This book is the outcome of three years of engagement, collaboration, research and struggle to improve workers’ conditions ahead of, during and after the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 2010 World Cup. Once the Labour Research Service reviewed the impact of mega sporting events on workers’ conditions, various new insights and perspectives developed. The research initially aimed to inform the response of workers and trade unions for their struggle to improve the conditions of workers, but it was soon clear that this would not be possible without looking at the sporting spectacle as a whole and FIFA’s role in capitalist globalisation and accumulation.
This book provides a holistic analysis and critique of the impact of mega sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and the developmental paradigm associated with it.
We hope that the lessons learnt in South Africa can be shared with workers involved in preparations for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Football Championship in the Ukraine and Poland in 2012 and the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, among other mega events planned for the near future.
A book by the Labour Research Service (LRS) and Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI)
Eddie Cottle
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