Brazil invites Modi for WC final

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to join her and other world leaders to watch the FIFA World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro on July 13.

Incidentally, Modi is due to visit Brazil to attend the BRICS  (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit at Fortaleza, which will take place between July 15 and 17. 

The BRICS summit is the first multilateral gathering that Modi will attend as prime minister.In fact, Brazil had postponed the BRICS summit to July at the request of China as President Xi Jinping was keen to watch the final match.

Officials have not yet confirmed whether Modi, who ended a two-day visit to Bhutan on Monday, will fly to Brazil early to watch the final in Rio de Janeiro. 

Last week, Modi released commemorative postage stamps to mark the World Cup in Brazil.
 “Football has emerged as a very popular sport among the youth and am sure youngsters will be following the World Cup with great enthusiasm,” he tweeted before releasing the limited edition of the stamp.