Sideline Conversations: Inside the C-Suite with Brazil

MARLON HILL: Welcome back again to the Sideline Conversations. My name is attorney Marlon Hill. I'm coming to you live from Miami Florida, one of the 16 host cities. Sometimes they call me clutch. And I'm here joined with my fellow friends from the Sideline, my good friend from Mexico City, JC Partida from EC Rubio. Thank you for tuning in here on the Sidelines, and coming from the North across the border, my good friend Aarij Wasti from Gowling WLG tuning in here on the sideline.

And we have a very special guest. I'm not sure if he's in Rio or if he's in Sao Paulo or if he's in Salvador, Bahia, but I do know that he's coming to us live from the new international offices of the Confederecao. Bruno Costa, thank you for joining us here on the Sideline and giving us the perspective of CBFA.

BRUNO COSTA: Hello, Marlo. Hello, Aarij, Juan. It's a pleasure to be here. Talking a little bit about the upcoming workup. You guys know that soccer in Brazil, it's a religion. It's not a sport. For us, it's every four years everything changes in Brazil. People are painting the streets. More than 200 million people we have living in the country, so they're all expecting, of course, the results with a lot of pressure for Brazil being the only country that have participated in every World Cup since 1930s, the only country to have won five World Cup titles. But yeah, we know usually this kind of pressure and that makes work even harder, year after year.

MARLON HILL: Well, listen, we're great to have you. It's the spectacle of the World Cup, the largest sporting event in the world. We're expecting to kick off this summer of football this month, and we're so passionate and excited about this opportunity to speak with you. We've been, Bruno, talking about a number of issues, including, marketing issues, sponsorships, immigration, all types of issues, legal, and business issues in and around the World Cup.

Today, as the World Cup is going to be starting in Mexico City with Mexico playing South Africa, we also have to talk about getting ready for the unexpected things that could happen. So we're going to be talking about that here on this program. But we certainly also want to talk about just the tournament as a whole. We all have our favorite teams. We all have our favorite host cities. Breaking news, Vancouver was selected as the favorite host city in-- I don't know what kind of poll that was ours but how do you feel about that, Aarij?

AARIJ WASTI: Hey, look, my kids and wife brought that to my attention. And I asked them like, what are you wowed by? And then they showed me this iconic image of the Science Center being turned into a World Cup trionda ball with the sea on one side, with the mountains in the other, and the lights of the city turned on. They have taken host city dressing to a whole other level unlike some cities closer to me. And it's impressive. So I think with the natural backdrop and with this whole city dressing visitors, teams that are traveling to Vancouver for the World Cup, I think they're going to be wowed. It's going to be amazing.

MARLON HILL: Well, listen, 16 host cities, 3 in Mexico, 2 in Canada, 11 in the United States. Bruno, CBFA, your base camp is going to be in the Northeast. You're going to be getting ready for the tournament there. Give us a little insight as to how the Federation has been preparing for this tournament. You have a new technical director and he brings his team. But bring us into the room of the CBFA executive and how you've been preparing for the unexpected for this tournament in 2026.

BRUNO COSTA: Of course, we have a very experienced group of Carlo Ancelotti, who is a head coach. He has already been in all the World Cup, representing Italy back in '94. He was the assistant coach for Arrigo Sacchi when Italy played Brazil in the final. So as a former player and a former winner coach, he knows what it takes to go to the next level. We have a 91 people-- no, 26 players plus the staff, so 91 people in our delegation, security, physiotherapist, [INAUDIBLE] kids and marketing media. So there is a huge, huge group of people behind the scene working so everything can run smoothly.

We are staying in New Jersey. Training at the brand new New York Red Bull training facilities, which is considered one of the best training facilities in the US and all over the world. It's a brand new. We are using four standard Red Bull because they just ready made for us. We also have a private hotel, 15 minutes from the training facilities. We are keeping very close. It's a private hotel. Nobody can get in. Nobody can get out. Only the players. It's 176 rooms, so with all that we needed to be focused on the competitions.

