Impact of sports mega-events on sustainable regional development

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PhD A.O. Lantsev1
PhD E.G. Shurmanov1
Dr. Hab., Associate Professor A.V. Ponomarev1
PhD L.L. Tolvaishis1
1Ural Federal University, Institute of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy, Yekaterinburg

Objective of the study was to examine the impact of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on the sustainable development of the host cities and their youth appeal.
Methods and structure of the study. The fundamental basis of the study was the data from the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation (Rosturism), analytical materials of the FIFA and the Russian Football Union, as well as the results of the in-house studies of the Department of Youth Outreach of Ural Federal University. As part of the study, a focus-group was run to identify the expectations of the sports mega-event (based on the reference model for assessing the impact of sports mega-events developed by the German Agency for International Cooperation - GIZ) and design their content. We also conducted a questionnaire survey of the youth representatives.
Subject to the questionnaire survey were the 14-30 year-olds: schoolchildren, students of the specialized secondary educational establishments, university students, factory workers and corporate employees, including public sector workers and entrepreneurs (n=119).
Results of the study and conclusions. The questionnaire survey results showed that the absolute majority of the respondents reported infrastructural changes, including the sustainable use of the sports grounds as the most important part of the FIFA-2018 heritage. It was also found that the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of the sports mega-event were quite important for the young people. It is particularly noteworthy that there is a great demand for cultural and educational (including those to raise awareness in the field of environmental protection) activities to take place in parallel with the main sports program.

Keywords: sports mega-events, sustainable development, FIFA World Cup.

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