In any kind of big championships, be it the World Cup, Pan Americans or the Olympics, the concern with the structure of the venue is fundamental. So much so that the proposal of this factor modifies the physical structure of the countries chosen to host the championships.
A very recent example, and very close to us, was the choice of Rio de Janeiro to host the Pan-American championship: the dormitories built to house athletes, today they are sold at low cost and with the help of financing from a government housing program Federal. This means that, even though the cost to host a large championship is high, the return to population exists, because the cost of being a headquarters turns into a better life for the population after the championship.
Another even more current example occurred recently, in mid-June 2010. The city of São Paulo, hoping that the Morumbi stadium would be one of the host stadiums for the 2014 World Cup, had planned a subway line that would provide access to the stadium. However, FIFA took a stand, excluding Morumbi from the list of stadiums that will host the Cup. The result is that the subway canceled the project for the line that would serve the Morumbi region, causing structural damage to the population of São Paulo.
Likewise, South Africa, by hosting the 2010 World Cup, has benefited from many advantages. According to the information center at the South African embassy, the expectation was to create around 129,000 jobs and increase the contribution to GDP with approximately 2.7 billion dollars.
South Africa provided ten stadiums for the World Cup. The country's largest city, Johannesburg, is home to two stadiums: Soccer City Stadium and Ellis Park, which seat 95,000 and 70,000 people respectively. To house 70,000 people there are also Cape Town (formerly Green Point) stadiums in Cape Town and Moses Mahbida stadium in Durban. The other stadiums have the capacity to receive between 45,000 and 50,000 people. They are: Loftus Versfeld, in Pretoria; Nelson Mandela Bay, in Port Elisabeth; Free State in Bloemfontein; Royal Bafokeng in Rustenburg; Mbombela in Nelspruit and Peter Mokaba in Polokwane.
Travel between stadiums must be done either by air transport (there are airports in all cities) or by train. The impeccable renovation of Johannesburg airport and the construction of the new international airport in Durban are two undisputed benefits that the World Cup brought to South Africans. Durban, South Africa's third largest city, won the King Shaka international airport, where $1 billion was invested.
Johannesburg also inaugurated a high-speed train (the first on the entire African continent) connecting the international airport to Sandton, a popular tourist neighborhood. The project is that, in the future, this train will follow a route that will connect Soweto, in the suburb of Johannesburg, to Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa. In addition, the South African government has invested close to $6 billion to adapt its freight rail network to better passenger transport.
In this sense, it is understood that hosting a large championship is not a bad fact, as it is very common to hear. There is a lot of talk that countries considered poor invest a lot of money in the structure to host these competitions, while they should provide direct improvements for their inhabitants. Now, if these improvements never happen, then why not host a big event that will bring some kind of benefit to the country?
By Paula Rondinelli
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Physical Education from the São Paulo State University “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” – UNESP
Master in Motricity Sciences from the São Paulo State University “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” – UNESP
Doctoral Student in Integration of Latin America at the University of São Paulo - USP
world Cup - PE - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/educacao-fisica/vantagens-sediar-uma-grande-competicao-que-ganha-Africa-.htm