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A general view of the area around Costa Do Sauipe, Salvador, where the World Cup draw will take place. Adam Davy/PA Wire/Press Association Images

FIFA are holding the World Cup draw in the middle of nowhere

The lavish resort features swan boats, turtles, horseback rides, and white sand beaches.

Updated at 10.10

“THIS WORLD CUP draw in Bahia may be the most ridiculous boondoggle of all time,” Sports Illustrated’s soccer writer Grant Wahl said yesterday.

The 2014 World Cup Draw will be held today in Costa do Sauipe — an isolated luxury resort near the port city of Salvador.

There are no residents within a 30-mile radius of the resort, according to ESPN’s Gab Marcotti. And some are criticising the event and its price tag ($11 million, 8.5 million Euros) as the height of FIFA’s over-the-top extravagance.

The resort features swan boats, turtles, horseback rides, and white sand beaches. It’s lavish, particularly when you consider the national economic woes that spawned widespread protests last summer.

FIFA are holding the World Cup draw in the middle of nowhere
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    Source: Adam Davy
  • Soccer - FIFA 2014 World Cup Draw - General Views - Costa Do Sauipe

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