Introduction
Consumer culture, global consumption, and neoliberalism impact FIFA World Cup in various ways. The event is recognized as one of the most profitable business ventures and marketing opportunities for giant global corporations. With increased free market policies and influences by powerful countries, the tournament is heavily commercialized (Giulianotti et al., 2014). Consequently, the planners and the event, in general, are continuing to shy away from the globalization objectives which promote international cooperation (Silk, 2014). Therefore, there is a need to reduce the power that private organizations have on FIFA World Cup to promote social harmony among developed and developing countries.
Consumer Culture Impact
Consumer culture significantly impacts FIFA World Cup during various tournaments. Smart (2018), states that consumer culture is at the heart of the increasing commercialization of Olympic games and merchandising. In contemporary society, technology is at the forefront of influencing consumer behaviors. Individuals tend to pay attention to events that are consistent with their cultural beliefs and values (Al-Omoush, Ancillo, and Gavrila, 2022). Additionally, many consumers are attracted to events and products that are accessible from the comfort of their homes. The changing consumer culture and behaviors impact the way FIFA World Cup is managed and promoted.
An explicit example of how consumer culture impacts the FIFA World Cup was in 2018 when Russia hosted the event. The country’s football union was accused of downplaying racial chants during some of the matches (Paustyan, 2022). The controversy attracted negative attitudes from a fan all over the world who believed in human dignity and equality. Although the Russian government tried to address the issue, there was a considerable decline in the profits generated by FIFA World Cup. Consequently, the following event in Qatar insisted on racial equality and promoted the event in a manner that discouraged racism.
Another example where the tournament attracts negative consumer perception was in 2022 when Qatar hosted it. The Qatari government, being guided by Islamic culture and values, discouraged the promotion of LGBTQ rights during the event (Larisu et al., 2023). The ban included using of materials such as banners that promoted the rights. The action attracted negative perceptions from Western countries that are in support of the LGBTQ community (Larisu et al., 2023). Consequently, the majority of the LGBTQ community opted to experience the tournament from their homes. Therefore, consumer culture on racism and LGBTQ has encumbered the success of the FIFA World Cup.
Global Consumption Impact
FIFA World Cup targets the global market which is attractive to multinational agencies. Global consumption involves the patterns of how the global market consumes multiple products and services. Over the years, FIFA World Cup has been attracting people from different countries. The increase in the number of people around the world who are ready to consume FIFA World Cup products has impacted the way the tournament is being organized and advertised across the world (Venter, 2022). Moreover, the changes in global consumption are influencing the commercialization of the tournament. For instance, research by Wagner, Storm, and Cortsen (2021), analyzed the social impacts and motivation for creating the European Super League. The researchers concluded that international tournaments, including World Cup, are motivated by the commercial desires of the corporate sector. Therefore, the planners and organizers of the World Cup are more interested in reaping profits than enhancing cultural and economic developments.
The availability of the global market during the World Cup leads to consumer exploitation. The increased demand for tournament tickets leads to unreasonable increases in the amount that one can pay for a single ticket. A case example is the price comparisons for the ticket costs when the event was hosted in Russia and Qatar. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, a ticket for category 1 cost $1100 (Chankuna, 2022). Meanwhile, during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, a similar ticket cost $1607, which is about a 46% price increase (Chankuna, 2022). The prices are expected to go even higher in future events. Consumer exploitation, through exorbitant price increases, shows that governments have failed to protect consumer rights by regulating ticket prices for the World Cup.
Although the FIFA World Cup organizers take advantage of the readily available global market, technology has been integrated to meet consumer needs. Every world cup tournament comes with new technology that makes the matches interesting. In the case of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, a website was developed to keep global fans updated on the event (Hurtado, 2022). The website contained information on the participating teams, players, scheduled matches, and live matches (Hurtado, 2022), which was beneficial to those who could not afford to go to Qatar.
Neoliberalism Impact
As earlier discussed, neoliberalism is associated with increased privatization and failure by the government to protect the interests of their people in the so-called free market. The FIFA World Cup tournament is highly commercialized, and many global organizations strive for the tournament’s promotion. The firms spend much money on securing tenders to promote the event and provide other services associated with it (Sage, 2015). The governments of the participating teams have little say in the organization and management of the event. For instance, during the 2022 Qatar tournament, FIFA was the sole controller of the organizations that would partner with it making the event successful (Venter, 2022). The absolute FIFA’s power to appoint sponsoring organizations limits the ability of governments to decide on companies that operate in the interest of their citizens.
The concept of neoliberalism can be used to explain how privatization and insufficient government intervention exacerbate problems associated with FIFA World Cup. The event’s organizers enjoy less strict market policies which they exploit to meet deadlines and increase their profitability (Sage, 2015). For instance, there have been increased cases of human rights violations during the preparations for the World Cup. A case example is the happenings during the construction of stadiums in Qatar for the 2022 tournament where many immigrant workers died.
According to Mngqosini (2022), about 400 to 500 workers died in Qatar as per the government’s report. However, the number given was controversial since it was reported that about 6,500 South Asian migrant workers died since the country was nominated to host the World Cup (Mngqosini, 2022). The governments of the involved countries remained silent on the issue due to domination by the private entities that controlled and organized the event. Increased domination of private entities in the management and promotion of FIFA World Cup events has led to violations of human and consumer rights (Chankuna, 2022). In the Qatar case, migrant workers were subjected to poor working conditions, including delayed and poor salaries (Venter, 2022).
Additionally, the sponsoring companies make it difficult for fans to enjoy products and services from other companies. For instance, Coca-Cola company is one of the latest sponsors of the 2022 FIFA world cup in Qatari. The company enjoys the readily available market during the matches to sell and promote its products. On the other hand, Coca-Cola competitors at local and global levels are denied equal opportunities to sell their products, leading to unfair market competition during FIFA World Cup (Sage, 2015). Although the major sponsors of the World Cup are always ready to exploit the market to their advantage, some of the hosts have remained strict with them. For instance, the Qatari government banned alcoholic drinks in the stadiums during the World Cup 2022 tournaments, including those from Budweiser, a sponsoring company (Panja, 2022). The sponsoring companies have influenced the hosting governments to promote unfair competition during World Cup. The governments play important role in promoting their countries’ values and cultures amidst neoliberalism.
FIFA World Cup Beneficiaries
The FIFA World Cup offers an opportunity for social, economic, and cultural growth. The event involves various stakeholders including players, sponsors, and migrant workers, among others. The beneficiaries take advantage of weak government systems to exploit the fans and other consumers by exaggerating ticket prices and restricting the fans to only use their products (Larisu et al., 2023). Meanwhile, immigrant workers from developing countries least benefit from the 2022 World Cup due to meagre salaries and the tough working environments they are subjected to (Al-Dosari, 2020). Therefore, the giant corporations reaped the most from the 2022 World Cup while exploiting the rights and benefits of migrant workers.
Conclusion
Although FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest international events that promote cultural and economic cooperation, it benefits capitalistic companies. During the 2018 and 2022 World Cup events, the sponsors and other influential partners took advantage of increased global consumption and weak systems to increase their profits at the expense of others. Neoliberalism and global capitalism negatively impact the management of the FIFA World Cup. While giant corporations and hosting countries benefit from FIFA World Cup, small businesses and developing countries suffer from unfair market competition and violations of human rights respectively.
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