Brazil struggles to avoid World Cup, Olympics defeat

Brazil's World Cup starts in just over 10 months, and the three-year countdown for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics is starting to roll.

This should be a great moment for Brazil and for Rio, the city at the centre of the festivities. Yet fierce protests at the Confederations Cup in June, a warm-up for the World Cup, and a chaotic visit to Rio last month by Pope Francis have some questioning if Brazil - and a city largely known for beach life and samba - can buckle down and pull off sports' two mega-events.

Rio's main newspaper, , raised the issue in an editorial during the pope's visit, which was plagued by massive traffic jams, power outages and an overloaded subway system. The week kicked off when the pontiff's motorcade made a wrong turn, his car was swarmed by thousands of faithful and security agents were left chasing him helplessly.

"Errors with the pope's arrival and the breakdown of the subway ... reinforce suspicions about the country's ability to be a good host," the newspaper said.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes termed the organisation for the pope's visit "closer to zero than 10", though he offered a higher grade as the pope departed.

The country is spending about US$13.3 billion of largely public money for the World Cup. The flashpoint for protesters has been 12 new or remodelled stadiums, four of which seem sure to become unused white elephants. Fifa, football's world governing body, required only eight stadiums.

Olympics organisers have yet to announce their budgets, but public spending could be similar to the soccer tournament - or higher.