Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to witness the World Cup Brazil 2014 final in Brazil on 13 July, the Brazilian ambassador to China confirmed today.

Ambassador Valdemars Carneiro Leao told Chinese journalists that President Rousseff had sent an invitation to President Xi to drop by Brazil for the FIFA World Cup final before he attending the 2014 BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in Fortaleza.

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President Xi is a known sports fan and has interest in soccer. Experts said Xi's gracing the World Cup final in Brazil will further promote football in China and increase his popularity with the public.

Leao said it will be a wonderful coincidence should the Chinese president decide to grace the FIFA World Cup final in Brazil because this year marks the 40^th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship of Brazil and China.

Aside from President Xi, Brazil has also invited the heads of state that will be attending the BRICS summit in the Brazilian city of Fortalea to the World Cup final.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not commented on the possibility that President Xi would attend the football final upon the invitation of his Brazilian counterpart.

Although very busy attending to the affairs of the state, President Xi has continued to show his love for the game. In several occasions, Xi expressed hopes that China will soon produce global football.

The FIFA World Cup Brazil, which will open on June 12, has created quite a stir among global football fans. Despite the skyrocketing hotel and travel prices in Brazil, thousands of World Cup enthusiasts are set to come to the country to witness the grand football games.

In China, the Shankai Sports International, which is an officially designated World Cup ticket agency in the mainland, said a total of 1,500 ticket and tour packages have already been sold. The figure is twice the number sold during the World Cup South Africa in 2010.

TagsFIFA World Cup Brazil, FIFA World Cup Finals