Crafting Legacies: The Changing Political Economy of Global Sport and the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

Abstract

This special issue focuses on the political contours of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and explores some of the possible legacies that are likely to be left in the wake of the tournament. As crucial processes of planning and policy-making gain momentum, a number of prominent features start to appear and provide some indication of likely longer-term outflows from the event. These include the manner in which infrastructural preparations toward the event are based around the development of key mega-projects which, while aimed at providing an underpinning to the hosting of the event, are also leaving significant imprints on urban spatial planning and budgeting; the extent to which central economic sectors are targeted in the assignment of resources, but also how specific economic actors (construction firms, etc.) are absorbing much of the invested public capital; and finally, the ways in which broader state-building processes tend to be tied to the perceived agenda and requirements of the upcoming event. The special issue therefore addresses some of the major political questions that arise from the emergent patterns of capital expenditure, sectoral developments, and social-cultural processes prompted by the event.