As the world cup opening match ushers in the tournament with a boring 1-1 between south africa and mexico, i cannot help but wonder the economic effects of world cup on south africa. The publicity it has raised for itself has not been flattering either. While it brought african nations to a new sporting heights, while it tries earn back some tourist money to cover the government spending which has gone into the infrastructure, it has been said that the World Cup only benefits the rich. News of big companies buying advertisement spaces in preparation made the local authorities chase away local peddlers who had frequent the streets in the past. World Cup revenue is meant for Big Companies which has earned the rights through sponsorships. Building of the sporting infrastructure and sprucing up of Johannesburg's images saw many housing estates, residents and slums being relocated. As a result, some local workers were displaced 8 to 10 km away from their work place. The price of the world cup, though marked down significantly, were still above the reservation price of the average. But let us not forget the cause and dreams ignited by this world cup. 1Goal its a noble plan to provide education for 72 million children world wide. How I wish I were able to provide a more indepth analysis, but I am not not an economist. But so what if I am? Economists are known for be smart in retrospect. All they do is to try and make sense today of why their prediction 2 days ago for yesterday went wrong. IT vendors in singapore are affected by the World Cup too. I was at the IT fair 2 days ago and I noticed many people lugging around 42 inch plasma or LCD TVs. Seriously, was the IT fair strategically times to coincide with the start of World Cup, to help boost the sales of LCD TVs?the fair's crowded as usual. but among the chaotic human traffic, something caught my eye.
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