The World Cup and the Olympics hurt their hosts

IOC, FIFA create debt and inequity in countries that can afford neither

The pattern we see now in Brazil is a familiar one: A developing country hosts an international sporting event and is left, at the end, with not much to show for it except enormous debt and nearly useless infrastructure.

There’s a pattern to the coverage of major international sporting events like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games, especially when they are awarded to developing countries. One year before event: Organizers are scrambling. The international governing body is not happy. Residents are protesting. It’s likely nothing will be ready on time and this will be an embarrassment for the host country.

Two weeks before: Wow, this place really isn’t ready, despite the billions spent on facili- ties. And why was this country awarded the hosting rights to this competition in the first place when there’s obviously so much poverty/corruption/stray dogs?

One week before: My hotel room is inadequate. I justify mentioning this because it points to a lack of sophistication and organization on the part of the host committee. Let’s start a hashtag about that.

Day of opening ceremonies: What a great show. They really pulled it off. Let the games begin!

Every day of competition: Did you see that? What a play/goal/ controversy! Here’s a feature about the yummy delicacies/ aboriginal culture/dreams of children here.

Day after: Here’s a recap of the most poignant moments. Thank you, host country. See ya!

Next four years: Repeat.

The World Cup and the Olympics offer viewers a chance to see the best athletes on the planet in meaningful international competition, so it’s no wonder that our collective social conscience goes out the window as soon as the games begin. But the breathtaking performances and spectacular moments shouldn’t distract us from the enormous inequities the events create.

It’s one thing if London or Vancouver gets to put on the Olympics. It’s still worth debating whether the investment actually generates a reasonable return, but at least a prosperous nation can mostly afford the expense.

But more recently, there has been a trend toward awarding the Olympics and the World Cup to countries like Russia, South Africa and Brazil. Huge resources are spent on venues that will be used only briefly. People are evacuated from their communities and other basic infrastructure is put on hold to make way for tours by elite sports officials and construction of venues.

With the support of local politicians, FIFA and the International Olympic Committee justify awarding the events to developing countries by portraying it as an economic opportunity. By bestowing their largesse on these places, international sports officials are supposedly bringing them into the new century.

So if the Olympics launched a period of prosperity then the host from 10 years ago should be booming now, right? Remind me how the Greek economy has performed over the last decade?

In fact, while the Olympics and World Cup are two of the most compelling events of our time, they are also some of the world’s greatest rackets. Imagine a professional sports league with the world’s best talent, enormous television contracts and multimillion-dollar sponsorship agreements. And absolutely no salaries for the players. It’s worse than baseball in the 1920s.

At the end, viewers take away warm memories, the international cabal walks away with a huge profit and the host country is typically left with a massive debt and useless facilities.

The Olympic village in Sochi was a ghost town just a month after the Games ended. The Manaus soccer stadium on the edge of the Amazon, built for $300 million for four World Cup matches, may never be used again. According to The New York Times, the stadium built in Cape Town for the 2010 World Cup now attracts 100 visitors per week for tours. In some Brazilian towns, the residents don’t have electricity. But the nearby soccer stadium has air-conditioning for VIPs. Meanwhile, FIFA has US$1.4 billion cash in its reserves.

It’s time to end this sporting version of the Music Man (or the Monorail episode of The Simpsons). The rich governing bodies of sports must do better than create debt and inequity in countries that can afford neither.