Monday, September 27, 2010

THERE’S NOTHING SO OVER AS THE WORLD CUP

We heard it often through the first half of 2010: “The World Cup will transform Africa.” “It will bring South Africa together.” “It makes us proud in South Africa.” “The World Cup will boost the South African economy and everyone will benefit.”

But for the people of South Africa, and certainly the rest of the continent, the 2010 Men’s World Cup did not provide adequate shelter, bring heat into homes, or put food on their tables. Nor did it reduce unemployment, provide support to underemployed day laborers in segregated townships, boost salaries of workers to meet the basic needs of their families, or reduce the socio-economic inequality that erodes the foundation of the young South African democracy.

For a few, mostly wealthy and well-connected South Africans, he flow of capital generated by the 2010 World Cup brought additional material advantage and political power. It also provided an opportunity to promote neoliberal ideas about the importance of individual responsibility as the way to solve pressing problems. At the same time, the pride and spirit created by hosting the Men’s World Cup were palpable to those consuming media representations of the event. But it didn’t take long for these feelings to be replaced by the desperation that was suppressed and repressed during Cup matches and festivities.

In this sense, there’s nothing so over as a World Cup—or the Olympic Games. Like other mega-events, the Cup leaves a combination of memories, exhaustion, and debt. People were sold the myth that everyone benefits from hosting the World Cup, but they quickly discovered that the event brought only a few of them temporary jobs and left their country with massive cost overruns and few resources to maintain social programs. The legacy that they expected was displaced by the harsh realities of layoffs and the absence of a social safety net.

Overall, the World Cup did little more than increase economic disparities in the population as a whole. Efforts to attract capital did not lead to programs and opportunities for underserved populations. When billions of dollars are at stake, people with power and influence position themselves to benefit from the flow of capital into a host city and region. However, the vast majority of people do not have access to that capital nor do they enjoy its benefits.

As unemployment has reached 33-percent generally, and over 50-percent for 15-34 year old blacks, conditions for have worsened for most South Africans. Public employees went on strike as they face job insecurity and anticipated cuts in public programs for the most socially and economically vulnerable South Africans. At the same time, factory workers making far less than the $57 per week minimum wage have struggled to keep their jobs in the face of industrial decline.

The desperation caused by worsening poverty is not softened by the presence of new stadiums or memories of vuvuzelas. This is a hard lesson to learn after having been seduced by the emotions that come with hosting such an event. Unfortunately, these seductions continue around the world with nation after nation learning that spending billions of public money to host major sport events is neither the best way to maintain democracy nor stiumlate overall economic growth.

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