Best Country to Host FIFA World Cup 2018

8/10/2019 Best Country to Host FIFA World Cup 2018

1/21

Best Country to Host FIFA World Cup 2018: United Kingdom

(A Comparison from International Business Perspective)


2/21

Best Country to Host FIFA World Cup 2018: United Kingdom

(A Comparison from International Business Perspective)

Prepared By

Arafat Islam 111 0247 030

Mohammad Sadlil Amin 111 0746 030

Aminul Habib 111 0977 530Md. Kamrul Hasan 112 0994 030

Sowad-Bin-Alam 112 0002 030

Talha Yeasin Antor 111 0082 030

INB355, Section 2

Summer 2014

Prepared For

Kashfah Khan Chowdhury

Lecturer, Dept of Marketing & INB

School of Business

North South University, Bangladesh

August 18, 2014


3/21

Acknowledgement

First of all we would like to thank Almighty Allah. Without His bless we would not be able to

complete this paper. Then in this earth we deeply thank our course instructor, Kashfah Khan

Chowdhury for her continuous support, precise instructions and motivation. Each and every

confusion we faced, she removed that with her deliberate lectures. Thanks to all of those people

who were directly and indirectly involved with this paper.


4/21

3

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

History of Hosting: Controversies from the beginning ... 5

Comparison from Political Perspective. 6-8

Comparison from Economic Perspective. 9-12

Official comparison taken from bid evaluation report of FIFA.. 12-16

Comparison from Social Perspective. 16-17

Conclusion. 18

References.. 19-20


5/21

4

Introduction

The Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA English: International Federation of

Association Football) is the international governing body of association football, futsal and

beach soccer. FIFA is responsible for the organization of football's major international

tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women's World Cup

which commenced in 1991. The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an

international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the

members of FIFA. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inauguraltournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World

War. The current champions are Germany, who won their fourth title at the 2014 tournament in

Brazil. The 2014 World Cup took place in Brazil. The next two World Cups will be hosted by

Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. Both choices have been criticized in the media, Russia in light

of the 2014 Crimean crises and Qatar for allegations of vote-buying and poor working conditions

for foreign workers (Source: Wikipedia). The purpose of this paper is to select a country that

would be better than Russia to host FIFA world cup 2018 and critically compare and discuss

from the international business perspective. We have selected United Kingdom (UK) to be the

best alternative. We have taken three conditions under our consideration and those are: Political,

Economic and Social. In the following sections we have shown comparisons between Russia and

UK for these three conditions.


6/21

5

History of Hosting: Controversies from the beginning

Sixteen countries have served as FIFA World Cup hosts in the tournament's twenty editions

since the inaugural World Cup in 1930. The organization was at first awarded to countries at

meetings of FIFA's congress. The choice of location was highly controversial in the earliest

editions, given the three-week boat journey between South America and Europe, the two centers

of strength in football at the time. The decision to hold the first cup in Uruguay, for example, led

to only four European nations competing. The next two World Cups were both held in Europe.

The decision to hold the second of these, the 1938 FIFA World Cup, in France was controversial,

as the American countries had been led to understand that the World Cup would rotate between

the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the tournament. The first edition

following World War II, held in Brazil in 1950, had three teams withdrawing due to either

financial problems or disagreements with the organization.

To avoid any future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternation between the

Americas and Europe, which continued until the 2002 FIFA World Cup which took place in

Asia. The system evolved so that the host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Executive

Committee. This is done under an exhaustive ballot system. The decision is currently made

roughly seven years in advance of the tournament, though the hosts for the 2022 edition were

chosen at the same time as those for the 2018 tournament.

Only Mexico, Italy, France, Germany (West Germany until shortly after the 1990 World Cup)

and Brazil have hosted the event on two occasions. Mexico City's Estadio Azteca and Rio de

Janeiro's Maracan are the only venues ever to have hosted two FIFA World Cup finals. Only the

2002 FIFA World Cup had more than one host, being split between Japan and South Korea.

However, FIFA still faces the controversies because of selecting Russia and Qatar despite of

Crimea issues and very hot summer condition respectively in those countries. On the other hand

FIFA had a choice to select UK for the host as they were the next most eligible candidate. In fact

we believe that in some cases, UK is far better than Russia and FIFA could eliminate all those

controversies by nominating UK to host the 2018 world cup.


