The currentWhat does the host of the FIFA World Cup for Canadian cities mean?
World Cup football is just one year after descending in Vancouver. And while some are delighted with International Soccer Stars Upon reaching their backyard, others are concerned about the possible negative effects of organizing one of the world’s largest sports tournaments.
“There is concern that the city really does not see this as an opportunity to bring the community … but an opportunity to close the community to invite the particular types of visitors to FIFA expectations,” said Meg Holden, an urban planner of the Simon Fraser University. The current Guest host Catherine Cullen.
Holden’s concern comes from a 98 -page document details the stipulations of the Vancouver Agreement with FIFA to organize part of the 2026 World Cup, which was made public on July 15. Thanks to a three -year legal battle of the independent journalist Bob Mackin.
Vancouver and Toronto will represent Canada as coanffration cities during the tournament, organized jointly in 2026 by Canada, the United States and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
But despite the fact that only seven games will be played in BC Place in Vancouver, some people have great concerns about their impact on the community and who will see the profits.
Branding, traffic, applied ‘beautification’ rules
According to the document, Vancouver will have to enforce what is called a controlled area on a game day, as well as the day before a game day, less than two kilometers from BC Place.
That means that the city must cover up or eliminate “any commercial ad and identification located within the controlled area”, although what will be seen is not clear.
The document also says that public sales of food, drinks, fans, memories or similar products in the controlled area “must agree with the definite restrictions, and new instructions provided by FIFA.”
In a statement sent by email to the CBC, the Vancouver host committee said the controlled area “is specifically in place with the purpose of avoiding unauthorized marketing to guarantee the protection of the intellectual property of FIFA (IP), also known as its brand.”
He said he will not require companies in the area to close.
The beautification of the city, which implies that the city is “as attractive as possible”, is also mandatory within that same radius, together with traffic restrictions. Holden says that this is especially alarming, since that includes the center of Vancouver in Eastside, who has fought with crime and lack of housingand could make the life of the most vulnerable difficult.
“The air quality inside can be terrible. The quality of the outer air could be terrible if we have a bad season of forest fires. What are the plans to make life tolerable for people?” Holden said.
Councilor Mike Klassen told CBC On the coast The guest presenter Amy Bell that the city will not displace anyone, including those living in the Eastside center.
Klassen said he wants the city to be “really sensitive and supportive” of people in the center of the city, but also wants to make sure that “our city shines” as tens of thousands of spectators around the world are about to visit.
Cost of doing business
FIFA is leaving additional costs for places, surveillance, organization or security to the city. Estimation of the organizers It will cost between $ 532 million and $ 624 million To organize the event in Vancouver. Some of that will be covered by the provincial government.
Despite the city’s guarantees, Jules Boykoff says that residents should be very concerned about what a World Cup event will mean for them.
Boykoff is a professor of politics and government at the University of the Pacific in Oregon, and has had a depth of immersion in the long -term impacts of mega sporting events.
“These sporting events, such as the FIFA Soccer World Cup or the Olympic Games, tend to benefit the upper levels of the economic society at the often expense of working class people in the host city,” he said.
The province has said that around one million travelers outside the province will visit Vancouver between 2026 and 2031 due to the event, which will lead to additional $ 1 billion in visiting expenses.
But Boykoff, who has written six books on the impact of the Olympic Games on host cities, discovers that it is generally the great sponsors who are raising extra cash, not local businesses.
“When you look at those pink forecasts that were made in the offer process for the FIFA World Cup, they have really withered under the heat of reality,” Boykoff said.
“I mean, the costs are increasing in city after city, and these cities face real fiscal pressure.”
In 2018, Chicago withdrew his commitment to organize World Cup games, saying that he felt FIFA could not provide the necessary details about how Chicago residents would be affected.
Then in 2021, Montreal withdrew his offer due to lack of provincial government support. Edmonton had a commitment to organize games, But he was not chosen.
Meanwhile, Boykoff says the World Cup means a lot of money for its host organization. FIFA reported More than $ 7.5 billion in income between 2019 and 2022. Estimates of the tone marketing group of the public relations company FIFA income will exceed US $ 10 billion in the 2026 World Cup.
According to the Vancouver pages contract, FIFA will maintain the income of ticket sale and sponsorships.
“Then they have money and could extend it, but they tend to be quite innocent and take care of their own interests, not the city in which they are visiting,” Boykoff said.
City responsibility
Meg Holden says that the city of Vancouver has already taken a big false step when he originally promised a field in Memorial South Park as training fields for the national male team, changed to the National UBC Soccer Development Center After the public protest.
The host committee says that it is working with the main companies within the area to minimize interruptions, and will increase that scope to include local companies, interested parties and residents during the next year.
Holden says that the city could benefit from doing something similar to what he did before the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. He organized a plebiscite on winter games, giving people the opportunity to express their concerns and hopes for the great event.
“What will be the legacy of this accommodation event?” said. “Football is a great cultural crucible, but are we really going to see that kind of benefits in Vancouver next year and then for the next few years?”
