The Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education recently hosted the third annual Peter Donnelly Lecture in Sport Policy Studies with a guest talk by David Roberts, an associate professor of urban studies in the department of geography and planning at the University of Toronto.
Roberts, whose research and teaching focus include urban infrastructure planning and the politics of public participation in urban policymaking, explored the connection between hosting mega-events like the FIFA World Cup and becoming a so-called world-class city by virtue of hosting such events.
“Advocates for hosting a mega-event, like the FIFA World Cup, often frame such events as a once in a lifetime opportunity for a city to enhance its urban brand, infrastructure and global standing, effectively becoming world class by hosting a world-class event,” said Roberts.
“But, while the goal of hosting a world-class event and, in the process, potentially gaining recognition as a world-class city may be fine in the abstract, hosting a world-class event has all too often meant increased policing and displacement of a city’s most vulnerable citizens, human rights violations of various kinds, the disregard of various planning processes, including forms of participatory democracy, along with other forms of social violence.”
In light of these and other criticisms, including the international outrage regarding the human rights abuses leading up to the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar [see Q & A with KPE Professor Simon Darnell on the controversies swirling around the World Cup in Qatar], FIFA unveiled a new human rights policy and set of requirements for host cities for the 2026 tournament.
A group of Canadian researchers, including Roberts and Darnell, who is director of KPE’s Centre for Sport Policy Studies, will be hard at work during and after the Cup to investigate whether this new policy has made a material difference.
In the meantime, Roberts is advocating for everyone – from researchers to social movement groups - to collectively push for a more equitable and socially just approach not only to hosting the 2026 World Cup, but any future mega-events in Toronto and cities elsewhere.
“For any big future events we have to ask ourselves who are these events for, what is the point, who is actually benefiting from this?” said Roberts. “Why are we spending money on this and not on something else that might have a better return on investment?
“What mechanisms can we use to ensure broader democratic participation and a positive legacy for all – and whose voices are being left out?”
The opportunity to ask these questions may have been missed for the upcoming World Cup, but Roberts does see reasons for optimism, including the establishment of public advisory bodies that will provide advice to the city on various aspects of planning the World Cup.
“While it’s yet to be seen how influential they will be, they provide a good model for public democracy for future big events,” he said.
Additionally, the social procurement goals set by the city of Toronto include a potential infusion of money into businesses owned by Black, Indigenous and other diverse communities during the World Cup - part of the city’s broader commitment to social procurement.
Professor Emeritus Peter Donnelly, the founder of the Centre for Sport Policy Studies, whose contribution to the sociology of sport and commitment to social justice inspired the lecture series, also addressed the audience.
“Football is the people’s game, the global game,” said Donnelly. “There are more players and people who have played this sport than any other sport and more countries are members of FIFA than are members of the United Nations or the Olympics.”
Donnelly said the World Cup is a very special time to be in the GTA, one of the most multicultural cities in the world with communities of people whose ancestral homes are represented in every country that will be playing at the Cup.
“Enjoy the games, but don’t let that stop you from criticizing the organizers for the social and financial costs of the games,” he said, reminding the audience that it is possible to love a sport and still be critical of team owners or sport administrators.