7/21

6

Comparison from Political Perspective

Comparison Published by BBC:

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7856716.stm

A comparison published by BBC Sport (2010) clearly suggests that the cons are greater and have

far reaching effects if Russia is to host FIFA world cup 2018. Here, the security condition in

Russia is one of the main reasons for what we believe England would be better than Russia while

it is the case for hosting the earths biggest show. It is imprudent to leave the hosting

responsibility to such a country which is still in a political turmoil situation (i.e. with Crimea,

Ukraine). Recent shooting down of MH17 over Ukraine has strengthened this argument. In factBritish Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has joined calls for Russia to be stripped of the World

Cup in 2018 following the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine. As stated by Clegg

(2014), You cant have this the beautiful game marred by the ugly aggression of Russia

on the Russian Ukrainian border, not only would Vladimir Putin exploit it, I think it would make

the rest of the world look so weak and so insincere about our protestations about Vladimir

Putins behavior if were not prepared to pull the plug. Clegg also added that, He cant

constantly, you know, push the patience of the international community beyond breaking point,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7856716.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7856716.stm


8/21

7

destabilize a neighboring country, protect these armed separatists in the east of Ukraine and still

have the privilege and honor of receiving all the accolades in 2018 for being the host nation of

the World Cup. Certainly his words clarifies that the present political situations of Russia have

made them a riskier host for the world cup where a plenty of air travels will be required to travel

between the venues and hotels. Our statement can be verified by the statement of Peter Beuth,

interior minister of the German state of Hesse. He said, If Putin doesnt actively cooperate on

clearing up the plane crash, the soccer World Cup in Russia in 2018 is unimaginable. Michael

Fuchs, a senior leader in Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats party agreed, saying, FIFA

football association should think about whether Moscow is an appropriate host if it cant even

guarantee safe airways. However, this is not the first time Russia is hearing it. This comes justdays after six players of the Donetsk soccer team refused to leave France after a match and board

a plane back to Ukraine. In fact the calls echo similar sentiments earlier this year to move or

boycott the Sochi Winter Olympics after Moscow passed a controversial anti-gay law.

On the other hand, United Kingdom certainly bears lesser

political risk than Russia. According to A.M. Best

Company Inc. (2013), The United Kingdom (UK) is a

CRT-1 country with very low levels of risk across all

three categories. Despite its strong risk profile, the UK

was hit particularly hard by the global financial turmoil,

partially due to its sizeable financial sector. The economy

has continued to recover slowly with growth between 0-

2% and an expected 0.7% in 2013. Forecasted growth

should be between 1-2% going forward driven by

marginally higher employment, lower inflation, improved

demand and easing concerns over the euro zone.

[Picture 1: UK CRT-1 Rating by A.M.Best Company Inc.]


9/21

8

[Picture 2: CRT Rating (by region). Published by: A.M.Best Company Inc., 2013]

The region wise country risk tier indicates that Russia is a country which falls under the higher

risk zone having two borders of two very high risk countries- Ukraine and Belarus. On the other

hand UK falls under the very low risk zone for every condition. So under these conditions it

would be a sensible decision to make UK the host of FIFA world cup 2018.


10/21

9

Comparison from Economic Perspective

An economic value comparison presented below would reveal how enriched, experienced and

successful as well as economically benefitted UK is in the sports sector comparing to Russia.

Economic Value of UK in sports sector

National value of sport

Sports contribution to the English economy reached 20.3 billion in 2010, 1.9% of the Englandtotal. This placed sport up in the top 15 industry sectors in England above motor vehicles,

telecoms services, legal services, accounting, publishing, advertising and the utilities.

Employment

Sport employment remains a crucial component of the economy. The number of people with

sport-related jobs in 2010 is estimated at over 400,000 thats 2.3% of all employment in

England.

Wider benefits

The estimated economic value of sport-related volunteering is 2.7 billion. The annual value of

health benefits from people taking part in sport is estimated at 11.2 billion.

Economic Value of Russia in sports sector

While in the UK, football is part of life for majority of the population due to the unrivalled

accessibility to their local clubs and football clubs seem to gain increased exposure and revenue

due to the passionate supporters, in Russia, ice hockey is their national sport due to the harsh

climate and access to many indoor facilities during winter time. As a result, football isn't that

popular amongst general population.


11/21

10

National value of sports in Russia:

Russia is a very big country having different cultures and sports event but their main game is icehockey. Football section is still not that improved so the field condition employment on this

section is not that much secured as UK. They have the capability to arrange a football

tournament but they have little experience in this sector unlike UK.

