You’ve been waiting all year to watch this game going as far as pre-ordering tickets months in advance to reserve seats. You traveled all the way to Brazil to support your country in the World Cup. The game is just about to start and you are cheering for the players, wearing your country’s jersey. But as soon as the ref blows the first whistle to start the game, everything is ruined. Right next to you, there’s a man smoking a cigarette. As you inhale to cheer for your team, his smoke, you are both annoyed and scared for your health.
This year’s FIFA Confederations Cup and next year’s
FIFA World Cup will be smoke-free.
FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) announced the news on March 7, 2013 in support for a healthy, clean environment for all the fans heading to Brazil to watch the matches.
FIFA has gone through a lot of work over the years to reach this decision.
- 1986 - FIFA announced that they would no longer be accepting advertisements from any tobacco industries.
- 2002 - FIFA is awarded the World Health Organization (WHO) Director General’s Award for their support in an anti-smoking campaign
- 2002 - Korea and Japan became the first countries to host the first smoke-free FIFA World Cup.Since then, stricter regulations have been added in order to ensure a completely smoke free environment.
- 2010 - FIFA adopted the Stadium Code of Conduct which prohibited smoking in the stands.
FIFA Secretary, Jerome Valcke, comments that, “The decision to make Brazil 2013 and Brazil 2014 tobacco-free is a natural step in the history of our flagship events. FIFA recognizes that tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke are harmful and supports WHO’s global efforts with a genuine interest in promoting health and security.”
Valcke understands the big picture. By discouraging smoking, he is not only protecting people in the stadiums but using FIFA's influence to make the world a better place to live in. Because of the way FIFA always has and always try to do what's right, us, fans, can continue coming together to watch and love the game of soccer.
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