FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa as a business event - Essay Example

? FIFA World Cup in South Africa of the of the Institute] of the Supervisor] The FIFA World Cup is not just a confrontation of players, but it becomes a business event par excellence strongly marked by certain rituals such as ceremonies and advertising media. In this framework, the location of the World Cup is very important because it adds value to a country, region or city which becomes the media center of the planet. It is this relationship between events and the World Cup site which gives all its strength to the Cup. The choice of the host country is very important moment in the preparation of World Cup since it is, beyond the purely sporting aspects of economy. In order to obtain the nomination by the FIFA authorities, cities and nations compete in projects. This event requires the construction of reception infrastructure, transport and communication inevitably leads to strong changes in terms of city planning. Often, the FIFA World Cup becomes an excuse to initiate or accelerate some of urban changes resulting in the initiation of work. FIFA World Cup is an opportunity to orchestrate an extensive modernisation of the country by fostering urban renewal and social changes. The organisation of the Cup was such a chance for South Africa to initiate huge upgrades with respect to certain routes and urban infrastructure. Indeed, this radical change in the appearance of the country was not done without pain, as South Africa found itself plunged into a very important phase of work that disrupts the rhythm of life in South Africa and, most importantly, led to a substantial financial contribution to taxpayers. In South Africa, ten stadiums will be used throughout the World Cup 2010. Distributed throughout the territory of Polokwane to Cape Town, these stages hosted the greatest football competition in the world. Of the ten stages of the World Cup, some were just renovated, while others are out of land recently, to offer viewers a high quality of comfort and safety. South Africa regularly hosts major international sporting events since 1994 and has successfully organised some of the most important ones; the Rugby World Cup 1995, World Cup Cricket in 2003, the Women's World Cup Golf (2005 to 2008) and the only race in the streets of opening of the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport (from 2006 to 2008). But the FIFA World Cup is the largest sporting event in the world in terms of television audience. World Cup 2010 in South Africa is announced as a major turning point for the host country but also for the entire continent. Bold alternative to the Afro-pessimism, it would now "Africa" ??to be placed in the heart of the international scene. FIFA and Cup organisers intend to explicitly celebrate the humanity of the continent. Political leaders in South Africa placed the hosting of the FIFA World cup at the top of their agenda. Mandela said when the role of football in the struggle against apartheid and said that "football was the only joy for prisoners "on Robben Island (Jones, 2004). Mbeki added that the hosting of World cup project is a journey of hope for South Africa, Africa and the world, a journey that gives the strength and endurance we need to walk the difficult road that still separates us from African renaissance. While FIFA announced in 2008 that the 2010 Cup will be even more profitable than the last, some question the benefits and economic benefits in terms of construction of new stages (Pillay, Tomlinson & Bass, 2009). As far as the non financial benefits of World Cup are concerned, it is said that South African media enjoyed and participated in this myth of nation building through sport. Others, however, underline the symbolic dimension of this event; some scholars suggest that playing at the Cape Town may be interpreted as a way of "doing justice to history" (Hill, 2003). It was evident, however, that the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was the intersection of meanings, actions and multiple political aspirations and that local and national interests intertwine. This World Cup provided the opportunity to explore the relationship between football and politics. Football is one of the sports which is most common and popular in the world, making it a particularly likely to be exploited politically. Sugden and Tomlinson believe that the popularity of football may be used as a "vehicle for acquisition of power, and as an expression of status in the international community” (Sugden & Tomlinson, 1998; p.4). Moreover, they believe those who control the act on the international football also control the Hopes and passions of people. The connections between sports and politics are complex. If football can be used by political leaders or governments in their own interest, the result of such interventions is variable. Football can be an advocacy force for those who are involved - players, spectators, organisers and supporters - and this may go beyond direct control of political authorities. Indeed, the motivating power of football produces different forms of agency. It can participate in the development of individual responsibility and political awareness. Football mobilises individuals and communities heavily, but it is difficult to discern who benefits from this inspirational energy. For many, football is an arena for political mobilisation by creating opportunities to access resources. Even those who are constrained by limited resources and powers can maneuver inside the world of football by finding and creating opportunities. If football is a mobilising force then it should be noted that conflicts in controlling of resources generated