Main issues

Russia Football League is 7th in the financial standing of major football leagues within

Europe, behind the popular Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga.

890 million (Euro) revenues were generated by the Russian football league in the 2012-

13 seasons.

It is nearly, 1.1 billion less than the popular football leagues.

This comparison indicates that although Russia has the desired infrastructures and co-

ordinations, there football is not that much vivacious as it is in UK. If we think about the fame

factor as well as the receptiveness that may generate from the people (beside the economic

factor), certainly it cannot be expected that Russia could generate that much enthusiasm at it

could be done by the British people.

According to Nation Master Comparison, UK earns on average $30.14 million and ranked 7th

worldwide by tourist arrivals. On the other hand Russia earned $23.68 million and ranked 11 th

which is 27% lesser than UK. These figures indicate that tourists prefer UK better over Russia

and UK is ready to take the challenge to accommodate the huge number of tourists who will be

coming to witness the world cup games.


12/21

11

Other economic particulars: (Russia UK respectively)

Table 1: Russia - UK comparison (source:www.nationmaster.com)

These comparisons are clearly placing UK on top of Russia. In United Kingdom GDP is 21%

more than Russia, a very favorable country to produce goods and merchandises. GDP per capita

in UK is 2 times higher than Russia where Gross National Income is $1.48 trillion (6 times more

than Russia). Inflation rate is only 2.8% (82% lesser than Russia) where purchasing power parity

in UK is $35,152.70 (2 times more than Russia). This suggests that people in UK has more
http://www.nationmaster.com%29/http://www.nationmaster.com%29/


13/21

12

purchasing capability than the people of Russia. It is a good sign for the investors and the

business people who visit and invest to the host countries for sports related products (i.e. t-shirt,

jersey, merchandiser etc.). Then again economic freedom, human development index and

technology index clearly signifies that UK would be the best country to host FIFA world cup

2018 over Russia in any time.

Official comparison taken from bid evaluation report of FIFA

Table 2: Bidding Status Overview

The following table has been taken from the Bid Evaluation Report that has been done by FIFA.

Here comparison between 9 countries (Holland and Belgium is considered as one) has been

presented and the data are fully official. Here we can see that both Russia and England has bid

for 2018 FIFA world cup only. The following table also shows the FIFA requirements along with

the comparisons so that whether a country meet the requirements or not can also be understood.

[Table 3] Here it can be observed that both UK and Russia are able to fulfill FIFA requirementsalthough in some cases UK condition is better than Russia. For example, the projection of

sellable tickets in UK is greater in number than Russia. UK has approximately 256,000 more

value. It suggests more business for FIFA in UK. The stadiums that would be required are more

in UK over Russia. However, Russia is dependent on the uncertain situation of new constructions

for the stadiums. We can bring to a close that FIFA should not take that risk as we have seen the

cases for Brazil (2014) recently.


14/21

13

Table 3: Overview of Key Information


15/21

14

Table 4: Overview of Operational Risk


16/21

15

Table 5: Overview of Legal Risk


17/21

16

Table 4 and Table 5 show the operational risk and legal risk among the bidders. Operational risk

in UK is low in every sector except Stadium operations and Accommodation (Medium risk for

both cases). On the other hand High risk is present in Russia in Transportation sector: Airline

and International connections. As previously stated, Russia is such a big country that Air

transport has become obvious and only way to go to distant stadiums and it wont be a wise step

to put every player in a state of risk. However, Medium risk is also present in the cases of:

stadium construction, stadium operations, and accommodations or even in ground transport.

On the other hand if we consider the legal risk, UK scores low in every department. Considering

these two risk factors, UK is considered to be the best country to host FIFA world cup 2018 over

Russia.

Comparison from Social Perspective

British Football Culture: Stronger than Russia

Football culture is part of the entire British nation regardless of Age or gender. This makes the

world cup one of the most celebrated events in England. The defining concept of football in

Britain is the passion the fans have for the game; this is often seen during the banter and chants

at live matches. Growing up in Britain, children realize pretty quickly just how important

football is, especially boys. From football trials at schools to talking to classmates about the

weekend's fixtures, football is a huge part of British culture.

The world cup is a special part of this society. Football has created many domestic rivalries in

Britain with fans of local teams creating genuine rivalries with fans that support opposing teams.

