IRIS: "Brazil is the world's most football-influenced country" (Zaluar, Embassy of Brazil)

"Brazil, a less-than-200-year-old nation-state, is the world's most football-influenced country," said Achilles Zaluar, the minister-counsellor and deputy head of the mission at the Brazilian embassy in France, during the panel discussion "Sport: A Geopolitical Issue?", which was organised by the IRIS (Institute of International and Strategic Relations) in Paris on 20/05/2014.

"In our country, which has not undergone major wars, football has contributed to national unity," said Zaluar. "The colour barrier, which prevented players of African or Indian descent from playing in the same teams as those of European origin, fell in less than ten years -- during the 1920s. Then Pelé and Didi became the first blacks to be admired by the white elite. Today, the 2014 World Cup is an extraordinary moment, a very good thing that will allow us to gain an understanding of our organisational problems and will bring benefits."

Aside from Zaluar, the panel discussion included Pascal Boniface, founder and director of IRIS; Jean Lévy, the French ambassador for sport; and Roselyne Bachelot, sports…