated this morning with the presence of authorities such as the Municipal Secretary of Transportation of Rio de Janeiro, Alexandre Sansão, representatives of the federal government, parliamentarians, public and private operators, industrialists, consultants, leaders of employers' and workers' unions, as well as academics and community leaders. Invited to the event, Minister Mário Negromonte did not attend, citing a "scheduling conflict".

Until Friday, panels, workshops, and conferences will be held as part of the 18th ANTP Congress. In parallel, the VII International Exhibition on Transport and Traffic (Intrans) is taking place. The opening session featured the presence of teenagers from the Villa Lobinhos Orchestra who performed the National Anthem and a repertoire of songs with themes related to public transport and traffic.