Effects of 2018 FIFA World Cup on the Russian Economy

Coupled with several articles as citations, the segment explains reasons why Russia fell short of taking this lucrative opportunity to profit its vast economy. On the other hand, the paper also features a variety of important benefits Russia reaped for hosting the coveted tournament. Despite this, the existing adverse effects on the economy outdo the positives brought about by the sporting event. The conclusion marks the end of the paper with several remarks from the findings. Effects of 2018 FIFA World Cup on the Russian Economy Introduction Following its popularity and mass-following worldwide, the FIFA World cup remains a prestigious event, especially for the hosts. A number of developed infrastructure here and there coupled with an influx of tourist remained incomparable to the enormous Russian economy.

According to an article by Kuznetsov et. al. (2018), the economic benefits of hosting the FIFA World Cup was rather short-lived. A recorded drop in the tourist visits after the tournament was foreshadowed. We could see fans of the eliminated team, teaming up with the remaining fan to celebrate wins for other countries. For Russia, hosting the FIFA world cup tournament seemed mainly to send a signal to the world. It was more of a diplomatic strategy, showcasing its capability to accommodate a variety of cultures harmoniously. Furthermore, Russia’s focus was to state its intention for developing sports as a diplomatic strategy. The signal allows for the growth of international image for the host country. al. (2018), an estimated 200,000 jobs were created for some of the residents in the hosting cities.

Additionally, the jobs were maintained until the last phases of the World Cup preparations, spanning for about 3-4 years. The job creation led to a significant in growth in personal incomes with an estimated 7 billion US dollars (Matheson, 2018). For temporary jobs, the service and transport industries recorded a viable increase in accommodating residents. Running and maintenance fees remains a problem to past World cup hosting countries (Zimbalist, 2016). Take for instance Brazil and South Africa, the stadium by now remain worthless structures after the competitions (Zimbalist, 2016). While the stadiums were way expensive to construct, covering the maintenance cost may not be as economical as one might think. For a normal working resident of the hosting cities in Russia, constructed stadiums may not have an essence on his or her economic well-being.

However, if the development of the stadiums was accompanied by several societal infrastructures, Russia would have reaped positive impacts for its residents. So was the 2018 World Cup Tournament Beneficial to the Russian economy? Generally, Russia hosting the 2018 FIFA world did not have a positive impact that lasted long on its economy. Although there exists losers and winners, often the substitution and crowding out event response are ignored by the hosting nation, Russia included. Substitution merely involves residents or foreigners spending their entertainment money elsewhere different from their normal routine. The industries in Russia at the time of World Cup might have done better business as compared to other industries in other places. However, business owners and service providers whose business is not booming in other parts often spend less.

It is clear that the Russian government failed to maximize on the profitable event and most of their goals were unrealistic and unachievable. It is worth noting that FIFA came out of the tournament with profits compared to Russia, who were the hosting nation. As Bjornson, and Bengtsson Helin (2018), analyze in,’ The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia: Sponsorship and human Rights’ article Russia depicted a different view towards football. Furthermore, Russia only had the hosting rights whilst FIFA secured game management rights. In their description, Bjornson, and Bengtsson Helin (2018), explained that ticket selling among other important game activates were done through the world’s football federation. A viable example is that of the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the U. S.