Commerce and the World Cup

Last Sunday, with 54 days to go before the 19th FIFA World Cup opens on June 11 in South Africa, www.fifa.com/worldcup/news featured the infamous 1954 World Cup “Battle of Berne” between Brazil and Hungary. FIFA.com says that the match had been eagerly anticipated as a showpiece occasion between the world’s two best (football) teams, but soon descended into violence.

According to the (sketchy) account of the game, Hungary took a 2-0 lead inside seven minutes through Nandor Hidegkuti’s drive and Sandor Kocsis’s header but when Brazil’s Indio was brought down in the box, Djalma Santos scored the penalty.

A first half melee saw Jozsef Toth go off injured, leaving the Hungarians down to 10 men. Julinho of Brazil crashed in a superb goal to make it 3-2 but Nilton Santos and Jozsef Boszik were sent off after coming to blows and Brazil’s Humberto Tozzi followed after kicking Gyula Lorent, leaving the game nine-a-side by the time Kocsis completed the scoring.

The violence did not end there in the pitch, according to the FIFA report. The Brazilians allegedly ambushed the Hungarians in “a darkened dressing room and a 10-minute fracas (ensued) leaving at least one player unconscious and Hungary manager Gusztav Sebes needing four stitches, while reports suggested Ferenc Puskas struck Pinheiro with a broken bottle.”

The intensity of the World Cup struggle merely heightens the excitement that is felt as the world waits with bated breath for the best kind of soccer in the world. And the South Africans are certainly leaving no stone unturned to make sure FIFA 2010 is a memorable experience.

SouthAfrica.info says that South Africa regularly hosts major international sporting events and since 1994 has successfully managed some of the biggest – including the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the Women’s World Cup of Golf in 2005 and 2006.

The football World Cup is regarded as the world’s biggest sporting event after the Olympic Games. In terms of television audience, it is said the World Cup is reportedly bigger than the Olympics and is therefore in a class of its own.

The qualification process for the 2010 World Cup started in August 2007 with 204 out of 208 FIFA national teams taking part.

The qualification matches were not without controversy. The most well-known of these was the play-off between France and Republic of Ireland. French captain Thierry Henry illegally handled the ball that lead to France’s winning goal and thus making it to the 32-team final in South Africa.

The incident triggered a worldwide discussion on sports ethics/fair play and how to improve the refereeing of soccer games (the referee did not see Henry’s handball which was very obvious in the video replay). On the subject of fair play, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said: “I appeal to all the players and coaches to observe this fair play. In 2010, we want to prove that football is more than just kicking a ball but has social and cultural value. So we ask the players ‘please observe fair play’ so they will be an example to the rest of the world.”

The incident threatened to become a diplomatic issue between France and Ireland with the latter requesting a replay which was denied by FIFA.

At the FIFA end, the controversy forced the world’s governing body for soccer to take several looks at game officiating and the role of technology in ensuring fair play and discipline. In the end, FIFA announced it would have the South African competitions refereed in the conventional way: one referee, two assistants and a fourth official.

The economics of participation do work out in favor of all participating teams and serve to highlight the commercial aspects of the World Cup and the economic power of FIFA.

WWW.webcitation.org says that the total prize money offered for the tournament was confirmed by FIFA as US$420 million, a 60 percent increase on the 2006 tournament. All teams were provided US$1 million to finance their preparations. Teams that are eliminated at the group stage will receive US$8 million. The prize money is to be distributed as follows: $9 million - round of 16; US$ 18 million – quarterfinals; US$20 million – semifinals; US$24 million - runners up and US$30 million – winners. In addition, there are side payments by FIFA to the domestic clubs of the players representing their countries, according to the Irish Times.

Like most sports fans, we excitedly await the best that football has to offer and will certainly highlight all that makes waiting for the FIFA World Cup every four years worth it.