The world cup however is the one time where the entire British nation comes together to get

behind their boys in white. There is no way that Russian can beat Britishs enthusiasm about

football. Football craziness is in their blood and the madness gets boost up by the elevated

performance of the British clubs. Heated competition in the world cup is part and parcel of what

makes it such a passionate event. Football culture is truly imbedded in the heart of England. This

can be proved by the fans statements mentioned below:


18/21

17

"Football has always been a big part of my life, from watching the game with my Dad when I

was a kid to going down the local pub to watch the premier league finals. I support Fullam and

they have such a great fan base and I am really proud to be part of it."

"I remember every time Arsenal played Tottenham, the Tottenham supporters always gave us

loads of grief and there was loads of banter, but during the world cup at south Africa, everyone

just forgot all about that and cheered the boys on."

"The World Cup back in 2010 was so epic; me and load of my mates went to watch the England

qualifiers there. Was one of the best holidays I have ever had."

There is a distinctive difference between the football culture in Britain and the rest of the world.

Many people believe this is to do with the fans in Britain, whilst others see it as a wider issue to

do with the history of Britain itself. Either way, the World Cup promises to bring vibrant

atmosphere in every part of the England.

According to Happy Planet Index, UK scores 47.9 (Ranked 41 st) which is 39% more than Russia.

So theoretically, the British are happier than Russian and will be more welcoming for the world

cup 2018. In 2014 for Brazil, we have seen that people are protesting against the organization ofFIFA world cup for various unsatisfactory reasons. In this case British people are expected to be

more hospitable.

Social Face: David Beckham

Socially David Beckham is very popular face in UK. He will be the person here like a cherry in

the cake. Socially he is very active. His presence in the world cup event in UK would make iteven more successful and popular.


19/21

18

Conclusion

The game of Football is the most popular sport in the world. Across the globe, millions of fans

enjoy this game and when it comes to the world cup, the enthusiasms double. FIFA as a non

government organization should try to deliver the spirit of this game without any controversies

and back words. Recently the protest incidents of Brazil world cup 2014 have raised questions

against the efficiency of FIFA and the controversies of bribery of Qatar assisted the controversy

to gain mass. In this paper our main objective is to bringing up the best possible nation to host

the FIFA world cup 2018 apart from Russia. Considering the 3 major factor environments of

international business, we have come up with the best country and that is United Kingdom. The 3

environments which are taken into consideration are: Political, Economic and Social. Politically

UK is sounder than Russia. Current political turmoil between Russia and Ukraine has raised the

questions for security. In this case UK is safer in any time with lower political risk. However, the

lacking of adequate infrastructure has also made Russia unpopular to us and vice versa has made

UK popular to us. UK has all the required structures and they need minimum level of renovation

cost. Economically UK is better to host this world event as purchasing power parity, human

development index, gross net income per capita as well as technology index is better than Russia

with lower level of inflation rate. These make us to choose UK as the best country to host.

Socially football is more popular sports here in UK than Russia with more popular clubs those

are recognized globally. Football contributes to the national income and in fact football posses

legacy value here. So in any situation UK would be considered as the best country to host FIFA

world cup 2018 by us.


20/21

19

References

2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids.(2014, August 2). Retrieved August 17, 2014, from

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_and_2022_FIFA_World_Cup_bids

2018 World Cup should not be held in Russia UK Deputy PM Nick Clegg.(2014, July 27).

Retrieved August 17, 2014, from The Score: http://www.thescore.ie/nick-clegg-russia-world-cup-

1591385-Jul2014/

Burrows, B. (2014, July 25). FIFA confirm Russia 2018 World Cup will go ahead despite high

profile civil unrest.Retrieved August 17, 2014, from Mirror:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fifa-confirm-russia-2018-world-3913280#.U-cvTvmSyH0

Chang, L. (2014, June 2012). British Football Culture and the World Cup.Retrieved August 17,

2014, from Crienglish: http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/06/12/3481s831287.htm

Collett, M., & Osborn, A. (2014, July 27). Russia should lose 2018 soccer World Cup over Ukraine

- UK deputy PM.Retrieved August 17, 2014, from Reuters:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/27/uk-soccer-world-russia-clegg-idUKKBN0FW06Y20140727

Compare United Kingdom to Russia.(n.d.). Retrieved August 17, 2014, from If It Were My Home:

http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/GB/RU

Concerns and controversies at the 2014 Winter Olympics.(2014, July 28). Retrieved August 17,

