MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil's supermodel declines invitation to deliver the World Cup 13 July

Gisele Bündchen was to deliver the World Cup to the winning team next 13 July instead of President Dilma Rousseff

Brazil's supermodel Gisele Bündchen who was to deliver the World Cup to the winning team next 13 July has declined the invitation from FIFA. Allegedly Gisele does not want to link her image to an event which has been highly criticized by Brazilian public opinion, according to the Brazilian media.

 The former Victoria Street angel had been invited to replace President Dilma Rousseff in delivering the Cup, but given the adverse environment surrounding the event in the host country, which even kept the Brazilian leader from officially opening the world's greatest event on 12 June, the model does not want to be exposed to the controversy at the Maracana stadium.

Dilma and Gisele want to avoid the crowds in Brazil which have turned out to the streets and stadiums to protest the extravagant spending and corruption surrounding the construction of stadiums and other facilities for the 2014 Cup, while public services in the country are in tatters.

What should have been a great sporting event for many Brazilians has become an opportunity to protest and turn the situation to the eyes of the world into a very strong political statement, similar to what happened a year ago.

But Gisele is not short of work: she has replaced Kate Moss as the new face and spokeswoman for luxury shoe brand Stuart Weitzman.

The 33-year-old supermodel and mother-of-two appears in a teaser photo ahead of her first Fall 2014 campaign for the brand, shot by Mario Testino, dressed in a pair of snug white pants, a pair of black stiletto boots and nothing else.

The brand, famous for its sultry black-and-white campaigns, said they chose Gisele for her multifaceted appeal: 'From fashion forward trendsetter to sophisticated tomboy to multi-tasking mom to the quintessential girl-next-door.'