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Vuvuselas and a Cash Jackpot for the 2010 World Cup

August 1, 2010 by Mike Lee — CEO of the ATM Industry Association, ATM Industry Association

Cape Town, South Africa – The world cup final last Sunday became the most watched soccer match in US television history, whilst Spain registered its highest-ever TV audience to witness its nation become the new world champions. And about half the entire Dutch population saw their team lose out to a heart-breaking winning goal scored deep into extra-time.

The 2010 World Cup was the first one hosted on the African continent and FIFA awarded South Africa a 9 out of 10 rating, expecting its total cumulative television audience to exceed the 26.29 billion viewers for the previous tournament held in Germany in 2006.

Certainly South Africa 2010 was a colorful, logistically efficient, safe and happy event. It was distinguished in many people’s minds by the joyful drone of vuvuselas which have now arrived on the stage of the world’s most popular sport, probably for good.

Spain was not the only winner in this world cup.

Brand South Africa also emerged victorious.

And so did cash.

Data from convenience ATMs in South Africa shows a healthy spike in cash withdrawals during the world cup, which in turn was reflected in robust spending on merchandise and tourist attractions.

A leading South African IAD, Spark ATM Systems (www.sparkatm.co.za), reported that the average value of cash withdrawn at its ATMs increased by 11.26% over June 2009, the highest annual increase on its records. In addition, ATM usage by foreign visitors increased markedly during the world cup period. A cumulative total of 3.1 million domestic and foreign fans attended the 64 world cup matches, the third-highest attendance ever, after the US in 1994 and Germany in 2006.

“The portion of foreign card usage for June 2010 increased by 52% over the same period last year, with foreign withdrawals comprising 8% of transactions, up from 5% in June 2009,” explained Spark’s Managing Director, Marc Sternberg. “The average foreign withdrawal value over the first 3 weeks of the tournament was R 687, which is significantly more than the amount South Africans are withdrawing and 26% more than the average value foreigners recorded in June 2009.” The rand, which has a sign of R, is South Africa’s currency.

Foreign fans are thought to have spent on average about R30,000, or $4,000, while on their trip, bringing in over R10 billion to the South African economy.

The increased cash usage and spending in the tournament period should be seen against the background of a slow, post-recessionary global economy. A further obstacle to overcome on the way to creating this successful world cup in 2010 was a wave of negative media publicity leading up to the event.

But, in end, South African “gees” (Afrikaans word for spirit or soul) shone through and all the doubters and sceptics were left eating their words.

The government estimates the total world cup injection to the economy will be in the region of R93 billion (approximately $12.4 billion). The costs of hosting the world cup, including R30 billion transport systems, telecommunications and stadia, were all covered in current government budgets so there are no long-term loans to pay back.

With no debt headaches left after the event, the host nation can enjoy for years to come the rich legacy of hosting what is sometimes called the greatest show on earth: improved infrastructure, increased self-belief, national unity and business confidence, hundreds of thousands of new tourists impressed with the country’s natural beauty and progress and, perhaps, the chance to host the first ever African Olympic games in 2020.

Hopefully, if that dream also came true, the vuvuselas would be banned for all indoor Olympic events…

Did you enjoy coverage of the 2010 world cup? What do you think of the vuvuselas? Do you think South Africa has now earned the chance to host the Olympics in 2020?