Brazil Sports Minister Leonardo Picciani -- On the Record

(ATR) As the international media scrutinizes the legacy of the Rio 2016 Games, the country’s sports minister says they have got the story wrong.

Speaking to Around the Rings exclusively, Minister Leonardo Picciani says the legacy from the Games is "extraordinary," and that athlete programs will continue to be funded. He even says the current political crisis gripping Brasilia has not affected his mandate.

These comments come at a pivotal time for legacy at the 2016 Olympics. Ambitious plans by the Paes administration did not come through. Now, Picciani said, the sports ministry has a limited window to find a private operator for the Barra Olympic Park, and Rio de Janeiro is yet to open parts of Deodoro. Meanwhile, temporary venues in the Barra Park have become semi-permanent as necessary funding for dismantling has not arrived.

Picciani expressed optimism that the city is prioritizing legacy in the financial crisis, but concedes, "we will have to see."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Around the Rings: We are nine months after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, in your opinion is there a positive legacy from the Olympic Games and if so, what is it?

Leonardo Picciani: We have extraordinary legacy from the Olympic Games. In the many aspects, Brazil had many important sport achievements for our athletes, the new generation of the Brazilian athletes. The people of Brazil look at sports in a different way [after the Olympics], they are much more interested in practicing sports so I think the Rio legacy is an extraordinary legacy.

ATR: How does the sports ministry view the legacy? Much of the international media attention in Brazil after the Olympics is not positive, it is quite the opposite.

LP: I think this perception is not true, it is not really true. [Other Games have needed] one year at least to make transitions into legacy mode for venues, equipment and the Olympic Park. We are just nine months after the end of the Paralympic Games and we have already an extraordinary agenda of sporting and cultural events. We hope and are sure that in the second half of this year and in the beginning of 2018 the situation will be perfect, and the equipment will be working at full capacity.

We have had two big events: the World Tour of the beach volleyball [in the Tennis Center] and the bike fest last weekend in the velodrome.

ATR: Within the Olympic Park there were plans to transform some of the arenas into high performance training centers, is that plan still in place?

LP: For sure, Carioca Arena 2 will be the high level sports training center. It will be held in the tennis arena, in the velodrome, and Arena 2. I think Carioca Arena 1 will be for big sport events.

ATR: When is Carioca Arena 2 supposed to be open as a high performance center?

LP: In the next months we will have gymnastics events, jujitsu events, and maybe basketball in the beginning of the national league (NBB). There are conversations with many other sporting confederations to use this arena.

ATR: How would you describe your relationship with the current Rio de Janeiro Mayor, Mr. Crivella? Would you say that his administration has a priority on Olympic legacy?

LP: We are not politically allied, but the personal relationship is good and respectful. There is no problem to talking to the mayor and his team.

We have to see. We hope that it will be a priority for the city of Rio, and I hope that Mayor Crivella will have this comprehension. We are ready to work together. I think the city of Rio needs to open the x-park, in the Deodoro area.

ATR: Deodoro hasn’t been open since the Olympics, what needs to be done there?

LP: Most parts of Deodoro are open under the administration of the Brazilian army. The shooting center, the hockey arena, the equestrian center [are operating]. The part that is under mayoral administration is not open, the x-park.

ATR: A few months ago Rio 2016 president Nuzman and you met with President Michel Temer. Do you remember what was discussed in that meeting about Olympic legacy? Did Rio 2016 ask for federal money to pay off its debt?

LP: President Nuzman presented a balance of the Games for President Temer showing it was a great success that did extraordinary things to Brazilian sport. He talked about the debts of the Rio 2016, showing it is a small part and in short time we will have a private solution done by Rio 2016. It was not a call for public money.

ATR: Brazil as a whole continues to be in a worrisome economic situation, there have been some concerns by the smaller sport confederations in Brazil that funding will drop off in the years after the Olympics. As minister how do you make sure every kind of sport gets the funding it needs?

LP: I’m sure that the federal government and other public partners are all doing their part. We keep investments in the Bolsa Plata program and kept the athlete’s podium program. We have kept the investments in Olympic installations, and in the national and regional training centers. The confederations have money given from the participation in the lotteries. There is a law in Brazil that gives part of the lottery directly to the Olympic Committee and the clubs. Another sports law gives tax breaks for direct investments in the sports, and we have a project under discussion in Congress to increase the limits of fiscal benefits enterprises can get from investing in sports activities. I think the public sector is doing its part.

ATR: With the ongoing political crisis in Brasilia over the last week or so, has this affected the running of the sports ministry at all?

LP: No, we are working normally to find our objectives and find our planning. In the last days I had a strong agenda nationally and internationally. I stayed in France for the World Surf Championships with the Brazilian team. Next month I will go to Wimbledon. We have a meeting of sports ministers with UNESCO in Kazan, Russia next month. Next week I have a trip to the Brazilian Northeast, where we are starting to run a national Olympic center, a regional center in Fortaleza. The agenda is currently running normally, and the government is working. It is working to defeat the crisis and make Brazil grow.

ATR: Looking back on this entire experience of Rio and Brazil bidding for the Olympics, World Cup, and Pan American Games in a short period of time. Was securing these events worth it for Brazil? Is the country considering bidding for more events in the future?

LP: As I said in the beginning, we are sure hosting the Olympic Games was an extraordinary opportunity for Brazil, and we are very satisfied with this legacy. Brazil wants to host many international events in the coming years. Last week in Biarritz, France we presented our intention to host the World Surfing Games next year in Buzios, Rio de Janeiro, so Brazil keeps its interest in many important sport events.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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