Help! The World Cup doesn’t add up…
10. Nov, 2008
1 Comment
Homework Class, Pretoria – Has anyone else had problems doing their 2010 sums? I’m having a bit of trouble with the following problem: “The South African Government says we are spending upwards of R400-billion in improved infrastructure for the Soccer World Cup, building five new stadiums and upgrading five existing ones, improving roads, and creating a new, underground train between Pretoria and Johannesburg. Tourism consultants Grant Thornton say that the football tournament will inject R51,1-billion into South Africa’s economy, plus an additional R15,6-billion in direct spend from tourists. Work out how much money South Africa will make by hosting the World Cup.”
I asked my Dad for help with this but he muttered that Mr Manuel, our head maths teacher, must have made a mistake somewhere. Do you think it’s a trick question because every time I try to work it all out on my calculator it keeps giving me – (that’s a minus) R333,4-billion.
Mum said I should try working it out the old-fashioned way with long subtraction but it still works out the same.
Where do I find the R333,4-billion?
I am sure there must be a mistake, because the new boy in class, Helmut, says his dad said that Germany didn’t make much money from the World Cup being held there in 2006. I checked on google and found that the German Soccer Federation made 56,6-million Euros, after tax, and that the organisers of the World Cup, Fifa, made 187-million Euros – that’s around R2,224-million if you go with the European version of a billion being a million million, or R2,2-billion if you go with Mr Obama’s newly united United States’ version of a billion, which is a thousand million.
Oh! It’s all SO confusing.
I guess I could add in the R40-billion turnover Mr Khoza said soccer fans visiting the World Cup would create. That would take me down to minus R293,4-billion. That’s still a lot of billions to find!
It’s a bit perplexing. I tried to find out how other people worked out how much money the World Cup made for them. But all of the people I spoke to said that the only people to make money were Fifa. I checked on google and it does seem that Fifa makes most of the profit on World Cups, leaving only a bit for the host countries.
Helmut says his dad works for the German Institute for Economic Research and he says Germany experienced no meaningful economic impact from hosting the world cup. In fact, the increase in consumer spending during the second half of the year was attributed to an increase in value added tax.
Oh yes, and that big bully in class, Kim Jong Il, who comes from Korea or somewhere, says that his aunt knows a man at the College of Hotel and Tourism in Seoul who did a case study of the World Cup there in 2002 and found out that the country made $522-million (in Europe R5,220-million, in America R5,2-billion).
Perhaps I am going wrong somewhere in my workings out. Or perhaps I am forgetting to add things.
What could I be leaving out?
I am getting worried because I am already in trouble with the headmaster, Mr Jordaan, after my Dad told me to ask him to reduce our fees so we could afford tickets to the World Cup. So if I flunk maths I am sure Mr Manuel will moan to Mr Jordaan.
My dad says Fifa will owe him some money because they are taking his supporters’ box at Loftus Versveld off him during the World Cup, even though he still has to pay for it for the year and has spent R150,000 fixing it up with a larney overhead projector, glass-door fridges, flat-screen televisions and lots of nice cupboards and furniture.
Maybe if Fifa pays my dad we could add that to the profits?
Otherwise I don’t know what I can add to reduce the deficit.
Mum says perhaps the municipality of Tshwane be handing over some of the millions they are spending on employees who have been suspended on full pay for the past three years. If so, we could add another R100-million or so to the pot.
And Ouma says that perhaps Mr Zuma and his chommies at the ANC will produce some of what she called “ill-gotten gains” from an arms deal and balance the equation (I don’t know if that’s really going to happen because if Mr Zuma might need his arms to punch Mr Shilowa and Mr Lekota who Ouma says are picking a fight with him).
I have no idea what to do now. So, if anybody can help me with this homework and come up with the right equation so that I can show Mr Manuel a profit, please won’t they let me know?
My name is Muzi Mohale a full-time travel blogger, your host at Travelwires.com responsible for all editorial on this blog. I blog about the travel and tourism industry in Africa. Apart from blogging about tourism, I also run 
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