And I believe Brazil and two other national teams are the only ones, they're paying more to stay in the same place until the end of the competitions because, by FIFA, you have to keep moving stage after stage to different place if you don't want to pay for that. But CBF is making a huge investment to give you all the security, to give you all this foundation, and calmness for the players and the staff to work quietly, and have a good workout.

MARLON HILL: Yeah. So Aarij you served as general counsel to our hosting of the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar. How does a three nations and 16 host cities prepare for crises and expecting the unexpected? What are some of the things that go into behind the scenes in preparing for the unexpected?

AARIJ WASTI: Well, that's a great question, Marlon, preparing for the unexpected. Look, the reality is, with a tournament like this, you can leave nothing to chance. And so really, there is no such notion of facing the unexpected. So what does that mean? Let's set aside the fact that there are three co-hosts here for a second. In any host city or host country, there has to be a coming together of the stakeholders. So in this case, you've got FIFA as the event owner, organizer, you've got the Local Hosting Committee, or the LLC, depending on the venues that you're dealing with, you have the stadium authority, and then you have the local authorities, police, EMS, fire, emergency response, et cetera, and of course, local government.

Now, what do they do? So number one is tabletop exercises. So these are really well designed crises drills in this case around World Cup venues that need to be realistic. These multi agencies need to come together and focus on decision-focused decision making. So you start with those tabletop exercises, walk through plausible matchday scenarios. And the key is not just asking, what would we do? It's about asking, who decides, who communicates, who records the decision, and how quickly can we act together. So that's one piece.

Then you've got the multi-agency coordination. So scenarios really in this case should be about the World Cup-- crowd surges at gates, severe weather, protests near a fan zone, a suspicious package, medical emergency, cyber outages, misinformation spreading online. The drill really should reinforce real-time decisions with incomplete information, because that is what will happen on matchday. So you practice that.

And then finally the real-time decision making. So these are the drills that need an after action process. The value is not just running the exercise. It's about updating the plan, assigning responsibility, and testing and testing again. So the good crisis drill then gives everybody muscle memory before the pressure of the event going live. That is within the normal ecosystem.

Now, when you've got in this case three hosts that are working together, they're obviously, depending on the topic or the issue. There needs to be a little bit of a cross border element to it in terms of cooperation, communication, and really bringing brainstorming through, well, what are some of the issues that could affect us all. I think my mind goes immediately to health issues. Now, that could be a pandemic like scenario. You could also-- if you think about, we had a scare recently in the Denmark match with Eriksens' health again. I mean, those are moments that are going to bring all host countries and beyond to a standstill. So some of the coordination around that to avoid panic.

Weather systems, we recently had a storm that spread from Mexico all the way to Canada. And obviously that requires a little bit of coordination. And other similar issues. I mean, we're living in an age of great unrest. While the headlines might say that there are a lot of issues plaguing either the US or Mexico, I mean, the reality is that the world is a village today.

So, yeah, look, ultimately it's all about preparedness. And the reality is you never want to face an issue for the first time once the event is live, just because of the number of eyeballs on it and quite frankly, the sophistication of some of these challenges. So really it's about preparedness planning and practice.

MARLON HILL: Absolutely. JC let me bring you in off the sideline from Mexico City. Mexico City has hosted this beloved tournament for three times. And I think Brazil won one of those times in Mexico City. What is different about a World Cup in Mexico from a crisis preparedness standpoint? What are some of the things that are top of mind among the Mexican population and those who are following the game as you approach this tournament and historic hosting by Mexico again?

JC PARTIDA: Yes. Thank you Marlon. I mean, in the last two or in the past two World Cups, the Mexico organized, there were no issues at all, and there were actually no worries by the organizers about any security issues. I think that's pretty recent from the last three, four World Cups. It's something new. But the thing is that the Mexican government and probably unlike the US host cities, in Mexico, the security issues, the risk issues are being handled by the federal government in coordination with the host cities.

So that's pretty good because the Mexican federal government is being on top of everything. It is the National Guard, actually the military, who is coordinating all the security issues in Mexico. They are considering risk factors, which cities are the most risk possibility in Mexico. And it's not necessarily the host cities, Guadalajara, Monterrey or Mexico City. They are including now as a big risk also Tijuana being the campsite for the Iranian soccer team. So they are taking into consideration everything. The federal government has done a lot of exercises is. And I think they are doing it well on that front. And by being the federal government, the coordinator, I think it's good.

