05/04/2014 Reporters

Australian's first Formula One victor. `` victory. Now on BBC News,

it's time for Reporters. Welcome to this special edition of

Reporters. I am here in Rio, where Brazil are preparing to host the

2014 World Cup. We have a range of reports looking at the challenges

facing the authorities. In this week's programme: a nation divided

over football. Brazil feels the pressure between anti`World Cup

protesters and football mad fans. We watch the first action ahead of

Brazil 2014. Plenty more work needs to be done, and those temporary

seating stands won't be tested publicly at full capacity until the

World Cup. Too hot to trot. We find out how players are acclimatising to

the tropical south American heat. It is all right getting there, but it

is getting your breath back that is the difficulty. I am going on an

adventure. David Beckham's Brazilian adventure. We find out why the

former England captain is going up the Amazon but won't be playing

football. It was an experience, because no`one had a clue who I was.

A bird's eye view of Brazil. A whole new angle from the BBC's roving

flying camera. We are just days away from

international football's biggest party, the World Cup. The host

nation are again overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy. There

is huge pressure on the team from a football mad public. But as I have

been finding out, there are issues as well.

Falling attendances for domestic games and social problems. Brazil's

national squad, players on multi`million pound contracts

planning their assault on a record sixth World Cup. Here, in the hills

of Rio, they are not immune to the discontent and street riots over the

vast sums of money being spent on this tournament. TRANSLATION: The

protesters represent us. Most of the Brazilian players come from

difficult living conditions, and we also want better things for the

country. With more than 1,000 local journalists watching their every

move, keeping themselves focused won't be easy for Neymar and his

teammates. Carlos Alberto captained arguably Brazil's greatest side. He

says that if this team is to emulate those feats, the players will have

to cope with the pressure, when nothing less than another title will

do. The pressure on Brazil is always there. Because they were the best in

the first place. The second place and last place is the same. It is a

lot to expect when you consider the actual state of the game in Brazil.

Despite the dominance of the national team and the obvious

passion that Brazilians have for football, the domestic club game is

actually pretty weak and financially troubled. This is a game between two

of the biggest sides, but there are barely 10,000 people here inside the

Maracana Stadium. Most top players are based abroad. TV companies

schedule late kickoffs around soap operas, and endless legal rows have

undermined the attraction of the international game. We will see what

this team does this year, and if they manage to pull off a victory,

people will be feeling quite good about the state of Brazilian

football again. Football is in the blood here, and while everyone wants

another Brazilian World Cup win, that might simply mask the growing

disconnect between these players and those who run the game. Brazil 2014

begins on Thursday, with a match between hosts Brazil and Croatia at

the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo. But FIFA has said there is still

work to be done on the stadium, and to that end, test events have been

taking place. Katie Watson went along to see the first football

action. Brazil is still working on its welcome message, despite

reassurances that everything will be ready in time. Sao Paulo stadium is

still a work in progress. It is better than it was, the security

this time was to FIFA standards, and there were more volunteers and

stewards. But FIFA had wanted to hold another match to make sure the

temporary seating could work at the full capacity of nearly 70,000

people. That didn't quite go to plan. One of the stands was closed

because it hadn't had the necessary safety clearance, and the other had

half the number of fans it will ultimately seat on opening night.

TRANSLATION: Most of the test have been done, and now just a few

mechanical adjustments need to be made. They are related to stability,

for the comfort of people at the barrier. The setbacks he didn't get

in the wake of the fans' excitement. Most were looking on the bright side

ahead of the game. The stadium is amazing, comparing but with the

other stadiums that we have here in Brazil, this is the best one. I

think that for the World Cup, it will be ready, the whole stadium.

Outside of the stadium, it's something that we have to work out.

The stadium is almost complete, not 100%, but I think that in one week

we can be with everything good here. We are 99% ready. The stands were

full, and Sunday's match didn't produce a winner, but the organisers

said they were happy with how the event went, and reassure people that

they would be ready for kick off. Lots of work and preparation has

been done between the first Test match that has been held here and

this, the second one. Plenty of work still needs to be done, and

temporary seating stands won't be tested publicly at full capacity

until the World Cup. Social workers have told the BBC

they fear the World Cup will bring an influx of so`called sex tourists.

The north`east region of this country already has a reputation for

failing to protect vulnerable young children. As I have been finding

out, many kids are lured by outsiders with promises of money or

a better life. This is the red light district, sex workers on the streets

in all weathers. The difference is, they may dress and make themselves

up like women, many of them are only just in their teens. Pregnant at 16,

her own childhood already lost, Anna says she is not a prostitute but has

been having sex since she was 12. She says that girls here go with

foreigners because they are wealthy and generous. When her desperate

mother went to the police, they didn't recognise Anna as a victim.

TRANSLATION: I have lots of friends who go with foreigners, they come

here for the girls, you know, working girls. The guys have lots of

money and give them lots of things like places to live and jewellery.

This is one of Brazil's fastest`growing cities, its new

stadium will host four World Cup games this summer.

fastest`growing cities, its new stadium will It is already one of

the most popular parts of the country for visitors. This region

has brought thousands of workers here, people from other parts of

Brazil and overseas. According to aid workers, these villages are not

just full of tourists, but they are often frequented by men looking for

sex. Often sex with children. Avoiding places targeted by sexual

predators, young girls are taught who and what to steer clear of in

the tougher neighbourhoods, where children are particularly

vulnerable. 15, 13, 14`year`old girls, she says. They will go with a

guy and do anything just so they have some money to buy drugs.

