1. Definitions
1.1. sport
1.1.1. competitive
1.1.1.1. sacrifice, intensity, contention for prize
1.1.2. non-competitive
1.1.2.1. relaxation, fun
1.1.3. team games
1.1.3.1. soccer, basketball, etc
1.1.4. individual games
1.1.4.1. SQUASH, tennis, boxing, etc.
1.1.5. physical activity
1.2. vasts sum of money
1.2.1. build the sports facilities and infrastructure - stadiums, swimming pools, gymnasiums, etc.
1.2.1.1. If all these are built throughtout the country and a majority of the people have access to these facilities, then there will be healthe benefit since these places can be used for recreation and for fitness training.
1.2.1.2. Facilities for hosting major sporting events, eg. Bird's nest stadium in Beijing - source of pride and tourist attraction.
1.2.2. hosting, organisations of events
1.2.3. prizes, trophies
1.2.4. sponsorship
1.2.5. salaries of sportsmen
1.2.5.1. 180 000 pounds per week
1.2.6. transfer fees for players/purchase
1.2.7. advertisements
1.2.8. Spent by
1.2.8.1. Government (tax revenue)
1.2.8.2. Corporations (sponsors)
1.2.8.3. Spectators (tickets, mechandise)
1.2.8.4. Sportsmen (self training)
1.2.8.5. Media (broadcast rights)
1.3. merit
1.3.1. Does sport deserve the vast sums of money...?
1.3.2. Should sport enjoy the vast sums of money...?
2. For/Pros
2.1. Yes, sport does deserve the large sums of money spent on it.
2.1.1. Promoting exercising for a healthy lifestyle
2.1.1.1. China planned and built the Olympic Park and the 37 stadiums and venues that will host Olympic events. These will still be used by the citizens for exercising even after the Olympic ends.
2.1.2. Sports play an important part in many people's lives, especially through the media and the broadcasting of the various sport games.
2.1.2.1. eg. Premier League, FIFA World Cup, American Football World Cup, NBA Championships
2.1.3. Sports can increase the general happiness of the population.
2.1.3.1. A source of happiness for fans comes from rooting for a team more generally, independent of actually attending games in person. Fans watch games on television, listen to them on the radio, and read about them in local newspapers. Games serve as an occasion for parties and barbecues. Teams' performance is the subject of long discussions among friends
2.1.3.1.1. Builds up national pride.
2.1.4. Opportunities for poorer individuals/nations to compete on a global scale and escape poverty.
2.1.4.1. For South Africa, and by extension, Africa as a whole, the World Cup (2010) is of paramount importance. It'll be the first time that an African nation has hosted the tournament and for some Africans, football is their only sense of the world outside of their country and their continent.
2.1.4.2. Hosting of major tournaments can also boost the economy (tourism, increased employment)
2.1.4.2.1. Sports like tennis, golf, Formula One and rowing were worth about $1.4 billion to Victoria each year, created the equivalent of 22 000 full-time jobs and attracted 1.2 million visitors.
2.1.4.3. Inprovements in infrastructure such as transport can bring economic returns as it can attract investors to set up businesses in the region. This must however be accompanied with sustainability of these infrastructure.
2.1.5. F1 drivers merit such salaries by risking their lives for the sport
2.1.5.1. e.g Brazilian race legend Ayrton Senna was killed in a race in 1994.
3. Examples
3.1. Singapore's budget for the 2010 YOG ballooned from S$100million to nearly S$400million.
3.2. China spent US$20billion to stage the Beijing Olympics.
3.3. The transfer fee of Cristiano Ronaldo was £80 million when he crossed over from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 -- the highest ever in soccer history!
4. Against/Cons
4.1. No, sport does not derserve the large sums of money spent on it.
4.1.1. Money spent can be used to finance other government projects (in developing countries) eg. education, healthcare, feeding hungry millions
4.1.1.1. Humanitarian aid worth $2.5 billion to Afghanistan in 2002 created 2 million jobs and allowed 3 million children to go back to school.
4.1.1.2. According to the International Olympic Committee, TOP (The Olympic Partners) sponsors spent more than $1 billion promoting their Olympic involvement, much of it with advertising that will promote the Olympic values as much as it promotes the corporation.
4.1.2. In order to fund sports, they will need to either raise taxes or cut public services (sometimes both) in order to fund the subsidies, thereby reducing the purchasing power of the citizens. (when cost exceeds budgeting)
4.1.2.1. While taxpayers generally contribute to governmental investments in sports, not all of them can benefit from it. Businesses may receive economic gains, however, the poorer community might not benefit at all.
4.1.2.1.1. Eg. South Africa World Cup 2010 - poorer citizens contribute to the investment in the hosting of the event. However, some of them cannot even afford to watch the games live on the fields. They might not even ultimately have the privelleges to make use of the improved infrastructure (transportation fees, facilities fees etc).
4.1.2.2. Increased taxes also result in a greater burden on the taxpayers.
4.1.3. Indeed, having a sports team around gives people something to talk about and something to root for, but is the cost worth it? What about the seasons that just break the fans hearts? Fans invest a lot in sports teams and they share their highs and their lows.
4.1.3.1. Eg. A poor performing team, such as the Miami Dolphins in '07 and the Detroit Lions, the following season could negatively impact worker productivity.
4.1.4. The large sum of money spent on negative advertisements can be spent on other areas instead. By using sportsmen or sports teams who are often admired by many youths for negative advertising, the advertising companies are promoting the wrong values and ideas.
4.1.4.1. Marlbolo, a tobacco brand, used Formula One for advertising.
4.1.5. Distorts true meaning of sport
4.1.5.1. High competitiveness involved in higher level sport. Sportsmen may resort to underhanded means in order to succeed eg. doping.
4.1.6. Facilities built may be under-utilised
4.1.6.1. Money and resources used to build these facilities were wasted.
5. Balanced
5.1. Furthermore, the income generated based on solely the income taxes of the players is enough to generate a huge sum of profits to cover the cost of the sporting event itself
5.1.1. Furthermore. these numbers do not include money from tourism, the jobs created by the construction, the spending at local business before and after an event, or income generated from alternate uses of these stadiums/arenas for other sports, concerts, or conventions
5.1.2. For example. in the national football league, the average team salary is $101 million, resulting in $7.58 million per year.