The business of 2010

21 November 2008

On the eve of Soccerex, Gillian Saunders, director of Grant Thornton Strategic Solutions addressed the media to decipher and explain the range of divergent numbers associated with the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

This presentation covered all economic aspects of the event from contribution to GDP and jobs created to tickets sold and number of tourists expected. The impact of the current economic climate and other economic assumptions were also discussed.

Update - 21 April 2010
Updated projections on the economic impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, released on 21 April 2010 by global audit and advisory firm Grant Thornton, indicate that there are a number of reasons for South Africans to be optimistic.

• Net economic impact is the same, at half a percent of GDP
• Gross economic impact is significantly higher after taking into account governments’ increased budgets
• The annual number of jobs sustained in 2010 alone is 280,000

Full details of the study and figures here