Early in April, the now former Governor of São Paulo Geraldo Alckmin inaugurated a metro line connecting São Paulo’s city center to the international airport of Guarulhos, on its outskirts. The line was supposed to have become operational in time for Brazil’s 2014 World Cup. Instead, it took four extra years and an additional BRL 101 million to get it done.
This is just one example of how football’s main event didn’t leave such a lasting legacy on Brazil, despite the authorities claiming it would.
When Brazil was chosen as the host country for the 2014 World Cup, it was...
