Transcript Document

THE IMPACT OF MEGASPORTS
EVENTS ON DEVELOPMENTAL GOALS
The 2010 FIFA World Cup ™ in South
Africa
7 March 2008
Protea Hotel Stellenbosch
“DREAMFIELDS”
Denver J. Hendricks
University of Pretoria
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South Africa’s reality: A country of two nations
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Thabo Mbeki (1998)
“South Africa is a country of two nations – one white and wealthy, the other black
and poor”
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South African Institute of Race Relations (2007)
“the number of people in South Africa living on less than $1 per day has increased
from 1,9 million in 1996 to 4,2 million in 2006”
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www.epi.org
“South Africa is ranked as the most unequal country in the world (as measured by
the GINI coefficient) having recently overtaken Brazil.”
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Statistics South Africa (2008)
“the wealthiest 10% of South Africans are 94 times richer than the bottom 10%”
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A strong perception in South Africa of the differences between groups and nondelivery of the espoused benefits of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ can contribute to
increased conflict
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The promise of 2010
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The World Cup could be worth as much as R30 – 50 billion to South
Africa
At least R7 billion will accrue to the South African government in taxes
129 000 to 160 000 jobs will be created
Between 400 000 and 500 000 spectators
The construction, tourism, telecommunications, broadcasting, housing
and employment sectors will be boost and the event will leave a huge
social legacy. It will contribute to social cohesion
Other benefits: Cultural exchange and development; natural resource
enhancement;
The cost to the country will be a mere $405,504,540. An excellent return
on investment
The jubilation the accompanied winning the bid was to be expected
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Great expectations!
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85% optimistic about job creation and economic growth
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33% expect to gain personally from 2010 FIFA World Cup™
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78% expect black economic empowerment to improve
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75% believe that run-down parts of the locality in which they live
will be upgraded
(Pillay, 2006)
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Militating influences
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South Africa’s relative isolation: Profile of international football supporters; Cost of
travelling to South Africa; Negative exposure for South Africa abroad; Experience of
the ICC World Cup in 2003 (18 000 of the expected 50 000 spectators arrive)
Spiralling crime rate: Crimeexpo website making a comeback in July. “it will
campaign for foreigners to boycott the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ World Cup. It will ask
people to stay away…under the slogan ‘no normal soccer in an abnormal society…it
will be much more effective, much more active, much more shocking…There’s going
to be pictures of corpses and stuff” (Juan Uys, 2008)
Energy (fuel and electricity) crisis. Foreign athletes training out of the University
of Pretoria’s High performance Centre in preparation for the Beijing Olympics and
other international events packed up and left South Africa, vowing never to return
because of the unacceptable disruption to their programmes
HIV and AIDS: “the girls that walk the Durban beachfront are going to send them
home with a lot more than they bargained for” (Trevor Philips, 2008)
MATCH: FIFA owns the rights to the most lucrative income generating instruments
of the event: Marketing, Accommodation, Ticketing, Information Technology,
Hospitality. Accommodation establishments pay 30% of their gross income to
MATCH when registering in exchange for accreditation, rating, exposure and
potential reservations as official vendors
Etc.
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Social benefits
Claims about the social benefits of sport
• Improved physical and mental health and wellbeing;
• HIV and AIDS prevention;
• Actualisation of the Millennium Development goals;
• Poverty alleviation;
• Social change
• Enhances education and life-long learning;
• Promotes social cohesion by combating crime and anti-social behaviour;
• Promotes active citizenship and national pride;
• Sport contributes to national integration by giving people of different
social classes, ethnicities, races and religions something to share and
use as a basis of their ritual solidarity”. (Lever, 1983 on the role of football
in Brazil.)
• The 1995 IRB World Cup brought “a feeling of unity that…wiped away
any doubts that might have lingered about the new democracy.” (Morgan,
2004.)
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Social benefits
An alternative perspective
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Sport has contributed to conflict
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“Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy,
boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In
other words: it is war without the shooting. (Van Drunen, 2006)
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“Sport does not primarily aim to prevent conflict. On the contrary, it initiates conflict”
(Kvalsund, 2007)
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“There is a compelling need for more research in the area of development, in order
to validate that…sport programmes are being helpful…” (Henley, 2006)
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“Sport alone does not automatically promote the moral development of children…it
provides, in principle, a suitable environment for its development.” (Lehman, 2005)
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“Sport can contribute to distorting people’s perspectives and encourage selfdefeating behaviour.” (Coakley, 1986)
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“Sport is a means to instil discipline and order in a fledgling working class and offset
both idleness and potential unrest.” (Coakley, 1986)
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“Football in Brazil may have brought people together, but there must be doubt about
whether that had any impact on the political and economic realities of that
society…some groups benefit more from unity than others” (Klein, 1986)
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Perception of Koreans that many of the claimed benefits of the 2002 World Cup did
not materialise and their concerns about the maintenance costs of the stadiums
before the World Cup were justified.
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“Dreamfields”
• A sober and realistic attempt to capitalise on the
excitement of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ ;
• Provides chances to share in the excitement of the event
through providing opportunities in indigent communities for
sharing the excitement of the event through improving
basic, community and school facilities;
• Supply community and school clubs with “Dreambags”;
• Provides coaching and sports management skills
programmes to communities;
• Creates sports competitions;
• Provides better access to, and opportunities in football for
the benefiting communities than has ever been the case
previously.
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