MARLON HILL: Excellent. Bruno, CBFA has definitely added one of its stars in Mexico. But your delegation with Brazil comes with some very high level profile players. How is the Federation-- is there a system that you have in place to protect the security of the players and the delegation, and do you have public practices or private practices? How is the security that you can share to protect the five-time champion?

BRUNO COSTA: Well, we travel with almost 10 private securities from Brazil. That's pretty much of course having so many important players and also a coach who is considered one of the top coaches in the world like Ancelotti. It's important to have this kind of safeness. On the other side, we also want to keep our connection with our fans very close because it's very important. And I believe we need to find this kind of balance.

If we could see how the Brazilian players are trying to-- whenever they arrive a hotel or they arrive for the games or even at the airport, they are they're being very, very generous, very humble. And also that's something we as CBF, we've been talking a lot to the players. That's why last year the new management of CBF, since we took over in May of last year, we launched the marketing commercial department launching a campaign called hit the chest, bate no peito in Portuguese.

That should reconnect the Brazilian fans with the whole ecosystem, with the players, bring the pride of cheering for the yellow jersey again. And I believe while you're doing this, our call up, the final list call up last week was like one of the most viewed events in the whole world, more than 500 million people watched it and expected the Brazilian final list.

So we made a very big showcase out of that. Not many national teams have ever done it. And that shows also the passion and of course, the interest that the yellow jersey has all over the world.

MARLON HILL: Yeah. Oh, you had a question for Bruno.

AARIJ WASTI: Yeah Bruno, look, we all know what the yellow jersey means, not just to fans in Brazil, but also to fans around the world. And with that color comes a lot of expectation, some reasonable and some cases unreasonable. What sort of role does managing that expectation within the team, within the organization, with media, with fans, with global stakeholders, what sort of role does your organization CBF play in managing those expectations? And how does managing those expectations work into the overall plan as you come up with a delivery strategy for the World Cup?

BRUNO COSTA: Aarij, I believe we are the only nation that announced that we're going to keep our coach no matter what happened in the World Cup. We renew once Ancelotti contract until 2030. So we are really thinking on the long term. And of course, we had a lot of issues in this last cycle. We had three different coaches. A lot of things happened. And I believe every time that Brazil goes to a World Cup on this kind of situation, usually we succeed.

When you go through a mess-- in '94 Brazil only qualified the last game against Uruguay in Maracana and everybody was asking for Romario. Romario was [INAUDIBLE] in Brazil beat Uruguay. In 2002, Felipe was the third coach in the cycle. Brazil also had to win the last game to go to the World Cup, was a big mess and Brazil won the World Cup. And the other cycles where we were the best team in South America, undefeated, winning everything. And I believe we used to go through those kind of maths. And Brazil is the only country that has won the World Cup in Mexico and also in the US. 1970 we won in Mexico. In 1994 we won in the US.

So there is a lot of things. I believe this World Cup is going to be completely different. We play eight games. We got to play through humidity. We got to play through weather delay. We got to play through different-- it's the end of the season for Europe. In 2002, when Brazil won, there was the last time that Brazil had more than six or seven players playing the Brazilian league. This year, we do have the same amount of players also. Why? The Brazilian leagues, it's in the middle of the season while the European leagues it's the end of the season.

So those are little details that makes a huge difference when you have to win a game on overtime, when you have to win a game on penalty kick, when you need to travel. In 2022 Qatar, I mean, it was easy for everyone. Nobody had to travel. It was one hour bus drive to the farthest stadium. So this year, it's going to be a completely different workup. And I also do believe that we do going to have a surprise like we did in '94. Like with Sweden arrive in the semifinal [INAUDIBLE].

Romania had a very good World Cup in '94 also with Hagi. And I believe we're going to have a surprise coming up in the semifinals. And this part of the game, we are living in a global world where you see nations that were not like-- even France, I mean, if you see France in the '70s, France was nothing, and suddenly, they start changing in the '80. '86 they had a good World Cup with Platini. And after, of course in the 1990s and in the 2000, that's when France became the powerhouse they are now.