2014, from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympics

Country vs country: Russia and United Kingdom compared: Crime stats .(n.d.). Retrieved August

17, 2014, from Nation Master: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Russia/United-

Kingdom/Crime

Country vs country: Russia and United Kingdom compared: Culture stats.(n.d.). Retrieved August

17, 2014, from Nation Master: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Russia/United-

Kingdom/Culture

Country vs country: Russia and United Kingdom compared: Economy stats .(n.d.). Retrieved

August 17, 2014, from Nation Master: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-

info/compare/Russia/United-Kingdom/Economy

Country vs country: Russia and United Kingdom compared: Education stats.(n.d.). Retrieved


info/compare/Russia/United-Kingdom/Education
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_and_2022_FIFA_World_Cup_bidshttp://www.thescore.ie/nick-clegg-russia-world-cup-http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fifa-confirm-russia-2018-world-3913280#.U-cvTvmSyH0http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/06/12/3481s831287.htmhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/27/uk-soccer-world-russia-clegg-idUKKBN0FW06Y20140727http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/GB/RUhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympicshttp://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Russia/United-http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Russia/United-http://www.nationmaster.com/country-http://www.nationmaster.com/country-http://www.nationmaster.com/country-http://www.nationmaster.com/country-http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Russia/United-http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Russia/United-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_at_the_2014_Winter_Olympicshttp://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/GB/RUhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/27/uk-soccer-world-russia-clegg-idUKKBN0FW06Y20140727http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/06/12/3481s831287.htmhttp://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fifa-confirm-russia-2018-world-3913280#.U-cvTvmSyH0http://www.thescore.ie/nick-clegg-russia-world-cup-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_and_2022_FIFA_World_Cup_bids


21/21

20

Country vs country: Russia and United Kingdom compared: Government stats .(n.d.). Retrieved


info/compare/Russia/United-Kingdom/Government

Laird, S. (2014, July 28). Should Russia Still Get to Host the 2018 World Cup?Retrieved August

17, 2014, from Mashable: http://mashable.com/2014/07/27/2018-world-cup-russia-fifa-comment/

Mosendz, P. (2014, July 23). No One Wants Russia To Host the 2018 World Cup. Retrieved

August 17, 2014, from The Wire: http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/07/no-one-wants-russia-to-

host-world-cup-2018/374921/

Poyry, E. (n.d.). A Tailored Country Risk Model for Russia. 3-26.

Tang, K. (2013, October 26). The World Cup: Changing Countrys Laws, One Tournament at a

Time.Retrieved August 17, 2014, from Travaux: http://berkeleytravaux.com/world-cup-changing-

countrys-laws-one-tournament-time/

United Kingdom. (2013, September 24).AMB Country Risk Report. United States of America:

A.M. Best Company, Inc.

United Kingdom In-depth country-focused analysis on the United Kingdom's economic, political

and operational risk environment, complemented by detailed sector insight.(n.d.). Retrieved August 17,

2014, from Business Monitor International: http://www.businessmonitor.com/united-kingdom

Vesty, M., Sheringham, S., & Stevenson, J. (2010, November 30). The race to host the World Cup

in 2018 and 2022.Retrieved August 17, 2014, from BBC Sport:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7856716.stm

Wills sick as a royal parrot: England loses bid to host World Cup to 'mafia state' Russia (and Putin

didn't even bother to turn up).(2010, December 3). Retrieved August 17, 2014, from Dailymail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335026/World-Cup-2018-England-lose-bid-mafia-state-

Russia.html
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-http://mashable.com/2014/07/27/2018-world-cup-russia-fifa-comment/http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/07/no-one-wants-russia-to-http://berkeleytravaux.com/world-cup-changing-http://www.businessmonitor.com/united-kingdomhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7856716.stmhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335026/World-Cup-2018-England-lose-bid-mafia-state-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335026/World-Cup-2018-England-lose-bid-mafia-state-http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7856716.stmhttp://www.businessmonitor.com/united-kingdomhttp://berkeleytravaux.com/world-cup-changing-http://www.thewire.com/global/2014/07/no-one-wants-russia-to-http://mashable.com/2014/07/27/2018-world-cup-russia-fifa-comment/http://www.nationmaster.com/country-

Documents

Best Country to Host FIFA World Cup 2018