Pre-World Cup event called off in Brazil due to 'ongoing civil unrest'

A major soccer conference in Rio de Janeiro was called off just seven months before the World Cup in Brazil for what organisers said was 'ongoing civil unrest', a claim denied by the state government.

According to Fox News, the cancellation is another blow to Brazil and World Cup organizers after the Confederations Cup, a World Cup warmup event, was targeted this year by protesters upset with Brazil's poor public services, high taxes and lavish spending on the World Cup and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The protests, which at their peak saw 1 million take to the streets across Brazil on a single day, have grown smaller, but more violent and show no sign of going away, the report said.

Most Brazilians seem to support the World Cup, but want the billions spent on big sports events channeled into programs that help decrease Brazil's stark social inequality, the report added.

The Soccerex conference was to have been attended by top soccer executives and managers from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5 at Rio's Maracana Stadium, the report further said.

Soccerex said that the Rio State government took the political decision to withdraw their support and that it would take legal action seeking substantial compensation for breaching contractual obligations.