|  | Feature: “Mega Sport Events in Developing Countries” | No.53 May 2008 |
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Anticipated Development Impact of the South African 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Introduction Bert Meulders & André Travill |
The successful bid of South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ is indicative of a trend of developing nations increasingly entering into the bidding competitions to host sport mega events. Nonetheless, South Africa will be the first nation from the African continent to host the most prestigious world cup for a single sport event. Previous experiences of hosting the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 1996 African Cup of nations, and the 2003 Cricket World Cup have cultivated the belief that the 2010 Football World Cup will provide South Africa with a unique opportunity to boost its development project in terms of economic growth and nation building. Hence, proponents locked the developmental discourse into the bidding campaigns. Though the matter remains controversial because of opportunity costs exceeding those of countries with larger economies and more equal distributions of wealth, the catalyst role of the next Football World Cup vis-à-vis the so-called African Renaissance is reinforced by the most influential international sport organisations. Through the African Legacy Programme, spearheaded by the South African Government and the Local Organising Committee, the African Union, United Nations, the Confederation for African Football and FIFA have partnered up to ensure a lasting legacy for the African continent after 2010. In a recent meeting, the FIFA president and the Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General decided to intensify cooperation and confirmed to “further advocate for the role of sports as an effective tool for development and peace, in the lead up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ and the 2015 deadline for the UN Millennium Development Goals”. Despite the laudable tone of the development agenda surrounding the 2010 World Cup, plenty of questions remain on how the underlying intentions can or should materialise, assuming a positive impact on development might be expected to occur at all. Rare studies assessing the economic impact of sport mega events suggest that pre-event estimates on economic benefits are usually overly optimistic in order to enthuse a supportive population, and that the cases in point of economic success are less numerous than the instances in which great debt for the host nations was incurred. Also prospects on the impact of the World Cup in terms of urban development, health promotion and wellness, community development, and nation building and peace promotion are surrounded by misty clouds of confusion and ambiguity. In a modest attempt to infuse the debate on priority outcomes of the World Cup and effective strategies to achieve the desired products with a certain empirical grounding, an international symposium was hosted by the University of the Western Cape (South Africa) and its Flemish Inter-University Council (VLIR) partners. This Bulletin is comprised of five selected papers from the event (Stellenbosch, 5-7 March 2008) and highlights the complexity of filtering out development components associated with sport mega events, especially in the peculiar South African context that is marked by a history of apartheid. Swinnen and Vandemoortele compile existing evidence of economic impact studies of mega sport events and give an outline of potential consequences related to the export of elite players and athletes in developing countries. A conceptual framework to assess impact on human and social development is provided by Burnett, including indicators that can be linked to the Millennium Development Goals. An overview of various mechanisms in which the 2010 World Cup could leave a social legacy in South African communities is presented by Coalter. Through the specific case of the Western Cape Network for Community, Peace and Development, Keim draws attention to the need of an inclusive and coordinated approach for using sport as a tool for peace building and social transformation. Theeboom provides a practical example of how a sport mega event can be used to lever community sport initiatives. A central protagonist in the field of committed sport science and physical education, ICSSPE is in touch with the different realities of sport, and sensitive to newly arising issues that shape the manner in which sport impacts on society. We are very grateful for ICSSPE recognising the importance of research into the dynamics and impacts of sport mega events in developing countries, and providing a platform to make relevant insights readily available for involved parties, as such creating awareness about opportunities and pitfalls with respect to the hosting of sport mega events in developing countries. Contact Bert Meulders Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Leuven, Belgium Email: Bert.Meulders@faber.kuleuven.be Prof. André Travill University of the western Cape Cape Town, South Africa Email: atravill@UWC.ac.za http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 Anticipated Development Impact of the South African 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Introduction Bert Meulders & André Travill