ZURICH , Switzerland -- Brazil has been awarded the 2014 World Cup finals , FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced Tuesday . FIFA president Sepp Blatter makes the announcement that Brazil will host the 2014 World Cup finals . Blatter said Brazil now has `` not only the right , but the responsibility to organize FIFA 's World Cup 2014 . '' Blatter then handed the World Cup trophy to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva , who flew in for the announcement . `` Soccer is not only a sport for us , '' Lula said . `` It 's more than that : Soccer for us is a passion , a national passion . '' He promised Brazil `` will now , with great pride , do its homework . '' And , he added , `` if everything works out well , we will win once again a World Cup . '' Brazil was the only candidate to pitch to host football 's global showpiece after South American rivals Colombia pulled out of the running in April . However , Brazil had been told by FIFA it was n't guaranteed the tournament simply because it was the only candidate , saying it had to provide a solid bid package . Blatter said the lack of competition from other South American nations was one reason behind FIFA 's decision Monday to do away with the rotation system that gave each continent a turn at hosting the World Cup . The decision takes effect with the 2018 tournament . `` We are a civilized nation , a nation that is going through an excellent phase , and we have got everything prepared to receive adequately the honor to organize an excellent World Cup , '' Brazilian Football Confederation president Ricardo Teixeira said . Brazilian Sports Minister Orlando Silva , national team coach Dunga , veteran striker Romario and renowned author Paulo Coelho were among those making the trip to Zurich -- and the final decision was made by FIFA 's executive committee after a 30-minute presentation . `` Of course , dreams demand hard work and we Brazilians are ready to face this task , '' Coelho said . `` All the countries in the world have two teams -- the national squad and the Brazilian squad . '' Brazil hosted the World Cup once before , 57 years ago . Since launching its bid for 2014 , Brazil has emphasized why the country needs the World Cup , much more than what it has to offer the tournament . `` Over the next few years we will have a consistent influx of investments . The 2014 World Cup will enable Brazil to have a modern infrastructure , '' Teixeira said . `` In social terms will be very beneficial . '' `` Our objective is to make Brazil become more visible in global arenas , '' he added . `` The World Cup goes far beyond a mere sporting event . It 's going to be an interesting tool to promote social transformation . '' Tuesday 's presentation was smoother than the one in July , which underlined Brazil 's status as a developing nation with repeated images of its car factories and dry statistics . Blatter had recently questioned Brazil 's infrastructure and bid plans , but FIFA said last week that a stadium-inspection trip in August showed the country could put on `` an exceptional '' tournament . However , there have been delays in hosting some major events , problems with violence in the streets and the public transportation system in the country is often overloaded . The Brazilian soccer confederation estimates that the construction and remodeling of stadiums will require an investment of $ 1.1 billion , though that could vary significantly depending on the cities chosen to host games . Brazil is home to 10 of the world 's largest football stadiums , including the famous Maracana where more than 200,000 fans saw the home side lose 2-1 to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup final . Renovations have since reduced its capacity to 95,000 seats , with thousands more standing . E-mail to a friend . Copyright 2007 CNN . All rights reserved.This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . Associated Press contributed to this report .
Five-time winner Brazil will host 2014 World Cup football finals . Brazil only candidate after Colombia pulled out in April . Announcement made by FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Zurich .