Brazilian society is often accused of sexualising children. Internet

videos portray young girls as attainable, sexual objects. Paying

for sex with anyone aged 17 or under is absolutely illegal in Brazil. A

high`profile global campaign warned World Cup visitors not to take

advantage of Brazil's regulation, a reputation for easy sex. But, say

campaigners, it is nowhere near enough. We think it will be worse

during the World Cup, because they have men from outside, they have

girls who need money, and we have no serious public policies to prevent

the situation. In this World Cup city, kids high on

drugs sell themselves for the price of a cup of coffee. Some are already

mothers, whose own children face a grim future. It is an ugly business

that embarrasses Brazil, and the country is showing itself off to the

world. It is over 30 Celsius here in Rio, and the humidity can be too

much to handle. Acclimatising is going to be a real challenge for

many teams, including England, and we went along to a specially laid

pitch in east London to see what they can expect.

England are stepping into the unknown. The nearest most of them

will have ever been to the Amazon rainforest is places like London

Zoo, where the natives are friendly, but you do not want to play football

as hot and humid as this. Now, to show fans and players what it is

going to be like for England, they have set up a tent in London where

inside it is 32 degrees, 76% humidity. We have got a couple of

legends to see what they think. Upfront with Alan Shearer, and what

a start. We tore into the team led by Steve McManaman. The classic

combination working again. But alas, that was as good as it got. During

this match, Alan Shearer's team ran a half a kilometre further, but that

was a problem. We were chasing the ball. That will always be your

downfall in these conditions. We lost 19`8. We could not keep that up

for half an hour. It was too much. We can appreciate what they are

going to feel like. What is the hardest thing? Getting your breath

back. I found that difficult in my playing days. Anyone who books a

free session here over the next three weeks will be weighed before

and after, will have to give a urine sample, they will wear monitors that

show how much fluid you are losing. The data from your weight suggests

you are probably sweating between 2`3 litres of fluid per hour. That

is a significant amount. You will be dehydrated very quickly. It would be

a more conservative approach. You get tired very quickly. The level of

fluid you lose is excessive. Players could lose up to ten pints of body

liquid. The rehydration at half`time is going to be really important. I

am fading badly. It is a warning to England. Let the ball do the work.

The ball never gets tired. And maybe take a hint from Mother Nature and

do not rush around too much. He was the most famous footballer of his

generation. But David Beckham will not be battling it out in this

year's World Cup. The captain will be starring in his own Brazilian

adventure. He has travelled 1300 kilometres for a BBC documentary. He

finally found what he was looking for. A village full of people who

have no idea who he was. As you can see, literally in the middle of

nowhere. A snake. Fearless on the football fields, exploring the

Brazilian rainforest on a journey planned in London with three friends

was a completely different kind of challenge for David Beckham. Not

knowing what is around me. It was just the chance and opportunity to

actually do a trip where it is not scheduled. There was a plan, but for

the last 22 years, my life and career has been on a schedule. I

want everybody to see myself in a situation that nobody has seen me

in. It was a boy's trip. I had never been on a boy's trip. Victoria was

more than happy to let me go, which is worrying. This is our shaving.

Amazing. He went so deeply into the rainforest that some people he met

had no idea he was one of the most famous faces on the planet. We

started in Rio, which was crazy. We ended in the tribe. That was an

experience, because no`one had a clue who I was.

Brazil will soon be welcoming another group of Brits. Beckham is

careful to be optimistic about their chances. I always think we can go

all the way. I might be biased, but as an ex`England captain I always

believe we can go all the way in these competitions. Beckham says he

has already had an extraordinarily rewarding time in Brazil. He and

millions of others hope England will be doing the same this summer. You

may have not heard of it, but long before the World Cup came about, the

most prestigious award in world football was the Thomas Lipton

Trophy. It was first held in Italy in 1909 and was contested by teams

from Italy, England, Germany and Switzerland. It was won by a team of

miners from the West Auckland football club. Tim Hague has the

little`known story of one of England's greatest football tribes.

In times of the achievement, this is one of the best ever when you

consider that a mining team of people from the pit, they went to

Turin and beat some of the best teams in the world. It is barely

known that 21 years before the first FIFA World Cup another international

football tournament was created. The Thomas Lipton World Cup trophy,

named after the tea tycoon, was won twice by a team from County Durham

called West Auckland. Some suggested they were only there by mistake. But

they did not mind. In 1909 and 1911 they saved to travel to the

tournament in Italy and defeated the world's best. Including Juventus,

6`1. But why do so few know about this remarkable success? Nothing was

printed. No reports. I have searched as many newspapers as I can. There

was nothing. It is completely ignored. Can you imagine it today?

It is ridiculous. There were several sources in Italy at the time that

have allowed us to build a picture of those working`class heroes

returned to England as champions. It came long after the Thomas Lipton

Trophy. When the World Cup was stolen, the FA considered using this

instead. So the famous images of players lifting the trophy would

have been slightly different. As the 2014 World Cup begins in Brazil, can

England win the trophy once again, just like those West Aucklanders did

over a century ago? Everybody knows about the World Cup. I do not think

they did a few years back. Everybody in the village knows about it now.

That statue unveiled in 2013 stands proudly in the centre of West

Auckland. It celebrates the success of the teams and the mining

background of these history makers. In the beginnings of football, for a

mining team to go out and take on great teams in the continent and

beat them, you cannot describe how big that is in football history. It

is a shame it is not more well`known. Now for a whole new

angle on Brazil. As a preview we sent along the BBC's hexacopter

team. For those not familiar with the term, the hexacopter is a radio

controlled flying camera. This is their view of the World Cup host.

MUSIC. A preview of some of the sites of Brazil 2014. That is it for

this special World Cup edition of Reporters for this week. Good

morning. There will be some warm sunshine over the