World Cup offers short term economic boom to hosts, competing nations

Moscow, June 30: So far the 2018 World Cup in Russia has been a success as fans from all around the World have enjoyed a football celebration which still has just over a fortnight left to run and which should being economic benefits, not just to the host nation, but to those taking part.

A report by Professor Francesc Rufas, an expert in the economy of football at the EAE Business School in Spain highlights the benefits for the host nation as "a short-term increase of 0.5 per cent in GDP, which comes thanks to the economic boost given by tourism and the construction of infrastructure", reports Xinhua news agency.

This can be offset by rising prices with an average 1.2 per cent increase in inflation during the tournament as bars, hotels, airlines etc put their prices up to take advantage of the tens of thousands of extra visitors during the competition.

Host nations also have to beware of an increase in the deficit, which rose by $15,000 million in the case of Brazil 2014 and $12,000 million in South Africa four years earlier.

However, he believes a World Cup can still be profitable "when investment is directed at re-usable infrastructures and improvements in public transport and traffic," (road, rail links etc), although these effects are seen clearer in countries where there is no corruption and all the money goes into the projects rather than into pockets.

Even just playing in a World Cup can have a positive effect on a country's economy thanks to what Professor Rufas describes as the "euphoria effect," and there can be a rise of up to 10-15 per cent in the purchase of certain items (such as new TV's to watch games).

And of course when people are watching games, they tend to eat and drink, so there is also a 10-15 percent increase in the sales of certain kinds of food and drink.

That is accompanied by a 20-30 per cent rise in advertising revenue as producers look to take advantage of a short-term boom and sell their products to fans who not only want to watch their country play on a new TV, but to celebrate their triumphs with perhaps a beer or 3.