AARIJ WASTI: But one follow up question there, Bruno. You refer to weather delays, and we know about these regulations in Canada and the US, JC confirm probably similar in Mexico. Whenever there are lightning storms those matches need to come to a standstill, suspension, delays, what have you on the field of play. That's quite different to what we've seen in previous tournaments. So how does a team work that element into their training and their planning in terms of keeping the team on the day motivated and warm?

BRUNO COSTA: Aarij, the good thing is we had a three Brazilian clubs playing at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Fluminense, Flamengo, Botafogo, Palmeiras, four clubs. And of course, we were all here watching. Some of the games that were delayed by one hour or two hours. And of course if you were up in the game 0 to 0 and had to wait two hours and an hour, an hour and a half to play it, that's kind of tough. It changes. It's a brand new game and-- mainly on the East Coast. We know that most of the weather delay happens on the East Coast.

It doesn't have too much of the West Coast. And we're going to play all of our three games, first games in New York, Philadelphia, and Miami. And I live in Miami. Our office is here. So we know how Miami is in June and July. I mean, we have to expect for everything. And that's also going to affect traveling, going to affect preparation for the following game, for the following day, players recovering. All of those details are going to make a huge difference. That's why, of course, you know FIFA has-- and I believe that's the only good thing that happened in the pandemic, was to improve to 5 subs, the game, and I believe that was very, very useful for everyone.

I also fear for-- now, let every nation should bring 26 players. That's also a good thing. So you can have more chance to rotate the roster also. And I believe the nation who has the best balance-- and World Cup it's not how you start, it's how you finish it. [INAUDIBLE] a lot of [INAUDIBLE].

MARLON HILL: Absolutely. Bruno, I must tell you that I played in a street soccer tournament this past weekend in Miami, and I'm not going to be called up for any team anytime soon. But I'm telling you, the heat, it was brutal. And so those hybrid hydration breaks are definitely going to make a difference. But JC let's jump in here. In this global world of the digital world and messaging and the news flies at a minute, any concerns or questions that you have for Bruno about managing messaging on the online presence and responding to any negative rhetoric that may be out there? And is it different in Mexico?

JC PARTIDA: Again, it's a new world. I mean, this is very recent. Every news outlet is not taking a day to get the news to the people. Now it's all immediate. And are there-- Bruno, are there any plans by the Federation to respond to any messages that may hurt the players or the team at any point in time? I don't know if there's any plans or any strategy by the Brazilian Federation to counter those messages or those news that may impact adversely the team.

BRUNO COSTA: Well, we have already been dealing of course-- as I said, football in Brazil, it's a religion, and we know how the Brazilian press is. And of course, another thing that has been happening a lot all over the world, it's part of the-- politically, there is no way to disconnect politics with football and with sports in general. We also need to balance a lot of this political side. We are the Federation that represented more than 200 million people, no matter what color of our skin, no matter what party you vote for.

So you're representing a passion. So we need to be very focused on the message we are sending to our fans, to the press, and of course, with social media nowadays. It's important for us also to let the players understand everybody's looking at them. So everything they post people can take in on a different way. Neymar call was something that moved the whole nation. There was a big discussion about Neymar coming or not for the World Cup. But he's a very humble person. It's his fourth World Cup.

And people need to understand that besides a player there is a human being that is a very respected not only by the players but also outside the country. And he's someone that makes players around him better. So that's another noise that the Federation and Ancelotti had to manage it before. But as I said Ancelotti, we say in Brazil, he has large back to hold all those criticisms, and of course, being very focused on which direction he wants to go on this World Cup, but also looking for the next cycle.

That's why players like Endrick, Rayan, 19 years old, 20 years old came now to start building, because Brazil is going through-- it's a transition from Neymar's generation that is leaving after the World Cup to a new generation of Estavao, who unfortunately got hurt-- Estevao, Rayan, Endrick and many others who are coming in the pipeline.

