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‘A Nation To Be Reckoned With’: The Politics of World Cup Stadium Construction in Cape Town and Durban, South Africa1

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 67; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00020180802505038

1469-2872

Peter Alegi,

Sports Analytics and Performance

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Thanks go to my research assistants Leslie Hadfield and Jill Kelly for their meticulous work in locating South African and international news sources on 2010 stadium construction. This article benefited from constructive feedback received at the 2007 Northeast Workshop on Southern Africa (NEWSA) in Burlington, Vermont, where I presented a preliminary draft, and by anonymous reviewers from African Studies. For a critical ethnography of FIFA, see Sugden and Tomlinson (1998) Sugden, J. and Tomlinson, A. 1998. FIFA and the Contest for World Football, Cambridge: Polity Press. [Google Scholar]. A FIFA-funded institutional history provides a different perspective, see Lanfranchi et al. (2004) Lanfranchi, P., Eisenberg, C., Mason, T. and Wahl, A. 2004. 100 Years of Football: The FIFA Centennial Book, London: WN. [Google Scholar]. Reuters, 'FIFA profits boosted by World Cup Success', 23 March 2007, online at http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-fifafinances&prov=reuters&type=lgns (accessed 2 April 2007). FIFA profits from 2006 totalled 303M Swiss francs ($250 million), a huge increase from $140 million on revenues of $1.65 billion in 2002. Blatter quoted in 'FIFA profits boosted by World Cup Success'. It is difficult to understand how FIFA intends to spend $690 million on development when its expenditures on development-related initiatives in recent years never exceeded twenty-five per cent of total expenses. For budget data, see FIFA Financial Report 2004:18; online at http://www.fifa.com/documents/fifa/publication/FIFA_Financial_Report_E_2004.pdf (accessed 2 April 2007). FIFA's GOAL development project has had important ramifications in Africa, some of which are discussed in Darby (2002 Darby, P. 2002. Africa, Football and FIFA: Politics, Colonialism and Resistance, London: Frank Cass. [Google Scholar]:156–159). Recently, FIFA decided to fund the installation of 'FieldTurf' in many African stadiums: artificial surfaces with a 'natural' feel that promise all-weather playability, low maintenance costs, and unlimited playing time. Historically, international sporting events have also served to legitimise authoritarian regimes. For a review of the most recent scholarly literature on Nazi Germany's 1936 Berlin Olympics see J.M. Pitsula (2004) Pitsula, J. M. 2004. The Nazi Olympics: A Reintepretation. Olympika: The International Journal of Olympic Studies, 13: 1–26. [Google Scholar] and Kruger and Baker (2003) Kruger, A. and Baker, W. J. 2003. The Nazi Olympics: Sport, Politics, and Appeasement in the 1930s, Edited by: Kruger, A. and Baker, W. J. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press. [Google Scholar]. Perhaps the most egregious example of a similar process in post-Second World War football was the Argentinean junta's hosting of the 1978 World Cup (which Argentina won). An excellent source on sport and politics is Houlihan (1994) Houlihan, B. 1994. Sport and International Politics, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf. [Google Scholar]. There is a rich academic and popular literature on South African rugby, but the sharpest insights on the 1995 Rugby World Cup are found in Black and Nauright (1998) Black, D. and Nauright, J. 1998. Rugby and the South African Nation, Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Google Scholar]; Booth (1998) Booth, D. 1998. The Race Game: Sport and Politics in South Africa, London: Frank Cass. [Google Scholar]; and Grundlingh (1998) Grundlingh, A. 1998. From Redemption to Recidivism? Rugby and Change in South Africa During the 1995 Rugby World Cup and its Aftermath. Sporting Traditions, 14(2): 67–86. [Google Scholar]. For comparative perspectives on the local politics of hosting sporting mega-events, see Burbank et al. (2001) Burbank, M. J., Adranovich, G. D. and Heying, C. H. 2001. Olympic Dreams: The Political Impact of Mega-Events on Local Politics, Boulder: Lynne Rienner. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; and 'Global Games', a special issue of Third World Quarterly (2004). On South African economic policy, past and present, see Hirsch (2005) Hirsch, A. 2005. Season of Hope: Economic Reform Under Mandela and Mbeki, Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. [Google Scholar]. Laine Barnard, 'Building iconic branding', Bizcommunity.com, [n.d.] online at http://www.bizcommunity.com/Print.aspx?1=196&c=82&ct=1&ci=14495 (accessed 3 May 2007). On mega-events, see Roche (2000 Roche, M. 2000. Mega-Events and Modernity: Olympics and Expose in the Growth of Global Culture, London and New York: Routledge. [Google Scholar], 2006 Roche, M. 2006. Mega-events and Modernity Revisited: Globalization and the Case of the Olympics. Sociological Review, 54(s1): 27–40. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]); on Africa's role in FIFA politics, see Darby (2002) Darby, P. 2002. Africa, Football and FIFA: Politics, Colonialism and Resistance, London: Frank Cass. [Google Scholar]; for a general introduction to football in Africa, see Armstrong and Giulianotti (2004) Armstrong, G. and Giulianotti, R. 2004. Football in Africa: Conflict, Conciliation and Community, Edited by: Armstrong, G. and Giulianotti, R. London: Palgrave Macmillan. [Google Scholar]. The PSL was founded in 1996–97. Since then, Santos claimed the league championship in 2001–02, while Ajax was runner-up in 2003–04. These clubs have had greater success in Cup competitions: Santos won the 2003 ABSA Cup, 2002 BP Top 8, and 2001 BobSave Super Bowl, while Ajax triumphed in the 2007 ABSA Cup and the 2000 Rothmans Cup. It should be noted that Ajax CT was created out of a merger of two Cape Town-based teams: Seven Stars and Cape Town Spurs. The new club is jointly owned and operated by Ajax Amsterdam FC and a South African group led by businessman John Comitis. Martin Pollack, 'City punts Athlone stadium to "positive" FIFA,' online at http://www.capetown.gov.za/clusters/viewarticle3.asp?conid=11748 (accessed 6 March 2007). The FIFA team included Jerome Valcke, director of marketing and television (now general secretary), Jim Brown, director of competitions, and Alain Leiblang, head of media operations. Deputy director-general in the Western Cape Premier's Office, Laurine Platsky, vehemently denied the veracity of this account (personal communication, 25 April 2007). Platsky did not dispute, however, the newspaper's assertion that FIFA had indeed rejected Athlone. The LOC board is made up of twenty members. From business, sport, and labour: Koos Bekker, Raymond Hack, Danny Jordaan, Michael Katz, Irvin Khoza, Kenneth Lebenya, Mubarak Mahomed, Kaizer Motaung, Selwyn Nathan, Anastasia Nichlas, Zwelinzima Vavi, Tokyo Sexwale, Molefi Oliphant; from government: Sydney Mufamadi, Jabu Moleketi, Charles Nqakula, Essop Pahad, Jeff Radebe, Makhenkesi Stofile, and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Listed in Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa, '2010 FIFA World Cup Government Mid-Term Report, 2004–2007,' online at http://www.sa2010.gov.za/news/publications.php (accessed 4 April 2008). Martin Pollack, 'Design and Planning team for Green Point chosen,' online at http://www.capetown.gov.za/clusters/viewarticle3.asp?conid=12416 (accessed 6 March 2007). Note that FIFA requires a minimum seating capacity of 60,000 for a World Cup semi-final match. It is interesting to note that Cape Town's bid for the 2004 Olympics had proposed Culemborg as the venue for the Media Village and Wingfield as the Olympic Village site (Hiller 2000 Hiller, H. 2000. Mega-Events, Urban Boosterism and Growth Strategies: An Analysis of the Objectives and Legitimations of the Cape Town Olympic Bid. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 24(2): 439–458. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]:447). Cost estimates for the stadium have fluctuated wildly since early 2006. The first estimate was around R1.4 billion not inclusive of stadium-related infrastructural development (roads, transport, electrical upgrading, etc.), see Igsaan Salie, 'World Cup stadium costs could hit R3bn,' Cape Argus 2 April 2006:1. The figure of R3.3 billion was quoted in CTSP 2007 Provincial Government of the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town (CTSP). 2007. 2010 Football World Cup Strategic Plan for Provincial Government of the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town. [Google Scholar]:11. The money would be applied to Investec's payment for the contract to manage and operate the stadium after 2010. The city council stressed that this agreement would not affect that tender process. Founded in 1903, Murray & Roberts is South Africa's largest construction firm (www.murrob.com). It has a forty-five per cent stake in the Bombela joint venture that is responsible for all civil works along the R23 billion Gautrain's eighty-kilometre route connecting Johannesburg, Oliver Tambo International Airport, and Pretoria. The minority partner in the Cape Town stadium joint venture is Wilson Bayly Holmes Ovcon (established in 1970; www.wbho.co.za). For details on Gautrain, see J. Van der Westhuizen (2007) Van der Westhuizen, J. 2007. Glitz, Glamour and the Gautrain: Mega-Projects as Politcal Symbols. Politikon, 34(3): 333–351. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. In Cape Town, WBHO recently built the International Convention Centre, as well as the new headquarters of Investec – the company that provided the R180 million loan guarantee for the Green Point Stadium. WBHO is also the leading partner in the joint venture (which includes a subsidiary of Murray & Roberts) awarded the R716.8 million government contract to build the 45,000-seater Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. For a preliminary case study of the effects of the 2010 World Cup stadium strategy on football in poor communities, see Alegi (2007) Alegi, P. 2007. The Political Economy of Mega-Stadiums and the Underdevelopment of Grassroots Football in South Africa. Politikon, 34(3): 315–331. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. According to the 22 December 2006 issue of Business Day, the winning tender was thirty per cent higher than the R1.8 billion budget. Mavundla's prices were 2.08 billion and 1.9 billion, while Group Five's were 2.19 billion and 2.12 billion; quoted in The Mercury 2 February 2007:1. Bulelani Ngcuka's Amabubesi Investments owns fifty-one per cent of construction company Basil Read, which in turn owns thirty per cent of iLima Projects and the iLima Group. Khumalo sold his twenty-five per cent shares in Basil Read to Ngcuka for R70 million; see Zukile Majova and Matuma Letsoalo, 'From scorpion to train driver', Mail&Guardian Online 15 December 2006, online at http://www.mg.co.za (accessed 25 March 2007). For critical insights on publicly funded sport stadiums in the United States, see Noll and Zimbalist (1997) Noll, R. G. and Zimbalist, A. 1997. Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums, Washington, D.C.: Brookings. [Google Scholar]; Coates and Humphreys (1999) Coates, D. and Humphreys, B. R. 1999. The Growth Effects of Sport Franchises, Stadia, and Arenas. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 18(4): 601–624. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; and Siegfried and Zimbalist (2000) Siegfried, J. and Zimbalist, A. 2000. The Economics of Sports Facilities and Their Communities. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14(3): 95–114. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. As a result of construction delays, FIFA dropped Port Elizabeth from the list of host cities of the 2009 Confederations Cup, a tournament with eight national teams that is held the year before the World Cup.