Creating an enduring developmental legacy from FIFA2010: the Football Foundation of South Africa (FFSA)

ABSTRACT

Research question: The legacies of sport mega-events are widely contested. Whilst the short-term impacts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in South Africa have been largely considered to be positive, there is little evidence of longer term outcomes. This paper contributes to the sport mega-event legacy literature by presenting empirical evidence of the longer term developmental legacy using a case study of a community-focused sports project. Key factors underpinning sustainable legacy outcomes are identified.

Research methods: The Football Foundation of South Africa (FFSA) was selected as a case study due to the novel ways in which the project developed. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved directly in the FFSA’s day-to-day delivery and management, people from organisations who deliver sport and recreation services at the local and regional levels and children who use the facility. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and the data were analysed using qualitative content analysis approach.

Results and findings: The FFSA is achieving substantial and increasing reach into local, especially disadvantaged, communities. Children expressed very strong positive feelings about the contribution it makes to their lives. Several factors have enabled the FFSA to be successful, with the most critical being the strong institutional context within which the project is embedded involving local, regional, national and global organisations.

Implications: The success of the FFSA highlights gaps in mega-event legacy planning. International sport bodies should develop formal mechanisms for drawing their corporate stakeholders together with community-based groups to identify and deliver sustainable developmental programmes.

KEYWORDS:

• FIFA2010
• mega-event legacy
• sport for development
• South Africa
• corporate social responsibility

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the European Union Framework 7 Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme Programme. We would like to thank all the participants in the research who gave freely of their time to assist us. Most especially, we would like to thank the co-ordinators of the FFSA for their assistance in organising the research. We would like to thank Zaitun Rosenberg, Nora Lanari and Mntambo Naqwa for their expert assistance in undertaking the research. Finally, we acknowledge the input of the reviewers who have helped us to tighten the core argument presented in the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

David Bek http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1503-3609

Notes

1 The work of the UNOSDP has now been passed on to the International Olympic Committee.

2 http://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/research-directories/current-projects/2014/carnival/

3 During the apartheid era, people were classified according to their race – white, coloured, black and Indian. These classifications continue to be used in South African policy and daily life, although the terms are deeply contested (Erasmus, 2001).

4 Since 2004, the Barclays ‘Spaces for Sport’ scheme has invested more than £40 million in projects which improve sports facilities and offer life skills programmes for disadvantaged young people.