City of Ijuí declared the intent to participate in the process of the World Cup 2014

This Tuesday, the 28th of April,the mayor of Ijuí, Fioravante Ballin, officially declared the concil"s intention to participate in the process which involves the entire world, to the vice mayor and secretary of the Cup in 2014, Joseph Fortunati. The mayor described the characteristics of the city as being ethnically diversified, having a high human development index (HDI), training facilities, hotel chains and he even joked: "Do not forget that Ijuí is the birthplace of the Brazilian coach, Dunga"

Fortunati says that surveys demonstrate, now more than ever, how big of a positive impact the Cup will have on the state. According to him, the FIFA requires alternative touristic destintaions for the Cup's audience. "Tourists will not be alone for this type of event, they will take the opportunity to travel and enjoy the holiday period with the family; during the Cup in Germany, there were 2 million tourists." Considering the distance of 415 kilometers from the capital, the Secretary noted that many delegations prefer remote locations, with football fields in good condition to do the squad selections.

"It is our interest to sell the image of the state to the outside, showing that the Rio Grande do Sul has many attractive cities. We want the tourists to spend as much time in our state as possible", Fortunato said