Hosting the Olympics is no easy feat. It requires the infrastructure to stage one of the world’s greatest events, and the ability to host, protect, and entertain the masses of athletes and fans that descend upon the city in the days preceding the Opening Ceremonies.

As such, it is a venture that is uniquely suited to the developed world, and it comes as no surprise that, excluding inhospitable Antarctica, the Olympics have been hosted on every continent except the two poorest: South America and Africa. But that all changed on Friday when the IOC announced Rio de Janeiro as the host of the 2016 Summer Games. 

The connection between Brazil and the sporting world is nothing new, as the country’s soccer history is legendary.  Brazil has won the World Cup a record five times, has dominated the world rankings over the past decade and a half, and the men’s team is currently ranked first in the world. Soccer is the national sport, and Brazilians rightly take great pride in their players. 

Brazil is also the homeplace of soccer legend Pelé, often considered the greatest player of all time. Pelé’s story is an inspiring and famous one. Growing up in poverty in a poor district of São Paulo, he couldn’t afford a soccer ball to practice with. He had to make to do with what he could find, ranging from balled up newspapers to grapefruits. He practiced constantly with his makeshift equipment, joined a local team, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Conditions like those that Pelé grew up in persist throughout the Brazil’s urban areas. Nearly a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line, and Brazil is home to some of the widest economic disparities on Earth. In the country’s largest cities it is not uncommon to see crowded slums sitting literally in the shadows of luxury condominiums.  

Hand-in-hand with its poverty and income inequality, however, has been prolific economic growth for Brazil over the last few decades. Despite the masses of poor in its cities, the country has risen from being an impoverished nation to the tenth largest economy in the world. In many ways, it is not unlike the China of South America, and just like Beijing 2008 was a type of “coming out” party for China in its new role as a global leader, so should Rio 2016 be for Brazil. 

However, Beijing 2008 caused China to have to deal with issues of pollution and human rights abuses, and similarly Rio 2016 means that Brazil will have to confront the country’s systemic poverty and income inequality. Images of disease-ridden favelas hiding behind expensive Olympic stadiums do not make good television, and so international parties should and will pressure Brazil to work to let its growth empower all of its citizens, not just those at the top of the income chain.  

Fortunately, the Olympics will give Rio the necessary chance to make real progress in helping its poor. In addition to the prestige associated with hosting the Summer Games is an excuse to invest in a city and remake its structure. Olympic cities across the world have improved deteriorating neighborhoods, increased public safety, and developed public infrastructure and facilities in preparation for the games. Rio will have to do the same. 

These improvements can serve the impoverished as well as the sports fans. Rio could extend public transportation systems into poorer regions, convert the athlete’s village into low-income housing after the games, and could have a figure like Ronaldo run a leg of the torch relay through Cidade de Deus to show Rio’s poor that the city is not ignoring their plight. With a little creativity, maybe the next Pelé will be able to hone his skills on the clean neighborhood soccer pitch instead of a dirty back alley.  

These are real opportunities for Rio to make a real difference in the lives of many of its neediest residents. So, while not many people would say that helping the poor is all fun and games, in the case of the 2016 Olympics, fun and games might be just what Rio’s impoverished need.