by the sport can produce social and political differences. These constraints do not operate only from top to bottom. FIFA may well restrict the opportunities open to a club or a player, but it can also be used, either through its funding, or its rules, which can provide as many opportunities to clubs or players, sometimes beyond the original intentions of the international organisation. Football World Cup is not an "autonomous space" or "the opium of the people"; this is clearly a force for social mobilisation and politics. Football basically involves the mobilisation of various groups and institutional networks at local as well as global level. In other words, FIFA World cup of 2010 in South Africa was not only an arena of competition between political institutions but it also the producer of specific opportunities for individuals and groups who understand its logic to act on their own situation. Football is rooted in society and can serve as prism for better understanding of the social and political processes at work in Africa. FIFA World Cup is a real business for revenue generating and mobilising human resources but 2010 South Africa world cup also helped to convert all these into political resources and then use it in decision-making policies, in rhetoric of national unity, or to advance a project symbolically or in a specific political ideology. Problems faced by South Africa in FIFA 2010 World Cup There is no doubt about the fact that organising a massive scale event like the FIFA world cup event of 2010 is an extremely tedious, hectic as well as a job that requires immense homework and constant pumping of finance and necessary infrastructure which is integral for the development and proper presentation of an event like the FIFA world cup. Since it is the second largest sport event that takes place on a global scale it is important that the number of shortcomings or loopholes in the entire project is as minimal as possible, as people from all over the world look forward for this event assiduously. Secondly, because of the frenzy and stature of the event, arranging and organising it in the most effective way is also important since it is a matter of national prestige and honor for the country itself. This was the first time in the history of soccer that Africa was being bestowed with the honor of hosting the entire event and hence the responsibility was provided to the most developed and economically stable state of the entire continent which is South Africa. Despite of all the different ways and strategies applied by the most prominent event planners and managers from all over the world, the country did faced a number of disputes and conflicts of large and small nature which posed direct and indirect threats to the effective organisation and arrangement of the entire event. In this particular phase of our discussion we would be looking at some of the problems that posed serious threats towards the organisation of different functions while organising an event of such massive level and stature such as the FIFA World Cup. One of the foremost and extremely significant that South Africa faced was in the form of poor infrastructure that has been established in its cities using a conventional model of city development projects. In this context constant power outages and load shedding are the most common problem that visitors and teams arriving from almost all over the world faced in cities like Cape Town of the country. In addition to this there were also other issues which were related to improper infrastructure such as problems that the country faced in the broadcasting of the entire event in different countries due to lack of proper and appropriate technical equipment and expertise which were required for the establishment of such transmission lines through which it could be made possible. Along with this the country and its main cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town where majority of the matches were supposed to take place also showed lack of proper communication infrastructure related to transportation. Prior to the initiation of the event the city of Cape Town showed complete reliance and dependence upon minibuses and taxis for visitors. Eventually, tariffs and fares for these modes of transportation began to hike unprecedentedly creating problems for tourists who came to South Africa for enjoying the event. It is also important to mention here that a project by the name of Gautrain was supposed to experience completion by the end of 2010, however the project got a faltering start and even the portion of the project completed provided visitors with no facility as none of the trains provided them with the ease of arriving even somewhere near to the stadium. (BBC, 2010) Apart from all the different kinds of problems that we have discussed so far it is also important to mention here that another prominent problem faced by the event managers and governments of respective cities where the event is supposed to take place is related to the issue of accommodation which is yet again an integral component adding to the level of satisfaction of customers arriving for the event. An alternative option that was provided to tourists and visitors arriving for attending the event was in neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe which were being promoted as suitable places for the accommodation of visitors. In addition to this another possible suggestion that was proposed by FIFA as well as the event management authorities supervising the arrangements of the event was to base tourists and visitors in hotels that were quite far from the venue site and then subsequently transport them to the stadium by using buses as the prime mean of