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ClarissaMach · Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:18 am Post subject: To what is "it" referring?

"FOR Brazil, a country with a seemingly endless supply of football players with magnetic feet, winning the football World Cup is usually a fairly straightforward business. Hosting the event, which comes round every four years, it is likely to prove much harder. "

In the sentence "Hosting the event, which comes round every four years, it is likely to prove much harder", to what is "it" referring?
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bud · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US

"It" means winning the World Cup. Winning will be less straightforward this time because Brazil is the host.

ClarissaMach · Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:42 am Post subject:

I don't get it. Why hosting the world cup would make it harder winning the competition?
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bud · Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US

I don't get it, either. Usually it is considered that the host country has an advantage. But the author seems to think that the resources needed to stage the event somehow affect the team itself.

ClarissaMach · Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:07 am Post subject:

What if I removed this "it"? Would the sentence make sense?

"Hosting the event, which comes round every four years, IS likely to prove much harder. "
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asterix · Joined: 26 Jan 2003 Posts: 1654

Yes. It would make more sense to remove the "it".

Then it means that Brazil will probably find it harder to host the event than it was to win it.