MARLON HILL: Yeah, we live in a global world. And you talked about, Bruno, the separation or the connection between politics and football. We know that with this historic World Cup, politics and football are inextricably intertwined. Aarij, what are you seeing from the Canadian standpoint, how do we preserve our constitutional rights while enjoying this beautiful game of football in terms of unexpected protests, potentially over ticket pricing or protests over access to the game or protest over--

AARIJ WASTI: Yeah look, there are more constitutional protections in any democracy. And Canada prides itself in having a very unique structure that stands on principles of justice. So there needs to be a little bit of a balance here. On the one hand, you obviously want to protect those rights. So Canadian venues, Canadian authorities are going to want to approach this as yes, you've got the right to protest and therefore plan through two lenses at the same time, the right of protection and public safety.

So peaceful protest is really, like I said, it's a constitutional right. The objective is not to eliminate protests around an event. The objective is to accommodate lawful expression in a way that does not compromise safety or access, emergency responses, or the integrity of the matches. I mean, that's why we're there. So what do you do? You designate protest zones visible, accessible but safe, separated from the gates, emergency lanes, VIP movements, transit choke points, and fan zone entrances.

Obviously, coordinate with the police. The best approach is liaisoning or communicating first. So engaging with the protest organizers where possible and communicating those expectations clearly. And then finally, very Canadian, de-escalation strategies need to be put in place. So the idea is not to ramp this up and have crazy pictures on the TV that evening. It's really about de-escalation tactics that are professional. You reserve enforcement for situations where safety or lawful access is genuinely at risk. But the idea is not to arrest everybody that's there or take draconian measures.

But just kind of a follow up to an earlier comment, if I may, for Bruno. Bruno you talked about Neymar and just what his presence as a senior member of the team now-- it's his last World Cup-- brings to the team. Just a short story from 2022. So the Brazilian team as was staying at the Westin Hotel. And I went to visit the hotel the day before. Staff was quite nervous. A lot of expectation.

Look, Brazil is the World Cup in many parts of the world. They're staying at our hotel. It's going to be a lot of pressure. It's going to be crazy. And then I went back a couple of days after the team sadly bowed out against Croatia, and the staff said that they were floored by the way the Brazilian team exited the premises, and that was Neymar asked for everybody, all of the staff at the hotel, from chambermaids to reception staff to security to kitchen staff together.

And he effectively said, hey, look, whatever success we were able to achieve at this tournament was really thanks in no small part to your work. And we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And we've enjoyed every minute of this day in Qatar and from all of us to you. Thank you. And a number of staff said that kind of brought tears to their eyes.

Brazil, despite the disappointment of losing and despite not going as far as they normally would, they left a mark on the tournament, and they left a very positive mark on the tournament. Goes to show the professional of the organization, Bruno, where you are. I think the culture of the team, the pedigree, the professionalism, but the leadership, that starts from the top and is really championed by the senior members of the team. And I think from a fan perspective, that is something that holds this team in good standing as we now come into the 2026 cycle.

But I just thought I'd share that it's not always that you have positive headlines and you have positive stories about teams, their behavior, et cetera, but I tell you that comment and that experience from 2022 is something that to this day stands out for me.

MARLON HILL: Yeah.

BRUNO COSTA: It's the last World Cup for Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo. I mean, we're never going to see those three players in a World Cup again. People most of the times they don't realize what's going on. Now, the First World Cup that Messi play and Ronaldo was in 2006 in Germany. Modric also played the 2006 World Cup. The only thing is he lost-- Croatia didn't qualify to South Africa in 2010. That's why he's going to his fifth World Cup instead of his sixth World Cup like Messi and Ronaldo are doing. And Ochoa, is the other one. And Ochoa From Mexico.

And Neymar it's going to be his fourth World Cup because there was a lot of criticism in Brazil in 2010 that Dunga didn't take Neymar. He was 18 years old back then. But it's part of the game. But I believe what you said about Neymar, he's an amazing kid. I had the pleasure to work with him in the youth national teams when he was 14 years old, 15 years old. And he's always been different technically. We could see he was going to be a top player, of course.

