African World Cup Research Articles

Leveraging mega-events beyond the host nation: a case study of the 2010 FIFA World Cup African Legacy Programme in Cameroon and Nigeria

This article focuses on mega-event leveraging, specifically on experiences in the developing context. While most large-scale sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cups have been traditionally hosted in the more affluent, developed and industrialised nations; the hosting of the first-ever FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010 provided new research opportunities to examine the effects of such events when they are hosted in developing contexts. The article departs from the premise that there is no known case study that has focused on the leveraging of mega-events beyond the host nation and this is an additional contribution to the growing literature on mega-event legacy impacts. The continental orientation (‘African World Cup’) accorded to the 2010 FIFA event by host nation South Africa, and the subsequent leveraging of the event across the African continent raises the importance of questioning the post-event legacies experienced beyond the host nation. A qualitative and quantitative methodology, within a case study design, was undertaken in two case study countries (Cameroon and Nigeria). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders and resource persons using a structured questionnaire. The results provide evidence that these countries attempted to maximise the leveraging opportunity presented by the mega-event. In addition, while the leveraging efforts yielded some positive benefits in terms of tourism and sport-related infrastructure, several challenges were experienced by countries in implementing legacy-related projects linked to the African Legacy Programme and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Rationales, rhetoric and realities: FIFA’s World Cup in South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was heralded by mainstream media outlets, the local organisers, the South African government and FIFA as an unequivocal success. The month-long spectacle saw South Africa take centre stage and host the world’s largest single sporting event. This occurred against a backdrop of rationales and promises made that the event would leave lasting legacies for all, in particular marginalised South Africans. The reality is quite different. In this article we consider the South African World Cup in the build up to Brazil 2014. We argue that the rationales and rhetoric are similar in both countries and suggest the reality for Brazil 2014 will be the same as South Africa 2010 in that the mega-event will be primarily funded by significant public investment, while the primary beneficiaries will be private capital and FIFA.

On Empathy, Optimism, and Beautiful Play at the First African World Cup

Football as art? Football as culture? The 2010 World Cup supplied an aesthetically galvanizing spectacle and a global performance of South African identity.

Representation in the first African World Cup: ‘world-class’, Pan-Africanism, and exclusion

This paper explores the representation of the first African World Cup in the British and South African press. Drawing on the output of a variety of media outlets between 2004, when South Africa was awarded the right to host the 2010 event, and the culmination of the tournament in July 2010, this paper contends that a range of representations of Africa have been put forward by the British and South African media. These can be interpreted as alarmist, sensationalist and even racist in certain extreme instances, and hypernationalist and overly defensive in other cases.

Mega-events impact on economic growth: Analysis of the South African World Cup

According to the literature, a sport mega-event such as the Football World Cup or the Olympic Games has many advantages for the organizing country, not only in economic terms but also in other areas. This paper analyses the possible impact of the South African economy of the 2010 World Cup. In order to do so, it studies the former 6 World Cups obtaining the positive differential in terms of the economic growth that has been generated in those 5 or 3 key years that are distributed before and after the year of the World Cup. A regression “trend” is generated to each of the 7 countries that have hosted the last 6 World Cups, and the research makes a projection of two years (2011-2012) for South Africa. The results, confirming previous findings, show that four of the seven economies in the last World Cups taken in consideration, had a clear impact on the year of the World Cup. In the South African case, after registering a pre-World Cup period 2004-2008 particularly buoyant, further developments should be expected for the 2011-2012 period. Key words: Mega-events, football, gross domestic product (GDP), South Africa.

‘Greening’ the 2010 FIFA World Cup: Environmental Sustainability and the Mega-Event in South Africa

Event greening of major spectacles such as the Olympics, World Cups and large international conferences are increasingly common. The 2010 South African World Cup sought to develop a ‘Green Goal 2010’ programme that would mitigate some of the environmental impacts of the event, as well as secure a positive social, economic and environmental legacy. While the content of the Green Goal programmes varied between host cities, some innovative and significant projects were implemented, ranging from waste management and recycling, to biodiversity protection and city beautification, to public transport upgrades and energy efficiency measures at the stadiums. In the broader context of the most carbon-intensive World Cup ever, however, such mitigation efforts were relatively piecemeal. The greatest opportunity the World Cup provided was for its visibility, branding and communication potential to catalyse greater environmental awareness and a stronger commitment to ecological modernization. Due to lack of coordination and national leadership, this opportunity was largely missed. The article concludes by recommending a number of core lessons, as well as some further opportunities, that can be taken from the South African 2010 experience.

Thoughts on the First African World Cup: Football, Representation and Exclusion

This paper provides a brief reflection of the first African World Cup held in South Africa in June and July 2010. The author spent several weeks in the country attending matches and reflecting on his first World Cup as a sociologist and a football fan. He argues that despite the successful hosting of the World Cup, the event was marked by inclusion and exclusion.

Engineering the arena [engineering challenges

After landing football's premier tournament, the 2010 FIFA World cup, South Africa realised that hosting the first African World Cup meant overcoming a raft of technical challenges. When the planning started, one of the imperatives for the design of the stadium was to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. Of course, energy and water saving are the two most important factors there. So the design, the orientation, some of the materials that have been chosen, the technologies that have gone into the stadium, even something relatively simple, like rainwater harvesting, all had to be planned right from the early stages of conceptual design.

World cup 2010: An (Un)African world cup

South Africa pursued the World Cup for many reasons. Some were tangible objectives, such as infrastructure development, job creation, and the promotion of the country's tourism industry. Less tangible was a hope of reconfiguring Africa's reputation. In 2004, South Africa was awarded the 2010 World Cup, with the bid's supporters arguing that a successful tournament would help improve Africa's image, thereby increasing foreign investment throughout the continent and boosting Africa's global political prestige. It is argued that the World Cup 2010 is, if anything, an “un‐African World Cup.” FIFA, the South African government, and the local organizing committee promised the revelation of “Africa” during the “African World Cup,” but the execution has merely been a global operation adorned with African accessories. It is concluded that neoliberalism needs only enough “Africa” to show that it is a good place to make money and go on vacation. In essence, only the Africa “civilized” by international financial institutions and FIFA appeared in the South African 2010 World Cup.