Brazil 2014: Ghana delegation briefed

With the ninth highest number of billionaires, an annual growth of 5%, Brazil also has the second highest number of airports and boasts the largest Portuguese speaking population in the world.

Every colour and race (39% mixed race) under the sun is here and that is where the education begins. From the moment one steps onto Brazilian soil, you are pleasantly hit by the infectious enthusiasm of the people. They are for real and that explains why Brazilians come across as generally chilled out people but clearly (judging by their achievements) very hard working as well.

The Northern coastal city of Natal, with it's beautiful beaches and other beautiful items to add, is where the imposing Arena das Dunas stadium is located. The stadium was the the seventh of the 12 World Cup venues to be completed and handed over to FIFA.

Even before we were treated to a mini tour (not including pitch and dressing rooms), I personally fell in love with the impressive edifice that will host the Black Stars and USA on Monday 16th June 2014.

Natal will be home not only to Black Stars supporters but would also welcome fans of Mexico, Cameroon, Greece Uruguay Italy and Japan. The six member delegation was made up of Educationist Mr. Horace Ankrah who is Chairman for Brazil 2014 Events/Logistics/Grounds & Welfare Committee, Security and Intelligence officer from National Security Mr Charles Domi, and Mr Larry Acheampong a Social Integration Consultant and statistician.

Other members were Mr Agbesi Nutsu Social Affairs Expert on the Protocol, Welfare and Logistics team as well as International Events expert Mr Fred Darko who is the Project Coordinator for the Ghana Brazil 2014 Project.

On their tour, locations for a proposed Ghana village were looked at, hotels, guest houses and other FIFA accredited facilities were visited. The team were informed that incredibly, before 2006, the country was dependant on 75% energy imports in the form of oil but today, Brazil is one of the leading producers of hydroelectric power thus making this place totally energy self-reliant.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff recently gave assurances that the Curitiba stadium, the most delayed of the venues for the World Cup, will be ready on time for the soccer tournament that kicks off June 12.

Indeed the delegation from West Africa was given a clear a picture of the realities on the ground with both good news and bad news as the countdown to Brazil 2014 gathers pace. For those who are particularly worried about the reports of violent crime, the good news is that violent crimes in Brazil are even less common than petty theft.

Remember what was said about South Africa and crime? Yet it went down as one of the ''best'' World Cup Finals ever organised. Even Germany 2006 suffered false alarms regarding potential racist and hooligan elements who were supposedly planning to wreak havoc on visiting supporters.

Only last week, Fernando Grella, secretary of public safety, told Estado de São Paulo newspaper. “We’ve actually seen the murder rate decline over the last 9 months. But we need more data.”

So what is the bad news? Well, the South American nation continues to struggle to get ready for the event with three of the 12 stadiums unfinished almost two months after the final deadline.

Another issue is public transport, which is old and insufficient. Several big cities have abandoned or cut back on the original bus lanes, metro lines or tram routes they promised to build ahead of the World Cup.

For Ghana, the Football Association, players and government, managing the huge expectations of 25 million citizens may prove just as tricky especially after second round and quarter final exits in Germany and South Africa respectively.