But the most important is-- one thing that I learned early in life is when you develop a better person, you're going to be developing a better player. And that's something we've been working a lot to do in Brazil, because in Brazil, we are on a certain point. We are third world country where we have a lot of poor people, and 99% of those players, they come from poor families, where the only way for them to become successful in life is through football.

And also [INAUDIBLE] take their family out of the favelas, to take their families out of the ghetto although and-- imagine that 10, 11 years old, 12 years old being a kid, a child and already being the person responsible to bring food to the table for our family. That's what happened in Brazil. And that's why I'm-- Aarij I'm going to give you another number that in the last World Cup, out of the 11 starting players from Brazil, six of those players they grew up without a dad. So there is a lot of the social part that people don't realize.

Most of the people, they think players are human machines where just take the joystick and say, go score goals and everything. So that's why we've been working-- now in the new management of CBF, we've been working a lot to develop better coaches, better people, like the whole eco-- players in the whole ecosystem to make Brazil Federation the National team sustainable. It's not about win inside the field, but working outside the field. And naturally when we do a good work outside the field, it's going to reflect it inside the field.

MARLON HILL: Bruno, I really enjoyed-- my last World Cup was in Brazil in 2014. I had the pleasure of going to about three games in Salvador, Bahia. What message do you have to the American people, the Canadian people, Mexico about hosting a World Cup, what it means, what should they expect, and what should they be doing individually or community organizations to take advantage of this moment?

BRUNO COSTA: As I said, you can see behind me, we are very fortunate to be the only country that has the queen and THE King. We have Marta as a queen and of course, Pele as our King and also having the Women's World Cup for the first time in Brazil next year, that brings together also the whole nation, the women's football, that's another reason why we open up the office in Miami, because the biggest women's market in the US. And of course Mexico and Canada, they also do have a very good women's development. And that's also part of a strategy.

We played on Saturday in Sao Paulo for 35,000 people. Brazil played the US, Brazil beat us 2-1, and we're going to play tonight with more than 45,000 people against [INAUDIBLE] Fortaleza. And I don't know if you saw the head coach from the US. She said she never saw such an amazing environment for a women's game like she saw in Brazil on Saturday. So what I say is no matter what happened, we know we cannot control the world, control the controllable, that's another thing that I learned. Enjoy the moment, make relationship, networking. Good business, good relations, and also good moments come from the World Cup.

And we do know we live in a world with a lot of noise. A lot of things happen outside our control. So let's focus on what we can control, and of course, enjoy this moment with her family with our lovers with our community because [AUDIO OUT] and those moments are just unique. And my friend Marlo, we're going to be together in Philadelphia watching Brazil and Haiti.

MARLON HILL: Yes, I'll be there live. JC, you wanted to ask something. Go ahead.

JC PARTIDA: No, no, no, no, I'm fine. I was just laughing at that [INAUDIBLE].

MARLON HILL: You still marinating on the lovers part. Listen, man, this is football. There's love all around it. JC, take us in behind the scenes, the host committees, the war room. Is there a central war room hub where all these potential unexpected issues are triaged? What typically happens, Aarij?

AARIJ WASTI: Yeah look, the International Olympic Committee, the IOC for the Olympic games, has a very interesting model where they co-locate all key decision makers into one location, one tournament headquarter. FIFA for the first time in 2022 tried that out, and obviously it was a little bit easier to do in Qatar being a smaller host country with all of the venues sort of co-located in a one hour radius.

But it worked really well. So the idea there is look, for all functional areas, all key decision makers, let's have them in one location so that people can come together and take decisions on the spot without having to look for people, without having to commute to a location or in some cases not being reachable by phone, Skype, Zoom, whatever. Can't believe I said Skype. Dated myself a little bit.

And in Qatar that worked really, really well. I think here might be a little bit more complicated, but I suspect what's going to happen, and this is my understanding, is that there is going to be that key decision making location in Miami. And then there's decentralization, obviously, around venues at the other 15 host cities. Plus, the same way we're communicating over this platform, the reality is that they're employing similar technologies so that during meetings and at all relevant times, teams outside of Miami, are in touch with the central HQ.

