The myths and realities of the FIFA Soccer World Cup

The myths and realities of the FIFA Soccer World Cup by Dale T. McKinley

Offering an unapologetic public critique of the FIFA Soccer World Cup at
the height of the collective frenzy of positive expectation, feel-good
nationalism and general public excitement that now exists in our country
is a risky thing to do. But it is a risk that needs to be taken
precisely because, no matter what the context, myths always need to be
separated from realities. In the case of the ‘greatest show on earth’,
leaving aside the very real beauty and enjoyment of the game of soccer,
the myth-making has created a situation akin to inhaling tik – a
short-lived high/euphoria that obscures all reality, followed by a
rapid, depressing ‘come down’ back to that reality.

The starting point for the mythology that has been built up around the
World Cup is the misplaced assumption that mega-events (in this case a
sporting one) are vehicles for economic, social and political
development that will benefit everyone.  Most of the things that our
government and FIFA (not to mention the bevy of commentators and
journalists) have been telling/selling us about the benefits of the
World Cup, since the time when South Africa first bid for hosting
rights, are grounded within that assumption.

Amongst such benefits are: the promotion of economic growth; the
stimulation of urban re-development; the intensification of job creation
and infrastructural development; the spreading of confidence and
prosperity; the engendering of ‘nation-building’; and, yes, enhanced
peace and security for both country and continent. If only, like
children lapping up a fairy tale, we believe all of this then the
ultimate promise will be fulfilled - a permanent ‘developmental legacy’.

So let’s take a quick look at the realities that would (hopefully) bring
us back to earth and remind us what has really been going on when it
comes to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.

· The overwhelming majority of the economic benefits that have
accrued from this sporting mega-event have gone to an elite grouping of
private entities, while most spending has come from the public purse.
Private South African construction companies have made billions and are
laughing all the way to the bank. WHBO has increased its profit before
tax by 142%, Murray and Roberts by 99% and Group Five by 79%. Meanwhile,
the thousands of casually employed construction workers on the various
stadia (now mostly out of jobs) never received more than R3000 per
month. As for FIFA and its local organising committee sidekick, they
stand to make massive profits that are now, according to FIFA itself,
estimated to be in the region of R20-R25 billion, the most ever for any
World Cup. No prizes then for guessing who’s pocketing the booty and
who’s paying the bill.

· The costs of the 2010 World cup stadia and related
infrastructure, borne by the South African taxpayer, have increased from
an initial amount of R2.3 billion in 2004 to a whopping R17.4 billion
presently, representing a 757% increase. It is no secret that most of
the newly built stadia will struggle to remain commercially viable after
the Cup is over – a ‘white elephant’ legacy in this regard seems all but
guaranteed. Add to this the fact that much of the transport
infrastructure linked to the World Cup such as the Gautrain and various
urban highways (mostly in Gauteng) will either be beyond the means of
ordinary South Africans or partially privatised through the looming
introduction of toll fees and it is also not difficult to see who is,
and is not, going to benefit on this front.

· While the initial bid document estimated that over 500,000
annual jobs would be created through, and as a result of, the World Cup,
South Africa has actually lost over 1 million jobs in the past two
years. In turn, this has helped produce a vastly increased current
account deficit for South Africa, not because (as claimed) billions have
been spent on basic services and infrastructure for the poor (and don’t
forget the massive hikes in various servicee tariffs for ordinary
citizens), but mainly because of massive imports for construction of
World Cup stadia, the Gautrain and the continued outflow of domestically
generated profit/capital. Add a ‘debt legacy’ to the outcome equation.

· The much touted, ‘trickle down benefits’ to both ordinary
South Africans (as well as the region/continent) have simply not
materialised. Besides the massive let-down for small businesses in the
accommodation/tourism sector as a result of hugely inflated predictions
of foreign visitors, informal traders will largely loose out due to FIFA
declared restricted/ controlled zones around all the key World Cup
sites. Additionally, the enforced ‘cleaning up’ of urban areas has
mainly targeted the homeless and poor, something which is in direct
contradiction to the promise of more inclusive urban planning, housing
provision and living space. This criminalising and crowding out of the
urban poor has only served to reinforce and exacerbate the divided
racial and spatial landscape of South Africa.

· Meanwhile, FIFA, alongside its hand-picked local and foreign
corporate World Cup ‘sponsors’ are poised to make a killing, protected
as they are from any meaningful competition through government
guarantees, monopoly concessions and manipulated ‘intellectual property
rights’.  Those who would blow the whistle and/or publicly demonstrate
their dissatisfaction are threatened with law suits, effective bans on
gatherings and being labelled as ‘unpatriotic’ spoilers or anti-social
troublemakers. So much for celebrating ‘diversity’ and democratic
accountability.

The bottom line, regardless of the wonderful soccer that will no doubt
be seen on the field and enjoyed by most, is that the 2010 FIFA World
Soccer Cup represents the conquest of South Africa by an elite-led,
capitalist branding/image making exercise. In the World Cup business
model, elite and corporate interests are conveniently conflated with the
‘common’ and ‘national’ interest. As Chris Webb has so cogently pointed
out: “In South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy to global
capitalism, image is key in pursuing the now dominant economic
rationalisations of neoliberalism … (it) perfectly serves the ruling
ANC’s redistribution through growth policy (and) effectively opens the
economic and political spaces necessary to (further) pursue neoliberal
policies and development.

The grand spectacle that we are about to witness is not a metaphor of
the historical triumph over adversity, of South Africa’s (or Africa’s)
‘renaissance’ or of a positive ‘developmental legacy’. It is rather a
hugely costly and ultimately ephemeral exercise in myth-making. Reality
is a different story.

Dale T. McKinley: drdalet@metroweb.co.za