In my dissertation, I presented the economic, social and political impacts of the FIFA World Cup on development perspectives, Brazil and Russia, which have hosted the last two World Cups. Today, developed and developing countries and their cities, by organizing major sporting events, try to stimulate development by renovating sports, transport and other general infrastructure, improving the international image of the country, increasing tourism and employment opportunities. In my dissertation, I tried, by analyzing the effects of the World Cups, to identify what positive and negative economic, political and social development impacts the organization, the World Cup, had brought to Brazil and Russia.
FIFA World Cups can bring predictable positive short-term and long-term benefits to host countries. On the other hand, they can also have unpredictable consequences. Employment and tourism are certainly among the most visible short-term positive impacts of the World Cups. While, the long-term positive effects relate to the improved international image of the country and to the restoration of general infrastructure, which has a long-term and beneficial impact on the lives of local residents. The negative effects of the World Cup relate mainly to the construction of new sports infrastructure, which is too often underused after the championship. Also, among the negative effects of world championships are protests against governments and the forced eviction of people from their homes.
Developing countries and their governments should probably focus first on providing better services in the country than on organizing the World cup. The government could meet the most urgent needs and problems of its citizens by providing external investment that would be long-lasting and beneficial to the areas most in need. The most important are the needs, such as long-term job creation, the development of general infrastructure and that this does not lead to the forced eviction of people.
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