“I am renovating my house to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast. I will start operating in 2008. By the time we hit 2010, I will be an experienced service provider. If there was no 2010 World Cup I would not even have thought of this business” – Emmanuel Mnisi, home owner in Johannesburg’s Roodepoort area.
Emmanuel Mnisi is one of many ordinary South Africans who are set to benefit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. For people like him, the country’s success on the 2010 FIFA World Cup bid has ignited entrepreneurial spirit that has been lying dormant.
“The question everyone is asking is ‘What’s in it for me? What can I do to gain something out of the World Cup?’ This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our generation,” Mnisi says.
Mnisi is now attending a part time travel and catering course in Johannesburg. When he opens his small business in 2008, he is going to need employees in order to deliver excellent service to his clients. This employment creation is desperately needed in South Africa – and 2010 is the perfect catalyst.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is expected to create over 150 000 jobs in South Africa - a tremendous boost to an economy which still faces the challenge of a high unemployment rate.
Although the travel and tourism industry will be the runaway winner in reaping the benefits of the premier event, other industries and businesses are also set to gain; the construction industry being one of them. The building and upgrading of stadiums have created employment across a number of skill sets; the road infrastructure will need to be expanded and upgraded, as will the airports. To achieve this all of these industries will require a large influx of labour.
According to international consulting firm, Grant Thornton, the 2010 FIFA World Cup will bring in R21.3 billion into the country’s economy, generating an estimated R12.7 billion in direct spending, and creating an estimated 159 000 jobs.
Football is a team sport, and team work is what distinguishes a winning team from a losing one. It is in this nature of football sportsmanship, that the 2010 FIFA World Cup benefits will be shared among all Africans, especially those in the Southern Africa region. The entrepreneurial culture among ordinary people is reverberating across the borders.
"As we proceed on our way towards 2010, the continent and the African people will be better off than they are today, thanks to the role of football", South African President Thabo Mbeki, told Kick Off magazine.
Many 2010 FIFA World Cup visitors are foreign to the African continent, and many will be travelling to Africa for the very first time. This is the perfect chance for football fans to maximise this opportunity, and travel the continent extensively.
2010 supporters will no doubt use their time off between matches to visit the best that South and Southern Africa has on offer. International icons such as Cape Town, the Kruger National Park, the Garden Route, Victoria Falls, Etosha and the Okavango Delta are but a few must-sees.
The biggest benefit that the FIFA 2010 World Cup will bring to people like Emmanuel Mnisi, is not the amount of money that they will make during the sporting spectacle – it is the spirit of self-empowerment that this event has made them realise. Who knows, they might be South Africa’s business moguls of tomorrow.