The politics of bidding and the politics of planning : a comparison of the FIFA World Cup in Germany and South Africa

[摘要] This study focuses on the bidding for sports mega-events, their subsequent planning,and the politics surrounding these processes. The specific examples analysed here arethose of the FIFA Football World Cup™ in Germany in 2006, and the forthcoming2010 World Cup to be hosted by South Africa. The events are examined against abackdrop of increasing competition to host mega-events, spurred on by a widespreadbelief in the economic benefits that result from hosting, with a frequent disregard forthe social and economic costs involved. Four central research questions are addressedin the course of this thesis. The first is the role of corporate actors and their influenceon mega-events, the second is the question of what processes characterise both thebidding and planning stages of an event, including the main actors, agendas anddiscourses involved in both of these stages. Thirdly, the significance of hosting theWorld Cup in both the German and South African case is examined, and fourthly, thelong-term implications of South Africa's hosting of the 2010 World Cup, both for thecountry itself and for developing nations more broadly, is considered. The researchmethodology used for this thesis is predominately qualitative, and utilises mostlysecondary sources, including books, academic articles, press articles, and informationoff the official websites of the football organisations involved. The main findings ofthis thesis are that while both countries in question had seemingly compelling reasonsfor hosting the World Cup, and while benefits can stem from the event, the longevityof such benefits is questionable, and the costs involved can be especially heavy in adeveloping context such as that of South Africa. Furthermore, those that stand tobenefit the most from the events include transnational corporate actors, with theimplication that significant financial gains never reach the host economy.Nevertheless, an ever-increasing willingness on the part of numerous nations to hostmega-events means that the German and South African cases can provide lessons forfuture hosts, and South Africa's World Cup has particular significance as a test casefor mega-events hosted by developing nations. Finally, this thesis stresses the need forfurther research in this field. It also aims to break some new ground by examining thecommonalities and contrasts to be found in the bidding and planning processes of amega-event as carried out by a developed and a developing nation.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University