How the World Cup fuels infrastructure investment

Timon Singh

When it comes to sport, nothing sees mass infrastructure investment than a big tournament such as the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup. The United Kingdom are currently throwing everything into the 2012 Olympics to ensure they are a success, and South Africa has heavily invested in its infrastructure to make it is up to hosting the World Cup this year.

The desire to hold future tournaments has seen several states and emirates in the Middle East fund massive public transport systems and stadiums to show they have the infrastructure in place to hold events like these in the future, but for now, in Europe it's all about the fight to stage the 2018 World Cup, and the battle is fierce.

While the decision isn't going to be made until December in Zurich, the European applicants are working hard on their figures regarding tournaments costs and how much it will generate for the local economy. The European contenders are England, Holland-Belgium, Russia and Spain-Portugal and they have also applied to host the 2022 event, as have Australia, US, Qatar, Japan and South Korea.

A Russian certainty?

However the concern is that Russia, with its vast funds, provided by energy firms like gas giant Gazprom and a wealth of oligarchs could provide too rich a rival to beat.

According to The Times, it is already thought that Russia has put aside an infrastructure investment fund of about US$180 billion, designed to fund the building of new stadiums and facilities as well as overhauling the country's existing infrastructure such as roads, airports and hotel and tourist facilities.

Speaking to the newspaper about the infrastructure investment fund, Alexei Sorokin, the chief executive of the Russian 2018 and 2022 bid, said, "The overall expenditure budget, I mean infrastructure, airports, everything, is being calculated.

"We cannot say whether it's US$180 billion or US$500 billion or whatever. It will be more accurate once we know if we win the right to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. We're perfectly capable of making all these changes in our country. There's enough economic potential.

"We guarantee no shortfall, no deficit, we are not going to ask FIFA for any money to organise the World Cup. The government has assisted in every way, there is not a voice of opposition."

If Russia win the bid, it'll be their second massive sporting victory after winning the 2014 Winter Olympic hosting rights in Sochi. US$12 billion has already been for that event, but the lure of the World Cup, the most watched sports events on the planet, is incredibly appealing.

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