HOTLINE: Five excuses to talk about the World Cup at work

The World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet, and among the most-watched events of any kind in all of human history. Yet we are expected to continue merrily mining, trading, and journalist-ing as if it’s just a normal day.

Surely there is a way to talk about the World Cup and still ostensibly be discussing metal?

Hotline has, as a service to the industry, found a bunch of stuff happening that lets you do just that:

1. Ghana will produce less aluminium to save electricity for World Cup broadcasts
Ghana’s largest aluminium smelter, Volta Aluminum, has been asked to reduce its power consumption during the national football team’s Word Cup games, even though a load-shedding schedule is already in place in the West African state. But power-generation and budgetary concerns take a back seat when “the Brazil of Africa” takes the field.

2. The same thing is happening to Brazil’s silicon production
Silicon production has already been cut because severe droughts in Brazil have caused power supply issues, but with a home World Cup going on the Brazilian government will make sure people get energy first for the footie and industry will get short-changed.

3. Sapa made a load of aluminium that they used in the stadiums
If you can tear your eyes away from Messi’s feet or Ronaldo’s spray-tan for a couple of minutes during the next few weeks, you might notice downstream producer Sapa’s extrusion-based supporting structure for solar panels at the stadium in Salvador, or even its aluminium components for the main façade of Maracaña Stadium. No? Just us?

4. But those stadiums used way more steel than aluminium
The World Steel Assn has noted that several member companies have provided the steel for the building, rebuilding and renovation of all the World Cup stadiums across Brazil… wait, does this mean we can just carry on the Steel vs Al automotive debate in the stadium-construction sector? Result.

5. Hydro’s World Cup challenge
Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro is offering tickets to the World Cup quarter-finals to the winner of an Instagram contest where contestants will perform tricks with an aluminium beverage can. Bonus points are on offer if you include a recycling element, so try to land it in the right bin. It’s questionable how one might lever this into a sales strategy meeting, though. 

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