Protests Expected Ahead Of Confed Final

[Folami David]

Sunday's Confederations Cup final between Brazil and Spain at Rio's Maracana Stadium was set to be played out against a backdrop of protests as citizens answer calls on social media to demand better public services.
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More than 11 000 police and troops were mobilised in the city to guarantee security for 78 000 fans at the venue as the curtain falls on a competition that has been beset by social unrest with more than 1.5 million people taking to the streets across the giant nation in the past two weeks.
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In a country home to visible extremes of wealth and poverty, many are angry at the $15 billion bill for hosting the competition and next year's World Cup, which will take place next June.
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Protesters are frustrated the government has found millions for brand new stadiums in several of the dozen 2014 venues while public services such as transport, education and health are struggling for investment.
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Some of the demonstrations – 300 000 marched in Rio ten days ago – have ended in sporadic violence, but the disparate groups calling for people to gather Sunday have urged supporters to march peacefully and not resort to vandalism.
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Police have asked legal observers to attend amid claims by some marchers their response is often heavy-handed – they have regularly deployed tear gas and rubber bullets at the demonstrations to date. Leftist President Dilma Rousseff was not due to attend the match.
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She was in place for the opening match in the capital Brasilia on June 15 but was subjected to a storm of booing as she took her seat alongside Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who was also booed.
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Blatter was expected in Rio after first attending the third place playoff encounter between Italy and Uruguay earlier Sunday in the northern city of Salvador.
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Fifa itself has been the target of the public's ire, amid claims the organisation is masterminding a multi- billion dollar "circus" which only benefits the organisation itself. Fifa insists it uses its own receipts to reinvest in football's grassroots.

[Shola Sholaz]

We just hope to see a free and fair match between this two great teams. Spain was dissappointing in their last game though....