The reason for that, very simple. You want decision making done without delays because time is not just money. Time is the essence of this tournament. There's a kickoff time. You go to matchday 3, everything needs to be done at the same time. The reality is that the tournament doesn't really allow for delays in decision making. And look, there are going to be some issues that are not as time critical. But if you are going to the upper echelons of the decision making hierarchy, chances are it's not something that can be handled at a local or venue level.

And so the more efficient that you can make that process, I think it lowers the temperature, it reduces the stress outside of that bubble, and it allows those that are tasked with operationally delivering the event to go ahead and do that without fretting or worrying about, have I missed something, is there something that I should have done, am I OK, am I sure everybody at the HQ is going to be OK with this. You let them get on with what they're good at doing and you take those decisions centrally. So that's what's happening behind the scenes.

Every morning there's going to be 8:30 or 9:00 AM meetings where you open up the list from the day before overnight, are there any issues that are happening, for example, in the US around immigration? Any lessons learned, anything that we can apply, then they're going to go over by video link to the venues that are hosting that day, do a quick check in terms of everything OK at the venue. Is there anything we need to know locally, what's the weather report, et cetera, et cetera. And once that is all taken into consideration, then you're good to go. So that's a little bit of a sense of what's going on behind the scenes.

MARLON HILL: JC, we had a little scare with security risk in Mexico. You want to give us an update on that. And how is Mexico dealing with any issues related to any other risk issues of insurance and crowd control, and that regard in Mexico? How is that usually managed in Mexico?

JC PARTIDA: Well, again, it's usually-- the good thing is that the federal government is also is always involved. And these even if it's three different venues that we are having games at, the federal government is taking control over that. There are certainly places where there may be more risks. But again, the coordination between federal government and local governments is being such that everyone is being pretty comfortable in the safety of the games and the tournament in Mexico.

I think the most problematic considerations right now for Thursday is not security issues, but demonstrations by certain workers unions and certain associations that are making or doing demonstrations in Mexico City threatening to be near the Mexico City stadium. But that is being handled by the federal government. I think the message is the federal government is doing and the local government is doing everything. So all the fans can come to the stadium without any problems. It's more the mobility issues right now than any security concerns. So I think the federal government has done a right job at coordinating all the security issues.

MARLON HILL: Awesome. Aarij we have a few more minutes here on the sideline. I want you to just really top us off with what are some of the key takeaways in terms of preparing for the summer of football, summer of soccer and making sure that we're safe and secure and enjoying the best moments and memories of this game from a crisis management, security management, messaging management. What do you want the fans and the stakeholders to remember?

AARIJ WASTI: Look, I mean, Marlon, this is all about enjoying the experience in a safe way. So really from a fan perspective, the most obvious thing to do, the easiest thing to do is stay informed and follow the rules. Don't go based on rumors. Don't panic if you hear something that's not verified. Don't panic ever. But really FIFA has an app. The cities will have apps. There'll be official channels of communication. Just stay abreast of those in the lead up to matchday, on matchday, during an event, after the event, as you get home.

And I tell you, one of the amazing lessons that I learned through the '22 cycle was that really, fans as a stakeholder group, are a big part of making sure that the event runs smoothly. Unlike club football in certain parts of the world, be it in Europe or South America, fans at World Cups see themselves as ambassadors of their nations. And so the behavior of fans is atypical of what some who haven't experienced World Cups in the past would expect.

An if you've got access to good information, you follow the rules, it's going to be a smooth experience. It's also going to make it easier for the organizers. As far as the teams are concerned, well, that one's easy, FIFA as a priority for obvious reasons, puts teams and team services first. And so I think teams traditionally have had very little to worry about. FIFA does the heavy lifting and does the worrying and the problem solving for the teams.

Other major stakeholders, broadcast, hospitality partners, commercial partners, again, crises aside, shouldn't be a lot to worry about because again, they've done this before. There's an entire army, an ecosystem behind the operations. And, like we mentioned before, you're not going to have a lot of surprises hopefully. So I really, I think, again, for fans it's about enjoying the experience. Just do that a fun but safe way. Make memories in a tournament like this where it's hot. Obviously stay hydrated.

