Brazilian team won’t go to Brasilia if it wins the World Cup

It’s a tradition: In the five times it was world champion, the Brazilian team visited the President of the Republic in Brasília shortly after the conquest. From Juscelino Kubitscheck, in 1958, to Fernando Henrique Cardoso, in 2002, passing through João Goulart, in 1962, Emilio Garrastazu Médici, in 1970, and Itamar Franco, in 1994, it has always been like this. But this time it will be different.

The CBF has decided that, even if they win the Qatar World Cup, the coaching staff and players will not stop in the country’s capital to celebrate with the president – and that goes for whatever the result of the second round of elections: giving Lula or Bolsonaro, there will be no kissing hands.

There are basically two reasons that led the entity to choose not to have a party in Brasília in case of winning the mug: the position of neutrality preached by President Ednaldo Rodrigues and coach Tite, and also because of the unfavorable ‘timing’.

Since 1994, sports competition and electoral disputes always fall in the same years. The Cup is usually played in June and July, and elections take place in October. Only this time, because of the heat in the summer in Qatar, FIFA decided to start the competition after the end of the season. It will take place in November, when temperatures are lowest in the country.

Brazil will know the results of the polls on the night of October 30th and the World Cup final is scheduled for December 18th, two weeks before the end of the current president’s term. There are two hypotheses in the political scenario for this period: Bolsonaro re-elected, preparing for another four years in power, or in a transition phase, about to pass the belt to Lula.

Neither of the two seemed interesting enough for the CBF to leave neutrality aside. Hence the option to cross Brasilia off the map if the team wins the hexa in Qatar.