WATCHING RUSSIA 2018- Project Management things to look out for in a FIFA World Cup Tournament?
A commentator describes the world cup as a “short and intense” sporting event project. This year’s tournament in Russia involves thirty-two (32) national teams competing through a total of 64 matches across 12 venues located in 11 cities over a one-month duration (June 14-July 15, 2018).
Like projects, The World Cup is a series of inter-linked activities with a fixed time limit, using up accumulated capital and human resources. Russia is estimated to have spent about $20 billion dollars on public work projects and retouching stadia for this particular edition. Participating nations target some objectives (usually winning the trophy on the sporting side or just national pride/diplomatic points) and the hosts will normally expect a Return On Investment –ROI to flow in during and after the tournament.
ADOBE’S BEHANCE RUSSIA 2018 STADIA COLLECTION FOR THE PROJECT MANAGER
Squad performance & Kits : A Picture of National Project Management Maturity
How countries organize their teams for participation in world cup events is definitely a measure of how project savvy a nation is.The Project Management(PM) maturity of a country can be seen in anything from the quality of the sports kits ordered, the remuneration package for the team, the breadth of players selected as alternatives for playing positions, coaching strategies deployed during a keenly contested match and of course how colorful and creative the fans are !
Multiplier Effects
A World Cup project usually has typical multiplier effect on sectors such as the construction, tourism, travel and transportation, arts &crafts/clothing, broadcast media and entertainment.
Some past World Cup hosting bids were met with protests in some nations because in the eyes of dissenting opinion the math on the economic impact didn’t tie up
Sustainability/ROI
This is the picture of the Maracana Stadium built for the last FIFA World Cup held in Brazil in 2014- The real Project Management test for a world cup event.After the noisy fans are gone and the pitches are silent, what happens to the state of art stadium that cost billions of dollars? It is at this point that the real Return On Investments is best calculated. The whole project design also comes under the knife for its soundness. Some countries like the USA did not build stadia from the scratch for the FIFA World Cup she hosted in 1994. Existing American football ( or baseball pitches???) were merely reassembled for the 1994 FIFA World Cup and converted back to their former uses once the tournament was over.
So, When You viewing Russia 2018, Put On a Project Management Cap!