There is something to cheer about for thousands of obese fans who find it difficult in messing here and there to find a confirmed seat for their favorite soccer match. Brazil recently passed a legislation which makes it compulsory for organizers to reserve some seats for physically challenged fans including obese ones. It would be the first world cup to have such an arrangement for obese as well other disabled. New legislation also allows international players to take advantage of this facility. According to a recently passed legislation, 1% of the stadium capacity needs to be reserved for disabled fans that includes obese, however, for having such a leverage, a fan requires to pass some formalities, like for obese quota, a fan needs to provide a medical certificate mentioning his BMI of more than 30 which is also the global definition of obesity, while for others, a state certificate will be required mentioning his impairment details. Cost wise too, obese fans can enjoy tickets at Category 3 tickets’ prices.
FIFA also confirms that similar reservation will also be made in pre world cup warm up events, like coming Confederations Cup and Warm up World Cup matches which will be played during June 15th to 30th. Additionally, complete details of all the seats available are not yet obtainable coz all stadiums are not ready as of now. As far stadiums renovation work is concerned, FIFA has been given a deadline of 15th April, and only after that, complete details about number of seats and their sizes will be made public. Mentioning about the placement of these reserved seats, Brazilian Government said, “The seats are spread throughout the lower ring and cater for views from all angles of the pitch. The places are well placed in relation to the speakers and there are adequate signposts.”
Generally, host countries decide about these kinds of reservations in any soccer tournament and this is the first time that an initiative has been taken up by a host which is in conformity of both Governing body as well Host. FIFA issued a statement where it mentioned the backdrop of obese reservation that reads as, “FIFA is generally following local legislation of the host countries, and is in Brazil guided by the General FIFA World Cup Bill and a separate decree related to obese people. The number of tickets available for disabled people depends on the infrastructure provisions of each stadium and the distribution between seats.”