SAO PAULO (AP) — Protesters and Brazilian police clashed in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and at least three other World Cup cities on Thursday ahead of the first match of soccer’s premier event.

Just after the match started, about 300 protesters demonstrating against the World Cup marched along Rio’s Copacabana beach and stopped outside the FIFA Fan Fest — a closed and secured area on the beach where hundreds of fans are watching the match on a massive screen.

Recommended Stories

I stared down the ‘Blind Sheikh’ for the FBI. What’s happening today is far more dangerous

How the Affordable Care Act made healthcare unaffordable

Ohio gubernatorial candidates sling mud to break through in battleground