A major part of the fan experience in the 12 host cities of the World Cup is the FIFA Fan Fest.

Each city has been tasked with producing a venue and entertainment to go along with the live screening of matches on colossal screens.

Soccer's governing body refers to these zones as "the next best thing to being in a stadium."

The concept of the Fan Fest makes sense. Somewhere like Rio is overrun with fans while a city like Manaus is hosting just three games. Its World Cup could be over now that Switzerland have played Honduras but the city retains a huge public area to watch the matches. Anyone who ventures to the Amazon as part of their time in Brazil will still be able to catch the game, potentially with thousands of other fans.

This setup can create a great atmosphere. Rio's Fan Fest is packed for every match, especially those involving Brazil. The fact that it is free allows everyone to enjoy the match and it was great to see some of Rio's homeless able to watch the World Cup without being moved on by irate bar owners.

But this being FIFA, it's not all about sharing joy. It's easy to argue the major reason for the Fan Fest is that it offers the sponsors a chance to get ­public maximum exposure.

At the two Fan Fests I've ­visited so far, in Rio and ­Fortaleza, the entrance leads supporters straight to the sponsor tents. Great news for Coca-Cola and Sony but it left me a little cold that this seems the priority.

You could also argue that in penning so many supporters in to their officially sanctioned, regimentally organized festival of fun, FIFA has done a further disservice to Brazil. If everyone is packed in there, then they are not spending money in the ­local economy nor are they ­experiencing the "authentic" Brazil, whatever that might be.

Maybe that cynicism has made it to Fortaleza. I decided to wander down the beach to the Fan Fest for the Argentina vs Bosnia game. I was almost alone in making that decision. I got to the site a quarter of an hour before the 1 pm kickoff and everything was still being set up for the day.

There were perhaps two riot police stationed outside for ­every member of the ­public ­inside. This did not make it welcoming. Neither did the lack of shade in the equatorial lunchtime sun nor the post-­nuclear holocaust emptiness nor the fact that the host on stage still had his microphone and ­personality set to carnival.

It was all so very ­desperate that I chose to leave. Or at least I tried to. Despite the lack of punters, the jobsworths ­insisted I must leave out of the far entrance, about a kilometer further away from town and the TV sets I was hoping to catch the game on. Good times, FIFA.

I just hope that the fans I passed who were rushing to get in had a better time. Even the gentleman with the Nazi ­tattoo on his forehead. There are some experiences you wouldn't wish on anyone.