FIFA has now announced-- my good friend Heimo has personally sent out a video message saying that can't bring in Stanley mugs or anything of that nature, but you can bring a plastic water bottle so that people can stay hydrated as they move towards venues. And look, host cities and host countries, I wouldn't call it advice, but I think it's-- obviously take the tournament seriously. It's not like anything anyone in these countries has seen before, perhaps Mexico being the exception.

But use this as an opportunity to showcase what the countries have to offer. There was an opportunity at the bid stage. There's an opportunity now. Showcase the best your cities have to offer. Showcase your culture. Give people a reason to return. Be proud of what you're presenting. And I think make the experience positive for all stakeholder groups so that you achieve the ultimate reasons that you host these tournaments, which is increase business, increase visitor revenue, increase visibility on a global stage the way Vancouver has done that. So I think fantastic opportunity.

MARLON HILL: Bruno Costa, Director of the International Offices and International Relations, we're going to have the final kick in the final third. Bruno, what's your expectation of success for CBFA for this 2026 World Cup? What are you hoping for?

BRUNO COSTA: Of course, there is a lot of expectation for winning, but we have 48 nations fighting for the same dream. And I think the most important thing is to go as far as we can. Of course, if you can win, it would be amazing. It would be fantastic. But show a group of players that care for the jersey they're wearing. They represent Brazil in the best way possible. They represent our culture. They represent our fans. They represent our foundation and our history.

And of course, we know that most of the times it's about cycles. And if we don't win the World Cup, know that we at least build a good pathway, a good foundation going forward, for the upcoming World Cups. And I believe that's the mentality. But we're giving-- the Federation is making, as I said, a very good investment, given that the President Samir is giving all the resource that was asked by the staff so the players could have the best-- they cannot complain about anything.

And I think Ancelotti already said that, he never saw such an organized environment for the players, quiet, calm. And I believe we are already in a good way to do a good work up. And I said it's not how we start, it's how you end. It's so fast. If things doesn't happen at the beginning, when you qualify to the next round, it's a brand new tournament. It's a new World Cup, round of 32 now. Before it was round of 16. Now it's around of 32. So once you qualify after the three first games, you have five more games to win the World Cup.

AARIJ WASTI: Bruno, honestly, you should have been a diplomat. The way you handle that was incredible. But that was a really unfair question, Marlon. What's he supposed to say? Obviously, Brazil-- if you're going to ask somebody from CBF, hey, guys, what's your expectation? What do you want to achieve in this tournament? [MUMBLES] Not too many answers he can give.

Bruno if I can, let me ask you in some ways an easier question. And again, noting that you're a diplomat, you'll be able to handle this one. Could you name maybe two or three of those dark horses. You talked about the Sweden's of the past, the Morocco's of '22, teams in the past that have really upended tournaments. Who do you see coming through the 2026 cycle through these 104 matches that might get the attention that people may not expect today?

BRUNO COSTA: I think in Japan, Norway, on a certain point. Japan is a country, Brazil can face them. But Norway, I think, because of Haaland and of course, they have a good foundation. I don't know if Morocco rock would be a surprise because they reached the semi-final of the last World Cup, but I believe Morocco also they might come strong also for this World Cup.

MARLON HILL: Interesting. Bruno Costa, Director of International Office and Internal Relations, muito obrigado. Thank you for joining us here on our pre kickoff episode of Sideline Conversations. My good brothers and friends, JC Partida from EC Rubio in La Ciudad de Mexico, and Aarij Wasti from the North in Toronto, Our friends at Gowling WLG. Thank you for joining us here on the program. Make sure that you give us drop us a comment. We look forward to joining you later on in the tournament in July.

Stay hydrated, stay passionate and for the love of football. And we will see you on our next episode. Thank you for joining us here on the Sideline Conversations.

BRUNO COSTA: Thank you.

JC PARTIDA: Bye.

AARIJ WASTI: Beautiful guys. Thank you so much. Obrigado. Nice to meet everyone and, we'll talk to you soon. Enjoy the tournament.