By David Gold
September 27 – The window for applications to be a volunteer at the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup has closed, with a record number putting themselves forward for the opportunity.
A total of 130,919 applied, almost doubling the previous record of 70,000 for the last tournament in South Africa two years’ ago.
The vast majority of applicants are Brazilians, with the largest number coming from São Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
Outside of Brazil, the country with the largest number of candidates was Colombia, with 908, followed by Argentina, Spain and Mexico.
“We were confident the Volunteer Programme would be a success because Brazilian people are well known for their willingness to help others and their passion for football, but we never imagined receiving as many as over 130,000 applications,” said Brazil 2014 operations director Ricardo Trade.
“We see that kind of response as yet another example of just how hard it is to gauge the sheer level of expectation and excitement the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is generating among people.”
Brazil 2014 is recruiting 7,000 volunteers for next year’s Confederations Cup, the dry run a year before the World Cup, for which it needs 15,000.
It also needs volunteers for the draws of the two competitions.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old and able to commit 20 days of their time, with shifts lasting 10 hours.
The volunteer programme opened on August 23, and candidates can choose which of the events they want to work on.
The programme will go some way to boosting volunteering in the programme, a key goal, while volunteers are crucial to the hosting of both the World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rio de Janeiro will host in 2016.
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