The 2010 FIFA World Cup and the use of the housing asset for income generation : ǂb a case study of the eThekwini Municipality.

Abstract

South Africa was presented with the unique opportunity of hosting the first 2010 FIFA World Cup (FWC) on African soil. This unique opportunity further extended itself to the non-hotel accommodation providers, as it was the first time in history that FIFA agreed to accredit non-hotel accommodation providers for the tournament. The research intended to examine the extent of the use of the housing asset to generate income from the 2010 FWC. The study was conducted in the municipal area of eThekwini Municipality (Durban), South Africa. The case study areas consisted of the lower-middle income, upper-middle income and high-income areas of Umbilo, Manor Gardens and Durban North respectively. The data collection method used in the study areas was a household survey with 30 respondents. The respondents were from the high-income area of Durban North, upper middle-income area of Manor Gardens and lower-middle income area of Umbilo. Interviews were conducted to collect data from financial institutions. Data was collected from conventional and non-conventional financial institutions. The findings of the study revealed that the extent to which the housing asset was used to generate income from the 2010 FWC was not high or considerable. This was due to many home-based enterprise (HBE) owners stating that FIFA would stand to benefit largely from the 2010 FWC, with no institutional support for HBE owners to benefit from government. It was also found that conventional and non-conventional financial institutions were not willing to provide financial assistance to HBE owners specifically for generating income from the 2010 FIFA World Cup, due to the short duration of the event. In conclusion, it was recommended that instruments to drive the implementation of the policies be deployed, to create an enabling environment for the small business sector to grow at a household level. A policy should be developed in eThekwini Municipality that standardises the land use management applications and zoning for accommodation providers and HBEs in line with the eThekwini Municipality’s drive to be the ‘Events Capital of Africa’. Intervention from government at all levels is required to ensure that the HBEs in the small business sector benefit from mega-events such as the 2010 FWC.