transportation. A suggestion that was also provided in this context was to base visitors in the picturesque region of Garden route and then buses them to the city of Durban after travelling and covering a distance of almost 750 miles. In addition this the prospect for camping in the area of Polokwane also went for a song due to the unpredictable weather conditions that were forecasted by the weather department of the country during the time when the event was supposed to be taking place. (Owen, 2009) Once again even for this purpose visitors were coerced to seek refuge in the accommodation that was being provided to them in Zimbabwe. Along with all these problems that affected the performance of the event in multitude ways there were also problems faced by the country which would ultimately manifest their adverse ramifications in the long run. One of the key areas in this context was repeatedly commented by local as well as international authorities in the form and mode of construction that has been applied in the making of stadiums for the event. Five stadiums were constructed by South African governments with the collaboration of FIFA for the event with a total cost of R12 billion. Despite of such hefty expenditure which was utilised for the construction of such mega scale projects it has periodically been said that none of the stadiums that have been made for the event have the ability and the architecture to provide support to South Africa in post-2010 years. Hence if the country in future decides to host another event of a stature such as FIFA world cup all these grounds would be of virtually no help to it. This also implies that expenditure if not of similar scale in terms of numeric will still be used for the redevelopment of such projects for the effective conduction of the event in an effective manner. It is also important to mention here that even the time when discussions regarding the allocation of funds and expenditures for FIFA world cup were being discussed on legislative level, it was repeatedly being accentuated that the government should provide greater attention towards providing food and shelter to people rather than pumping money in the organisation of such events. Recommendations and Conclusion As discussed above, it is not only the finance that makes the organisation of mega event such as FIFA World Cup but also the political, economic, and social conditions of the particular country are of great value. Given that, South Africa somehow managed to successfully stage the showpiece tournament but conclusion of the event sent indigenous people back to face the same old social and economic problems. Despite all the debate, the event brought an air of relief and joy though disguised as distractive force. The event created massive job opportunities for the already poverty-torn country but only temporarily. The end of the event also marked the end of job opportunities. The government estimated that more than 200,000 jobs were created for stadium construction and nearly 400,000 tourists visited during the World Cup. Heavy police presence on streets appears to have reduced rampant crime though evanescently. At a social, economic, and political level, any government hosting such a mega event in future should make arrangements to address the respective issue in the long run. The government must come up with effective economic, social, and political policies that do not only facilitate the organisation of such mega event but also help create jobs, ameliorate law and order situation and unity of people on the whole on permanent basis. For example, in the post-World Cup scenario what South Africa direly lacks is the unity of white and black people seated together cheering for their favorite teams. Architecture and construction style must comply with the international standards. The state-of-the-art technology must be available to cater to the throng of foreign and local visitors. These arrangements should be made beforehand and must carry an enduring value otherwise World Cup glow will never dim the pressing the issues of the host country. The worries that anti-immigrant attacks might erupt or any another racial assault must not only be dealt with strongly but also set an example for the entire tournament even after the tournament. The federal government must devise a well-grounded and solid program to protect the tenders for work in preparation for the mega event against the possibility of graft and fraud. This program must include a series of guidelines and nuggets of advice which would in turn allow the government institutions and also the tax authorities to identify and denounce attempts at fraud against the tenders. The program must be dedicated to monitoring tenders, to protect them against the threat of fraud and also to avoid delays in construction work. Such a mega event like World Cup provides the host country with an opportunity to identify and solve its own burning issues for the good of its local people. In other words, it is a blessing that comes disguised. References Hill, J., 2003. Introduction: Sport and Politics. Journal of Contemporary History, vol.38, n° 3, pp. 355-361. Jones, G. L., 2004. South Africa to Stage Soccer World Cup. Los Angeles Times, 16th May Pillay, U., Tomlinson, R. & Bass, O., 2009. Development and Dreams: The Urban Legacy of the 2010 Football World Cup. Le Cap: HSRC Press. Sugden, J. & Tomlinson, A., 1998. FIFA and the Contest for World Football: Who Rules the People’s Game? Cambridge: Blackwell. BBC 2010, South Africa's 2010 Cup challenge, viewed 10 October, 2011, Owen, Slot., 2009 ‘Problems still hamper South Africa's 2010 World Cup dreams, Times Online, [online] 10 July, available at: [Accessed 10 October 2011]. Read More