World leaders expected at World Cup kick-off

Children kick around a soccer ball outside the Independencia Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Wednesday, June 11, 2014. AP

BRASILIA – A dozen heads of state and government and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will watch the opening match of the World Cup in Brazil on Thursday.

The VIP list includes Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, whose respective national teams will face off in the opener in Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena.

Rousseff and Michelle Bachelet of Chile, each the first woman president of her country, will meet earlier in the day in Brasilia and travel together to Sao Paulo.

Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will also be at the match, which comes amid controversy over allegations of massive corruption in the vote that awarded his country the 2022 World Cup.

A list of leaders expected at the opening match:

– UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

– Chilean President Michelle Bachelet

– Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes

– Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa

– Bolivian President Evo Morales

– Uruguayan President Jose Mujica

– Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso

– Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani

– Surinamese President Desire Bouterse

– Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos

– Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba

– Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic

– Ghanaian Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur