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Developing Sports for Economic Growth and Development in
Developing Countries
Emmanuel Acquah-Sam, PhD
Wisconsin International University College, Ghana
Doi:10.19044/esj.2021.v17n15p172
Submitted: 09 February 2021
Accepted: 20 May 2021
Published: 31 May 2021
Copyright 2021 Author(s)
Under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND
4.0 OPEN ACCESS
Cite As:
Acquah-Sam E. (2021). Developing Sports for Economic Growth and Development in
Developing Countries. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 17(15), 172.
https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2021.v17n15p172
Abstract
Many developing countries still struggle to industrialise to speed up
the pace of economic growth and development. Given this, they continue to
search for antidotes to the challenges of their underdevelopment. Sports
development is touted by many as one of the antidotes to the
underdevelopment challenges of developing countries. However, the major
challenges developing countries face in recent times are how they can develop
sports and how they can adequately harness its benefits for economic growth
and development. This paper sought to holistically explore the challenges of
sports development in developing nations, the long-term complementary
strategies or cardinal pillars of sports development in developing nations, and
the benefits of sports development and their effects on economic growth and
development of developing nations. This paper employed a narrative overview
research approach to arriving at its conclusions. It concludes that sports
development hinges on the holistic development of ten long-run
complementary strategies or cardinal pillars. In addition, sports development
offers eight significant benefits that can help achieve economic growth and
development in developing nations. One of the study's main recommendations
is that sufficient and sustained levels of all kinds of investment in sports,
coupled with strong institutions, good governance, and practical and
interrelated policies, are critical for sports development and economic growth
and development in developing countries.
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Keywords: Economic Growth And Development, Sports Development,
Service Sector Development, Linear Stages Of Economic Growth, Developing
Nations, Narrative Overview
Introduction
Economic growth refers to an increase in the amount of an economy’s
output of goods and services produced in a particular year relative to the
previous year’s output. Economic development may also refer to the
improvement in the quality of human life emanating from a very long period
of economic growth. According to Krueger & Myint (2016), economic
development is the process whereby a low-income economy grows over a long
period into a modern industrial economy involving qualitative and quantitative
improvements in the country’s economy. Many factors contribute to economic
growth and development. The development experience from the 1950s to the
1970s influenced the thoughts of development economists like Gustav Cassel
(1924); Roy F. Harrod (1939); Evsey Domar (1946); Moses Abramovitz
(1956); Robert Solow (1957); Walter W. Rostow (1960s) and E. F. Denison
(1964). These economic development exponents argued that an adequate level
of finance, sufficient and sustained levels of all kinds of investments, higher
productivity growth, innovation, technological capabilities of firms, strong
institutions were sufficient for economic growth in developing countries. They
mentioned other factors such as good governance, quality education, quality
of human capital, and active government policies (Sagasti, Bezanson, Prada,
Blockus, Casabonne, Teresa & Salop, 2005; Todaro & Smith, 2006). The three
main sectors that grow and develop every economy are the agricultural,
industrial, and service sectors. Each sector's contribution to a country’s
economic growth and development at any point in time depends on the level
of that country’s development. At the early stages of an economy’s life, the
agricultural sector contributes relatively more to GDP growth than the other
two sectors. It, however, gives way to the industrial sector over time in terms
of its share in GDP growth. Finally, as the economy becomes developed, the
service sector outperforms both the agricultural and industrial sectors in
contribution to GDP growth. The stage of economic development where the
service sector dominates an economy is known as "the service economy". The
dominance of the service sector in economic activities results in rising
employment levels and an increased share in GDP (Witt & Gross, 2019). Kim
(2006) added that during this structural transformation in an economy, the
share of service in production, employment, consumption, international trade,
and intermediate inputs used for other industries' production increases.
Economic theory and economic development experiences of the
developed world, starting with Britain, explain that countries that develop are
those that place more emphasis on industrialisation throughout their
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development paths. It presupposes that developing countries that want to
develop must industrialise. According to Martorano, Sanfilippo & Haraguchi
(2017), industrialisation is one of the critical elements of long-term economic
growth in developing countries. They explain that it is because of the
manufacturing sector's capacity to absorb workforce, enhance diversification
and structural transformation, and at the same time promote the growth of
other sectors through intersectoral linkages. Economic conditions, factor
endowments, and country characteristics such as demographic structure and
geography promote industrialisation. Tafirenyika (2016) argued that
industrialisation could bring prosperity by creating new jobs and better
incomes for all. The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) stated that
the contribution of Africa's manufacturing sector to the continent's gross
domestic product declined from 12 per-cent in 1980 to 11 per-cent in 2013
(Tafirenyika (2016). Norbrook (2021) also compares the manufacturing
sector's performance in Africa with that of China and other countries. He
points out that on the continent of Africa, manufacturing has grown at 2.5 per
cent over the past 20 years relative to the 15 per-cent and 20 per-cent growth
rates recorded by China and other countries, including Vietnam. In the 1970s,
the industrial sector in Africa contributed a fifth (20 per-cent) to gross
domestic product (GDP), but it now contributes only a little over a tenth (10
per-cent) to Africa's GDP. The director of globalisation, the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development, Richard Kozul-Wright, is captured to
have referred to this development as premature de-industrialisation.
There are many reasons for the decline in the performance of the
industrial sector in Africa. In Tafirenyika (2016), one can read that Africa’s
leaders have failed to pursue bold economic policies out of fear of
antagonising donors. Again, African leaders have also failed to spend the high
commodity prices' windfalls on productive investments but instead used them
to pay high salaries to public sector workers. Furthermore, Nzau (2010) argued
that a bad political culture, weak political and social institutions, poor
leadership, and bad governance seem to have contributed to the less
industrialised state of African countries. Again, development partners' efforts
to promote industrialisation in Africa through financial, logistical and
technical aid became a plan to produce jobs for westerners in the name of
expatriates and find a market for their exports (imported by African states as
capital goods). Also, it is to continue exploiting the African economy on behalf
of Western powers that essentially control them. In sum, several countries in
the developing world still struggle to industrialise because of unfavourable
social, economic, political, cultural, human, and natural conditions and a lack
of technical skills. Among the questions that now bother the minds of the
connoisseurs of industrialisation and economic growth and development in
African, including McKinsey’s Africa region chair, Acha Leke, are: Should
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Africa look at a different model of economic development? Should Africa
jump over the traditional path of economic development into services?
(Norbrook, 2021).
Under these deficiencies in developing nations’ pursuit of
industrialisation, each nation and region needs to assess its strength and
weaknesses in promoting industrialisation. One must bear in mind that
industrialising developing nations do not sufficiently provide the magic wand
for their economic transformation. Therefore, they must develop economic
subsectors that can help promote economic growth and development faster to
reduce the unemployment rate among the youth when adequately harnessed.
One of such subsectors is the sports sector. The sports sector is a labour-
intensive sector, so it can help promote economic growth faster at relatively
low costs in developing nations. The government and the private sector must
give it sufficient attention for it to develop. The large populations of their
unskilled underemployed and unemployed youth, most of whom can resort to
social and political vices, can also be absorbed by the sports sector. According
to the World Bank, the youths in Africa account for about 60% of Africa’s
unemployed population (Ighobor, 2017). The African Development Bank
Group (2018) also estimated that each year, ten (10) to twelve (12) million
young Africans join the job market. Also, Vinicius Pinheiro, the Regional
Director of the International Labour Organisation, revealed 9.4 million
unemployed young people and more than 30 million who only got informal
employment in Latin America and the Caribbean. The situation was not good
and could become more complicated by the effects of COVID-19
(International Labour Organisation, ILO, 2020). Furthermore, the
International Labour Organisation (2020) added that more than 700 million
young people in Asia-Pacific accounted for almost half the Asia-Pacific's
joblessness. Without sufficient numbers of new and decent job opportunities
created by governments in developing countries, there will be a compromise
of the regions' social and economic growth potential. Harnessing the increased
youth population could support increased productivity and inclusive,
sustainable economic growth and development across the regions.
Sports have become like a religion due to the passion with which
people follow them. Because of their love for sports, many sports fans jubilate
over victories chalked by their teams, heroes, and heroines inside and outside
sporting facilities. They parade themselves on the principal streets and at
entertainment centres during and after major sporting events. Also, sports fans
of many countries have mourned the loss of games and trophies by both clubs
and national teams for a very long time. One can remember the 2010 FIFA
World Cup tournament in South Africa, during which Ghana’s striker
Asamoah Gyan missed a last-minute penalty kick against Uruguay. The goal
would have sent Ghana into the semifinals stage of the tournament. That would
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have made Ghana the first nation to have achieved that feat in the history of
African football at the apex of world football. To date, many football-loving
Ghanaians look back with great disappointment.
Many sports fans have died through fans hooliganism, vehicular and
air disasters. Others, too, have been maimed for life. These unfortunate people
and their families have become impoverished without any hope for the future.
Despite the dark sides of sports, sports development offers many benefits that
can lead to economic growth and development in developing countries when
adequately harnessed. For this reason, governments, researchers, policy-
makers, sports administrators, entrepreneurs, and development partners have
put in frantic efforts to explore the ways through which they can develop sports
in developing nations. Developing sports will make the sector one of the major
subsectors of the economies of developing countries. Allah (2018) tells us that
understanding the link between sports and economics can increase developing
nations’ knowledge of how they can use sports to promote economic
development. Unfortunately, sports are underdeveloped in developing
countries. In the words of Kakonge (2016), though sports have essential
benefits, it is an area that is underdeveloped and underfunded, especially in
Africa. The motivation behind this paper is that some researchers have dwelt
on factors that negatively affect sports development making the sector
unattractive to the youth and other stakeholders. A few other researchers also
have delved into some segments of the factors that contribute to sports
development and the effects of sports development on economic growth and
development. Among them are Maguire (2018); Xiong (2007, cited in
Hallmann, Wicker, Breuer, & Schönherr, 2012); Panagiotopoulos (2013);,
KPMG (2016); Bu¨ch (2005); and Heinemann (1998, cited in Hallmann,
Wicker, Breuer & Schönherr, 2012); Chappelet (2010); Shank (2019, cited in
Greenwell and Thorn, 2012); and Diop (2016)]. Generally, sports stakeholders
have paid little attention to the challenges developing nations currently face in
developing sports. Also, they have given little consideration to how
developing nations can develop sports to make the sector one of the major
subsectors that will contribute to their economic growth and development.
Furthermore, they give little attention to how developing nations can exploit
the numerous benefits of sports development to help them achieve economic
growth and development.
With regards to these gaps in the literature that the authors reviewed,
this paper sought to:
a. Explore the reasons for the underdevelopment of sports in developing
countries.
b. Explain in a holistic and synchronised manner the long-term
complementary strategies or cardinal pillars of sports development, the
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benefits of sports development, and the effects of sports development
on the service sector growth and development and economic growth
and development in developing countries.
c. Provide a roadmap for governments, policy-makers, sports
administrators, development partners, and entrepreneurs to make
rational decisions regarding sports development and economic growth
and development in developing countries.
Significantly, this paper will help governments, international sports
associations, policy-makers, sports administrators, entrepreneurs, and other
stakeholders work hand-in-hand to develop sports in developing countries to
promote their economic growth and development. Again, it will provide
extensive literature and possible research gaps for future researchers in the
sector to exploit. It may also disabuse people of the notion that sports are for
the academically disadvantaged youths.
The rest of the paper proceeds as follows: Section 2 duels on literature
review. Section 3 explains the conceptual framework. Section 4 presents the
methodological issues for the study. Section 5 is devoted to discussions of the
three main objectives of the study. Finally, Section 6 highlights the
conclusions and recommendations emanating from the study. Figure 1
summarises the model that guided the study.
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Literature Review
Section 2 is devoted to the literature on the theories of ‘the service
economy" and Walt Whitman Rostow’s linear stages of growth.
Theories of “The Service Economy”
Allan George Barnard Fisher, a New Zealand economist, pioneered the
dominant sequential contributions of the primary, secondary, and tertiary
sectors to economic growth and development. He classified economies by the
proportion of their labour force employed in the three sectors. Primary
production included agriculture, pastoral production, fishing, forestry,
hunting, and mining. Secondary production consisted of manufacturing and
construction. Again, tertiary production comprised transportation,
communications, trade, government, and personal services (Haksever
& Render, 2013; Acquah-Sam, 2020). Today, these sectors are also called the
agricultural sector, the industrial sector, and the service sector. At the early
stages of an economy's life, the agricultural sector contributes relatively more
to GDP than the other sectors. It, however, gives way to the industrial sector
over time in terms of its share in GDP. Finally, as the economy develops, both
the agricultural and industrial sectors shares in GDP reduce while the service
sector's share in GDP increases significantly. This development is called “the
service economy”. Witt & Gross (2019) wrote that the dominance of the
service sector as an economy develops results in rising employment levels and
a higher share in the growth of GDP. The following theories explain the
leading role of the service sector in economic development:
● Intersectoral linkages among economic sectors: Intersectoral linkages
promote the dominant role of the service sector in economic
development. The agricultural sector becomes more dependent on the
service sector for growth by using more resources produced by the
service sector. In the age of growth in information and communication
technology, financial sector growth and development, improved
transportation, improve healthcare, etc., the demand for service sector
goods and services by the population and the agricultural sector and
industrial sector increases.
● The traditional view: The traditional view of “the service economy”
posits that consumption structure changes from consumable goods to
services as incomes grow (Fisher, 1935; and Clark, 1940, cited in Kim,
2006). Economic development is akin to high-income levels. The
income elasticity of demand for durable consumable goods is less than
one (income inelastic), and the income elasticity of demand for services
that are high-grade goods is greater than one (income elastic). Thus, as
personal disposable incomes rise, higher percentages of the rising
personal disposable incomes are initially spent on durable consumer
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goods such as housing, automobiles, and household appliances. Usually,
households spend a further higher percentage of increases in personal
disposable incomes on education, healthcare, vacations, entertainment,
sports, etc. This consumption pattern leads to the growth of the service
sector. The result is that the service sector’s share in GDP and
employment increases as more resources flow into the sector to meet the
rising demand for services driven by higher income growth.
● The cost disease hypothesis: The cost disease hypothesis also talks about
the higher growth rate of the service sector prices, rather than prices in
the manufacturing sector through time (Baumol, 1967; Baumol et al.,
1985, cited in Kim, 2006). Thus, the cost disease hypothesis argues that
the shift to service is attributable to the transfer of resources from
manufacturing to services due to a productivity gap between the two
sectors. Baumol (2004) explained that the cost disease deals with the
tendency of costs and prices of services such as healthcare, education,
legal services, and live artistic performance to rise persistently and
cumulatively faster than the rise in the general price level. Also, Maiello
(2017) wrote that the cost disease explains why prices for the services
offered by professions whose output cannot be quantified keep rising
even though the productivity levels of the workers in those professions
or industries have not simultaneously or necessarily increased. Examples
are education, health care, and the arts. Ghavidel & Sheshkalany (2017)
reported two reasons for the cost disease to occur from the supply-side
in an economy. The first is when the growth rate of total factor
productivity and technological progress in services is less than
manufacturing. The second is when the elasticity of substitution between
labour and raw materials in the services production function is large, and
elasticity of substitution in manufacturing production function is small.
For the demand side, they explained that the cost disease occurred if the
growth rate of income elasticity of service was more than that of the
manufacturing sector over time.
● The exogenous demand shocks hypothesis: The exogenous demand
shocks hypothesis postulates that the shift to “the service economy”
results from structural changes in an economy that move the demand
curve for service outward. The proportion of service industries rises as
service activities that used to produce within manufacturing firms’
boundaries in the past are spun off to and outsourced from external
service-providing specialists (Raa & Wolff 1996, Fixler & Siegel, 1999;
cited in Kim, 2006). A sudden change in a variable outside the aggregate
demand (AD) model causes an exogenous demand-side shock. An
example of exogenous shock is a sudden change in the exchange rate
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because the exchange rate is not an independent variable in the AD
equation.
● The de-industrialisation hypothesis: De-industrialisation refers to a
decrease in the share of the industrial sector in GDP and employment.
Generally, de-industrialisation decreases the size and importance of the
industrial sector in an economy. De-industrialisation is brought about in
an advanced country as labour-intensive manufacturing industries are
transferred to less developed countries. That expands the trade between
them (Wood 1995; Freemen, 1995; cited in Kim, 2006).
The Linear Stages of Economic Growth and Development
Walter W. Rostow penned the stages of growth and development in
1960. The model asserts that both developing and developed countries exist
somewhere on this linear growth path at some point in time and climb upward
in their development processes. The linear stages of growth are underpinned
by growth in domestic savings, capital accumulation, and investments in
productive sectors by an economy. An economy looks outwardly for foreign
aid, grants, and foreign direct investments when the domestic capital
accumulated is insufficient to undertake the investments necessary and
sufficient for economic growth and development. The idea gained recognition
through the success story of the Marshal Plan, which helped in the
reconstruction of most European countries after the Second World War. These
linear stages of growth are the traditional society, the preconditions for take-
off, the take-off, the drive to maturity, and the age of high mass consumption.
According to Jacobs (2020), Singapore is an example of a country that grew
in Rostow's prescribed pattern postulated. He explained that at its
independence in 1965, Singapore did not show any unique prospects for
growth. However, because of its early industrialisation (developing profitable
manufacturing and high-tech industries), it has become a developed country
and one of the major players globally. It has a higher per-capita income than
many European countries.
Torado & Smith (2006), Rostow (2012), Haksever & Render (2013),
Jacobs (2020), and Debasish (n.d) explain Rostow’s linear stages of growth.
The stages of growth are the following:
● The traditional society: The traditional society is a subsistent
agricultural-based economy with a labour-intensive method of
production. Due to the low output levels among households, they sell
very little of what they produce to generate incomes to purchase the
things they do not directly produce. The traditional stage is alienated
from modern scientific and world technologies. The economy depends
on the seasons, the rains, and the nature of the soil. The low productivity
and large population result in significant underemployment of resources.
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● The preconditions for take-off: At the preconditions for the take-off
stage, there is little dependence on agriculture compared to the
traditional society because the industrial and service sectors are in the
process of development. In this stage of economic development, society
begins to develop manufacturing enterprises and more exports of excess
produce. International linkages begin to develop between the domestic
economy and the rest of the world. The government seeks to invest more
in social overhead infrastructural facilities such as rail, roads, hospitals,
dams, electricity, schools, etc. The savings and investment rates are
likely to be below 5 per-cent of an economy's net national product or
income. The country imports more finished goods and services for direct
consumption and capital goods and machinery to produce goods and
services, but it exports mainly raw agricultural materials, minerals, and
semi-finished goods. Economic management and social life become
mechanised and more efficient than in the traditional society. Machines
and the energy that powers them replace muscle power in production.
The productivity of the factors of production (the art of producing more
goods and services with fewer amounts of resources) increases
significantly. Economic goals are optimised, and division of labour
increased. Technological advancements lead to new, faster, and more
specialised machines that constantly improve productivity and replace
more workers. The population's quality of life begins to improve as
people begin to have access to more goods and services to consume.
● The take-off: The take-off stage is a short period of intensive growth in
which industrialisation begins to occur. Workers and institutions become
concentrated around a new industry. The take-off stage is akin to an
industrial revolution because of the radical changes in production
methods (from the workshops to the factories). The radical changes
impact positively on productivity in a relatively short time. The period
spans about 20 to 30 years, during which the growth process. This rapid
and becomes self-sustaining, and the country becomes self-reliant. The
economy develops without external assistance. The reason is that
productive investments rise from about 5 per cent or less to at least 10
per cent of national income.
● The drive to maturity: The drive to maturity stage occurs over a long
period of sustained economic growth, usually beyond forty years.
Standards of living and the use of modern technology increase, and the
national economy grows and diversifies because the society effectively
applies the range of modern technology to the bulk of its productive
resources. New production techniques take place over the old ones. The
savings and investment rates reach a level that provides a catalyst for the
automatic attainment of economic development. Also, there is an
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increase in urbanisation and a change in the composition of the country’s
foreign trade. Again, there are increases in the exports of nontraditional
goods and processed goods. Labour becomes technically skilled, giving
rise to higher real wages and living standards. There is also a change in
the character of entrepreneurship, where new classes of managers who
are more polite and efficient emerge. The people get fed up with
industrialisation and pursue constant changes toward more service sector
activities. The rate of investments goes up from about 10 to 20 per-cent
of the increase in national income. At this stage, the growth rate of
national income is much more than the growth rate of the population,
and that per capita income is high. The reason is that the population
follows birth control measures. The country's dependence on other
countries falls considerably.
● The age of high mass consumption: At this stage, a country's economy
flourishes in a capitalist system having the properties of mass production
and consumption of goods and services. Rostow associated the Western
countries, most especially the United States, with this stage of economic
development. According to Haksever & Render (2013), service
production dominates economic activities in postindustrial society. Life
becomes a game between persons. The country pays Greater attention to
information and knowledge acquisition. A person's status or quality of
life in society depends on the quantity and quality of services (such as
health, education, and recreation) that he/she can afford. Market failures
lead to government interventions in market activities at both the national
and local levels. Rostow (2012) contended that the balance of attention
of the society as it exits the stage of drive to maturity to this last stage
shifts from supply to demand, from production problems to consumption
problems and welfare problems. This stage is also characterised by the
national pursuit of external power and influence. There is the allocation
of increased resources to military and foreign policy and the use of the
powers of the state, including the power to redistribute income through
progressive taxation. The aim is to achieve improved human and social
welfare such as increased leisure which the free-market forces of
demand and supply could not achieve.
Conceptual Framework
Section 3 explains the conceptual framework of the study. Also, the
conceptual framework is the authors’ idea and construct emanating from
theoretical and empirical reviews. Figure 2 summarises the conceptual
framework. It serves as a value addition to the theoretical and empirical
literature on the relationships among sports development, service sector
development, and economic growth and development. Figure 2 is essential for
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the study because the existing theories and empirical works which the author
reviewed did not provide a general pictorial view of the above relationships.
It will help future researchers to develop empirical models for the study area.
Sports contribute positively to service sector growth and development and
economic growth and development through the benefits sporting activities
offer nations involved in sports. Sports development from the grassroots to the
elite levels will help the services sector grow. The service sector growth, in
turn, impacts positively on economic growth and development because the
service sector is one of the three critical sectors of every economy that
contribute to economic growth and development. Figure 2 has five main
interrelated sections linked by arrows. These are the long-term complementary
strategies or cardinal pillars of sports development, sports development, the
benefits of sports development, services sector development, and economic
growth and development.
The left-hand side of Figure 2 shows that developing nations can
develop sports through ten long-term complementary strategies that serve as
its cardinal pillars. The complementary strategies or cardinal pillars of sports
development include the establishment, development, and strengthening of
relevant institutions; the development and maintenance of modern sporting
infrastructural facilities; the training and development of sports
administrators, instructors, coaches, trainers, and referees; the identification
and development of talents; mentoring and role modeling; the promotion of
international relations and linkages; sponsorships; the development of
promotional programmes; the payment of adequate remuneration and
construction of appropriate incentive packages; and the prevention of deadly
sports disasters.
After sports have developed, as shown at the top right-hand side corner
of Figure 2, they must, other things being equal, offer eight major benefits to
the economy as follows: Jobs creation; incomes for clubs, sports personnel,
and ancillary workers; tax revenues for governments; infrastructural
development; promotion of political and social cohesion; enhancement of the
images of countries; healthier citizens for higher productivity; and foreign
exchange. As developing nations harness the benefits of sports, their service
sector will grow and develop, which will eventually lead to economic growth
and development, as shown at the bottom right-hand side corner of Figure 2.
The long L-shaped arrow linking the long-term complementary strategies or
cardinal pillars to economic growth and development implies that developing
the cardinal pillars of sports development will also directly impact economic
growth and development and vice versa.
Andreff (2001) supports the positive and bi-directional relationship
between economic development and sports development. He wrote that we
could not find a long-run solution to improving sports in developing countries
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without ensuring that developing nations made progress toward achieving
self-sustained economic growth. He reported the probability that a country
will win medals at the Olympics increases with higher GDP per capita and
population.
Methodological Issues
This paper employed a narrative overview research approach for its
analysis and conclusions. According to Shah (2018), secondary research
publications include narrative reviews, systematic reviews, or meta-analyses.
Secondary research publications provide a different perspective on the current
literature or additional analysis of the current literature. By this, researchers
identify gaps in the current knowledge in a particular field and throw more
light on the direction for future studies. A narrative review summarises what
is known and highlights either new perspectives or reveals pending questions
that remain unanswered or inadequately addressed in a field of study. Bourhis
(2018) also posited that a narrative review is a description or the mixing of
different ideas to make a whole idea that is different or new without using
quantitative methods. Green, Johnson & Adams (2006) mentioned that the
three types of narrative review are editorials, commentaries, and overview
articles. These are comprehensive narrative syntheses of previously published
information. Shah (2018) and Green, Johnson & Adams (2006) argued about
several benefits of narrative reviews, including the following:
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● Narrative reviews have more flexibility than quantitative reviews
because quantitative reviews usually have very narrowly defined
parameters and precise inclusion and exclusion rules.
● Narrative reviews provide more insight and opportunities for
speculation than most quantitative review approaches. The ability to
consider variation in formats and alternatives permits the generation of
a wider and more inclusive picture of available research.
● Good quality narrative overviews are useful educational materials
because they pull many pieces of information together into a readable
format. Narrative overviews present a broad perspective on a topic or
an issue.
● Narrative overviews can provoke thought and controversy when
discussing theory and context. Narrative reviews may be an excellent
avenue for presenting philosophical perspectives in a balanced manner.
● Critics mention that there may be a high degree of bias involved in
narrative overviews than in some other research designs. However,
narrative overviews constitute an important component in research.
The authors used online open-access peer-reviewed journals, books,
technical reports, and newspaper articles for the study.
Discussions
Section 5 discusses the reasons for the underdevelopment of sports in
developing nations, the long-term complementary strategies or cardinal pillars
of sports development in developing nations, and the benefits of sports
development for economic growth and development in developing nations.
Reasons for the Underdevelopment of Sports in Developing Nations
Generally, sports are underdeveloped or not promoted as expected in
developing countries because of various reasons, including the following:
(i) Developing nations' poor economic performances: Sports development
has been affected by the level of economic development. Developing
nations have low gross domestic incomes due to the small sizes of their
business firms, the exports of large volumes of raw materials and semi-
finished goods, economic mismanagement, corruption, etc. Developing
nations suffer from high unemployment and poverty rates. The poor
economic performances of developing nations have negatively affected
the level and quality of their investments and their overall development
plan. Chappelet (2010) wrote that the underdevelopment of sports in
developing countries emanates from their economic underdevelopment.
Particularly, developing nations suffer from a lack of financial capital
for sports development, inadequate sports facilities and equipment, and
a lack of capacity to host major sporting events. Andreff (2000) reported
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that developing countries have the least sports practice, sports
performance, sports facilities, and sport finance. In addition, Andreff
(1988, cited in Andreff, 2000) wrote that most developing countries
depend on the developed world to develop their sporting activities. The
developed world gives them foreign aid, grants, imported sporting goods
and equipment, multinational sponsors, and sometimes foreign direct
investments by multinational corporations.
(ii) Inadequate sports infrastructural facilities: Government and private
sector investments in sports infrastructural facilities are inadequate
because of the low returns on such investments. Sports development
issues are not featured prominently on the national development plan,
and as a result, sports have not received adequate budgetary supports.
The importance of sports infrastructure for individuals and nations’
participation in different sports had been overlooked by developing
countries (Hallman, Wicker, Breuer & Schonher, 2012). Also,
Sportanddev.org (n. d.) confirmed that research showed that investments
in sport in developing countries are much less than in developed
countries. They attributed this to the fact that sports development is
usually not considered a critical issue in the national budgets of most
developing countries. The low investments in sports in developing
countries consequently decrease the ability of sportsmen and women to
build their talents. According to Kakonge (2016), most existing sports
infrastructural facilities in Africa are in awful conditions, which require
heavy investments to bring them to international standards. Kakonge
(2016) added that Chiweshe (2010) revealed that some African countries
invested substantial sums of money into building and renovating sports
stadia to host the African Cup of Nations. Unfortunately, the countries
left most of the facilities to deteriorate after the tournaments.
(iii) Inadequate attention given to sports development in the educational
curricula of most developing nations to promote grassroots sports: Most
developing nations do not give adequate attention to sports promotion
and development, mostly at the grassroots level. The youth attend
schools, so when sports issues are featured prominently in school
curricula, more talents and skills can be identified and developed for the
sports sector. According to Luiz & Fadal (2019), a country's
performance in sports depends on financial resources and the level of
investment in education and health. Diop (2016) wrote that in the
developing world, and particularly in Africa, policy-makers tend to focus
on so-called “elite” sports such as soccer, boxing, athletics, and
basketball at a professional level and devote very little interest or
budgetary support to the development of basic physical education.
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(iv) Inadequate remuneration and appropriate incentive packages for sports
personnel: Due to the low incomes of developing nations, sports
personnel are underpaid, and as a result, the best talents leave the shores
of developing nations to seek greener pastures in developed nations.
Disney (2006) disclosed that many people who engage in sport in
developing nations are without remuneration because of a lack of any
exceptional talent and because their activities do not generate any
revenue for the organisers. Onyishi & Okou (2016) argued that in
football, European countries exploited African countries through the
migration of talented African footballers into Europe. This situation had
contributed to European countries’ dominance in the global sport. They,
as a result, create inequality in football development between Europe and
Africa. This development is similar to what exists in Latin America and
other underdeveloped regions.
(v) Poor planning, bad governance, and lack of monitoring and evaluation
of performances of identified talents, programmes, and investments:
Governments and sports officials fail to plan properly toward sports
development and do not monitor and evaluate programmes and
investments made in sports. According to the United Nations
Development Programme (2009), good planning, monitoring, and
evaluation of sporting activities and policies can enhance sports
development by contributing to establishing clear links between past,
present, and future initiatives and development results. Without effective
planning, monitoring and evaluation, it would be very difficult and
possibly impossible to judge if work was on track, whether progress and
success could be made, and how future efforts might be improved.
Kakonge (2016) wrote that most sports ministries in Africa suffer from
bad governance, yet sports development hinges firmly on good
governance, respect for the rules, fair play, honesty, and discipline.
Kakonge (2016; cited in Mwisukha & Mabagala, 2011) argued that
personnel who served in the various national sports federations and
organisations in East Africa as managers were not trained professionals
in sports management and administration. They lacked the scientific
basis of what they were assigned to do with the obvious results of
mediocre performances in sports administration and management.
Andreff (2001) wrote about some observed signs of corruption, bribery,
embezzlement, and money laundering through sport in developing
countries.
(vi) Insufficient formulated and implemented active, inclusive, and
interrelated sports policies: Governments, domestic sports associations,
confederations of sports associations of developing nations, and
international sports federations do not have sufficient, active, and
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interrelated policies for sports development in developing nations. To
fully exploit the benefits of sports development in developing nations,
there must be many active sports policies formulated and implemented
to ensure programmes' success. Active, inclusive, and interrelated sports
policies and programmes must involve all key stakeholder groups based
on country-specific characteristics. These include the history of the
government's involvement in sports issues, the existing political
framework, and the government’s public policy development process;
these will help define the needs, opportunities, and priorities of the sports
sector (www.un.org.sport/files). Kakonge (2016) added that some
African countries have many fragmented and uncoordinated sports
policies and ministries of sports that usually exist within other ministries
and departments in charge of sports. The results have been inadequate
funding that has made it difficult for them to finance and promote sports
programmes and pursue appropriate sports policies for sports
development.
(vii) Lack of interest in sports by most households in developing nations:
Most households in developing nations view sports as an area for those
who are not academically brilliant. The inadequate exploration of the
complementary role between sports and education by sports stakeholders
has contributed to the underdevelopment of sports in developing
countries. Education and sports are mutually inclusive or are
complementary services. That is, education and sports are essential for
each other. Sahni (2019) stated that when children get equal exposure to
sports and academics, they become better focused and disciplined with
higher punctuality values. Mandrapa (2014) added that sports teach a
person many valuable lessons. When sports and education are combined,
they give persons an added advantage to succeed in life.
(viii) Inadequate competitions organised by governments and sports
associations: Due to lack of funds, sports associations cannot organise
enough competitions for sportsmen and women to unearth talents and
develop their skills for the development of sports. Inadequate
participation of developing nations in international competitions and
poor performances of sportsmen and women from developing nations at
major international sporting events has negatively affected sports
development. Participation in international sports by developing
countries has been very low (sportsanddev.org, n. d.). This unfortunate
development has been exacerbated by a shortage of physical education
and sports for all programmes. Other factors are inadequate financing for
sports, inadequate sports facilities and equipment, lack of capacity to
host major sporting events, and social and cultural barriers such as
religion, culture, language, and the lingering influence of colonialism in
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many parts of the world. Boit (2000) wrote that Africa had made little
impact on soccer and athletics (track and field) while in other sports, the
performance has been minimal. Many African soccer players and
athletes playing and running for professional clubs in Europe have
performed very well and have earned much money from their chosen
fields. However, African sportsmen and women have not contributed
much to the growth of sports in their indigenous economies due to the
inability of African countries to stage professional championships.
(ix) Inadequate legal frameworks for regulating various sporting disciplines
at all levels: Developing nations lack the legal frameworks that can
generally support sports development through clubs growth, contracts
enforcements, discipline, teamwork, and a competitive spirit. There have
been inadequate legal frameworks for regulating various sporting
disciplines at all levels. In most developing countries, rules relating to
sports are not adequately implemented and adhered to by stakeholders.
The outcome of most sports games and events are allegedly pre-
determined by officiating referees and sports officials, which in most
cases result in riots, loss of games, and lives. Contracts between
sportsmen and women and clubs are usually not respected with their
attendant adverse effects. Club officials who take sports associations to
court are either fined or expelled from sports associations. Eksteen
(2012) reported that sports rules promote order and discipline among
sportsmen and sportswomen. Sports rules contribute to fairness in sports
to determine who the ultimate winner of a game or event will be. Sports
are part of society, and for this reason, it is within the remit of the general
law of the country. Sports issues that require legal interpretations and
judgments by the courts include contractual, employer-employee
relationships, invasion by the media of rights to privacy, defamation, and
spectators' rights.
(x) Inadequate relevant data on sporting activities for more research work
toward sports promotion and development: Availability of relevant data
help to evaluate the trends and impact of sports programmes and
investments. It helps more research into activities in the sector for
planning purposes. Luiz & Fadal (2019) contended that the lack of
research into sports and organisational economics, especially in
emerging countries, has partly explained the lack of data on sporting
activities in developing countries for planning and sports development
despite the bi-directional relationship between them.
(xi) The impact of sports development on economic growth and development
is underrated: The role of sports in solving unemployment problems
among the youth and contributing to economic growth and development
has been underrated compared to the industrialisation agenda of many
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developing nations. Unfortunately, as a result of various reasons,
developing nations still struggle to industrialise. Also, industrialisation
does not sufficiently provide the magic wand for economic development
in developing nations.
Long-Term Complementary Strategies or Cardinal Pillars of Sports
Development in Developing Nations
Developing nations must implement ten (10) long-term
complementary strategies or cardinal pillars necessary for promoting and
developing sports in developing nations in a holistically and synchronised
manner to harness the numerous benefits of sports development. Section 5.2
explains these ten long-term complementary strategies and illustrates them in
Figure 3.
The ten long-term complementary strategies or cardinal pillars of
sports development include the establishment, and development and
strengthening of relevant institutions; the development and maintenance of
modern sporting infrastructural facilities; the training and development of
sports administrators, instructors, coaches, trainers, and referees; the
identification and development of talents; mentoring and role modelling; the
promotion of international relations and linkages; sponsorships; the
development of promotional programmes; the payment of adequate
remuneration and construction of appropriate incentive packages; and the
prevention of deadly sports disasters.
The link between each of the ten long-term complementary strategies
captured in the circles in Figure 3 and sports development, as shown by the
rectangle in Figure 3, is indicated by the long brown arrows. The short brown
arrows that connect the long-term strategies shown in the various circles
explain that the strategies complement each other for sports development in
developing countries.
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These ten long-term complementary strategies or cardinal pillars of
sports development are the followings:
(a) Establishment, development, and strengthening of appropriate
institutions: The establishment, development, and strengthening of critical
institutions will promote sports policy formulation and implementation,
financing, education, sanity, and publicity in the sports sector. These
institutions include government institutions, international sports federations,
financial institutions, and the media. Governments provide policy directions
to create an enabling environment for sports development. In Ghana, the
Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ghana Football Association, the National
Sports Authority, the Ghana Olympic Committee, the courts or legal system,
and the security services (police, military and immigration) all help execute
government policies for sports development. Without governments' policy
direction, many sporting disciplines will become haphazardly managed and
may become extinct. Security services enforce law and order before, during,
and after sporting events to bring sanity into sports. The immigration service
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works on travelling issues and issuance of residence permits to sports
personnel. In Ghana, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) mentioned in
its 2020 manifesto that it would develop a comprehensive national sports
policy to outline the vision and strategies for sports development in Ghana. It
emphasised female sports and remuneration of sportspersons if it had the
opportunity to govern the nation from 2021 to 2024. According to Xiong
(2007; cited in Hallmann, Wicker, Breuer, & Schönherr, 2012), the Chinese
government, having identified the vital role of sports infrastructure in the
nation's fitness level, implemented a nationwide policy in 1995 to improve
spending on sports and the quality of life of the China people.
Sports thrive on specific pre-established rules that help fulfil the core
values of sports, which provide fair play in competitions. Panagiotopoulos
(2013) wrote that international law theory says that “law is a coercive order”.
The law creates socially organised sanctions. The law attempts to bring about
the desired social conduct of men through the threat of coercion in case of
legally wrong conduct. Nanev (2013) also added that because sport is one of
the leading human activities, it is the responsibility of the state and its legal
system to provide special norms to govern it. The state's role is to enable and
support the realisation of the social functions of sports by establishing special
pre-defined rules and laws for sports and sporting activities that enjoy
protection by the state. Various sports have their own technical rules and laws
that govern them. International sports federations usually establish such rules
and laws. There are also the ethical principles of sports that border on fairness
and integrity. These ethical principles are well known as 'the spirit of the
game'. They serve as an essential protection for sports and sports personnel.
International sports federations manage and monitor the running of the various
sports disciplines globally. These organisations include the World Anti-
Doping Agency (WADA), the Federation of International Football
Association (FIFA), the International Cricket Council (ICC), the
International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Netball Federation
(INF), the International Federation of Sports Medicine, and the Confederation
of African Football (CAF).
The media promote sports by helping sports enthusiasts access sports
information and breaking the distance barriers between sports and sports
enthusiasts to inform the public and all stakeholders about sporting activities.
They whip up public interest in sports and reduce the costs of asymmetric
information. The various types of media that impact sports development are
television, radio, print (press, newspapers, and magazines), and the internet
(websites, blogs, and social media). Broadcasting sporting activities on
various media platforms and channels regularly enables media organisations
to connect advertisers to consumers. Consumers of sports in the Middle East
and Africa are among the most active social media platforms users because of
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the high mobile phone penetration rate (Kavanagh, 2019). As a result, the
youth participate in sports, emulate the sports stars they see on television, hear
about on the radio, and read about in the print and electronic media. The
increase in computers and computer programmes in sports has helped experts
in sports analyse the games and performances of boxers, players, athletes, and
coaches. The benefit the media derives from the commercialisation of sport is
that high profile sports stories help attract audiences, listeners, and readers.
For this reason, the media, in turn, makes sure that sports keep a high profile
(Bitesize, 2021).
Financial institutions provide financial support to governments,
business organisations, entrepreneurs, individuals, and sports personnel to
finance their economic activities. They finance governments' social overhead
infrastructural projects and entrepreneurs’ profitable investments. They serve
as channels through which the wages and salaries of sports personnel are paid
and received. Banks do the transfer of incomes of foreign-based players,
boxers, and athletes into their accounts and domestic economies. Insurance
companies provide insurance policies to cover sporting facilities, travels, and
sports personnel against the occurrence of unexpected adverse events such as
thefts, accidents, and fire outbreaks. Insurance companies compensate those
who suffer a loss due to accidents, burglary, vandalism, terrorism, and
hooliganism. Sports personnel and spectators suffer injuries before, during,
and after competitions, no matter how careful they may be. With reliable
sports insurance plans and packages, sportsmen and sportswomen will be
more confident to participate in games, hoping that they will be supported
throughout their healing and rehabilitation processes even if they are injured.
It will also help them maintain a regular flow of their incomes. The capital
market also helps sports clubs and companies to cheap source capital for their
activities. Investors who are into sports invest in capital market instruments to
balance their portfolios and to seek good returns on their investments.
According to KPMG (2016), in the late 1990s and early 2000s, many football
clubs, especially in the United Kingdom (UK), saw the floating of shares on
stock markets as the most preferred means to raise capital for development.
The number of listed sports clubs on the stock exchange has reduced in recent
years. The reason may be that clubs are generating sufficient internal funds to
finance their expenditures. Governments of developing nations must review
the listing requirements of their stock exchanges to enable more clubs to raise
more capital to finance their expenditures. It will also ensure transparency in
the management of clubs in developing countries. The establishment of the
Ghana Alternative Market is an excellent example of this.
(b) Development and maintenance of modern sports infrastructural
facilities: Both the public and private sectors must invest heavily in sports
infrastructure to promote sports development in developing countries.
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However, governments' contribution must be significantly more than that of
the private sector because of the substantial initial capital outlays involved in
infrastructural development. Sports infrastructure differs from one sport to
another because of the differences in the requirements for their facilities. For
example, football and hockey pitches, titan tracks, swimming pools, etc., must
be provided for the various sporting disciplines. The availability of space is
crucial for sport-related activities (Bu¨ch, 2005; Heinemann, 1998, cited in
Hallmann, Wicker, Breuer, & Schönherr, 2012). Also, the location of sports
facilities has a significant influence on individuals’ participation and sports
development. The reason is that the probability of spending additional time
and money travelling to the facility decreases if it is closer to the users and
vice versa (Pawlowski et al., 2009, cited in Hallmann, Wicker, Breuer, &
Schönherr, 2012). Arnott (2017) revealed that in the public sector of the
United Kingdom when people were selecting a sports development initiative,
they based their choices on the marketing mix variable of place. The Vice
President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, on Tuesday, August 18, 2020,
mentioned that the NPP government undertook sixty-eight (68) sports
infrastructural projects between 2017 and 2020 in Ghana. The projects
included the construction of ten 500-seater sports centres of excellence in ten
regions and the construction of AstroTurf pitches in some constituencies.
Also, the government would renovate the Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale sports
stadia (Roberts, 2020). In the 2020 New Patriotic Party's (NPP) Manifesto, the
party promised to build fully functional multi-purpose youth and sports centres
of excellence in each of the six newly created regions and host and organise
the 13th African Games in 2023. These projects were expected to be completed
by the close of 2024. The government proposed to construct a national
Olympic stadium complex to bridge the nation’s sports infrastructure deficit.
The ultimate purpose is to establish a university for sports development in
Ghana.
(c) Training and development of sports administrators, instructors,
trainers, coaches, and referees: Sports administrators, instructors, trainers,
coaches, and referees are crucial in managing administrative issues in sports,
teaching the basic tenets, skills, and rules of sports to sportsmen and
sportswomen, to those who may want to keep fit, and for officiating games at
both the grassroots and elite levels. The training can take place locally or in
foreign countries with the help of foreign experts so that referees, coaches and
trainers can acquire adequate knowledge for its onward transfer to
participants. These sports instructors, trainers, coaches, and referees can work
in sports clubs, schools, colleges, universities, etc. Unfortunately, many
developing countries continue to rely on foreign experts to offer such services
to their citizens to the detriment of the indigenous groups. In consequence,
they waste huge sums of money on their salaries and accommodation. For
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instance, Ghana can pride itself on four African Cup of Nations trophies, and
three youth world cups and continental club cups at both the national and club
levels under the tutelage of local coaches and administrators. The local
coaches who have won laurels for Ghana at the international level are the late
coaches like C. K. Gyamfi, Sam Arday, Osam Duodo, Cecil Jones Attuquefio,
Herbert Addo, Kwesi Afranie; and alive and kicking Sellas Tetteh. In boxing,
too, D. K. Poison, Azumah Nelson, Nana Yaw Konadu, Alfred Quartey, Isaac
Dogboe, etc., were all once world champions and were trained by both local
and foreign trainers at one point in time or another. I join many sports-loving
Ghanaians to say "Ayekoo" (well done) to all those who have contributed to
these achievements. Developing local coaches at any costs will have much
more long term benefits and a multiplier effect on developing nations. It will
help them to save money for investments in other developmental projects. In
the long run, local coaches can also begin to seek foreign jobs for foreign
exchange.
(d) Identification and development of talents: The early identification
and the development of talented performers are crucial for sports development
because sports are synonymous with age. Ghana must send experts around the
nooks and crannies of communities to identify talented youth or children and
nurture them to become successful sportsmen and sportswomen. Educational
institutions such as universities, sports colleges, fitness centres, primary
schools, Junior High Schools, Senior High Schools, and sports academies, and
local communities' sporting clubs can become avenues for talents
identification and development. It, however, requires adequate financial
resource injections. Jacob (2014) investigated assets and modes of identifying
and developing talented student-athletes in selected sports disciplines in
Kenyan universities. He wrote that the quality and appropriateness of the
sports talent identification and development environment was a significant
factor that influenced all sportsmen and women in their sporting careers. The
results of the study indicated, among other things, that the identification of
talented student-athletes was based on the observation of the coaches during
internal competitions without the application of scientific methods in the
identification process. Inadequate financial support, a lack of scholarships, an
absence of talent identification structures and modalities, a lack of equipment
to facilitate talent identification, and a lack of knowledgeable coaches also
faced Kenya's talents identification programme. However, field-based data
suggest that early and higher volume of discipline-specific training and
competition and institutional talent promotion programmes during
adolescence do not necessarily lead to tremendous success in senior
international elite sports (Vaeyens, Gullich, Warr & Philippaerts, 2009). It
requires constant monitoring of higher performers throughout their entire
careers.
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(e) Mentoring and role modelling: Mentoring and role modelling
involve the use of retired sports personnel and current professional sports
personnel (both local and foreign) to inspire up-and-coming stars to reach
greater heights. During high profile sports competitions, mentors are needed
around teams to calm nerves through pep talks. Players can seek advice on
transfers and contracts from senior and old players. According to McQuade,
Davis & Nash (2015), the Department for Education and Skills (DfES, 2005)
and Green (2002) mentioned that mentoring is a form of induction or
apprenticeship that helps to develop competency, provide challenges, and
support progression. Bloom, Durand-Bush, Schinke & Salmela (1998)
reported that more experienced coaches mentored most coaches during their
athletic and early coaching careers, which gave them valuable knowledge and
insight that shaped their coaching philosophies and careers. Mentoring
programmes need to be formalised and made available to many developing
coaches and athletes. Also, Crisp (2018) revealed that in the field of learning
theories associated with coach education, there is evidence that informal
learning has a more significant impact and importance on the development of
coaching practise than that of formal coach education. Given this, many
national sports governing bodies and sports clubs have turned more toward
mentoring as a learning and support strategy for their coaches.
(f) Promotion of international relations and linkages: Associating
with international sports associations, sporting clubs of major sporting nations,
sports companies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and
participating in international sporting events help tap innovations and
technical assistance in the new ways of doing things in sports. Sports are
dynamic. Therefore, there is the need to have access to modern skills and
knowledge about sports development from nations where research and
development are increasing to become an avenue for learning new things in
sports (one avoids reinventing the wheel). International relations and linkages
develop global and multi-disciplinary networks of organisations that promote
policy formulation and projects implementations for sports development.
Generally, countries with little or no international recognition struggle to
compete in international sports programmes hoping to gain international
recognition (Kobierecki, 2013). According to Maguire (2018), today’s sports
hinges on a global network of interdependency chains influenced by global
flows and inequality in power relations. Developed nations and some
international institutions are more endowed with talents, technologies,
innovations, equipment, and infrastructural facilities, which can help
developing nations' sports development. UKEssays (November 2018)
published that sports had reached the international level and had social and
political influences. For example, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
has 202 member states while the United Nations has 192 member states. Sports
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influence international politics and diplomacy. Sports-loving fans worldwide
view satellite broadcasts of European Leagues and Champions League
matches, boxing and athletic competitions in which the best sportsmen and
women compete for laurels. Sports personnel and associations use sports
equipment produced by multinational corporations such as Adidas, Puma,
Lotto, Nike, etc. We look forward to experiencing more co-operation between
clubs in developing nations and their counterparts in developed nations to
develop sports in developing nations. English Premier League side
Southampton football Club announced their partnership deal with Kumasi
Asante Kotoko SC, Ghana, in January 2021 (Ghanaweb.com, 2021).
Souchaud (1996c, cited in Andreff, 2001) adds his voice to the need for
bilateral international co-operations in sports development between sports
stakeholders in developed and developing countries. Mention was made of
Germany signing bilateral agreements with over 40 developing countries; and
co-operation between France and all French-speaking developing countries
and some English speaking Least Developed Countries and some Central
Eastern European countries (CEECs). Denmark signed similar agreements
with South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Finland also agreed with
Tanzania. Furthermore, Sweden collaborated with South Africa, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Again, Norway had a deal with South Africa,
Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The UK with Commonwealth countries;
Spain with Mozambique, for the development of grassroots football talents.
These agreements involved sending football coaches and sporting goods to
various developing countries involved. These agreements must be suitable for
developing nations for the development of their sports.
(g) Sponsorships: Sponsorship is the financial and material support
given to sporting disciplines, clubs, sports associations, and sports personnel
for the mutual benefits of the sponsor and the entity or person sponsored.
Governments' support, private sector support, and public-private partnerships
are paramount in sports promotion and development in developing countries.
Sports involve participation, commercialisation, management, and marketing
to generate income for their development. Sponsorships increase the revenues
of clubs, associations, and sports personnel. School teams may have sponsored
kit, while elite sports personnel may receive a substantial amount of money
for wearing specific sportswear or using branded equipment. Increased
revenue from sponsorships helps increase participation in sports, enhances the
performances of sports personnel and sports organisations, and helps attract
large followings. Sponsors benefit from commercialising sports through high
profile coverage of sports and ensuring a high profile for companies and their
products (Bitesize, 2021). Nuseir (2020) indicated that sponsors give
technical, expert and financial support to improve brand awareness and brand
image. In return, they increase their revenues. The funding of sports should be
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at all levels. Availability of sponsorship funding enables sports authorities to
organise more competitions, sports personnel to focus more on their training
schedules and reduce the stress they go through when finding money to train
and participate in sporting competitions. Toyota signed an eight-year deal
worth $1.64 billion with the International Olympic Committee in 2015,
spanning 2017 to 2024 (Sports Business, 2016, cited in Nuseir, 2020). Also,
Nike signed a $1 billion deal with the National Basketball Association (NBA)
for eight years from the 2017/2018 season to the 2024/2025 season. Adidas
signed a $940 million deal with Bayern Munich for 15 years starting from
2015/2016 football season to 2029/2030 football season. Verizon, likewise,
signed a $400 million deal with the NBA for three years from 2015/2016 to
2017/2018. The sport of cricket is sponsored mainly by PepsiCo, Toyota, and
Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Adidas sponsor rugby. Rolex,
Anheuser-Busch, Emirates, MasterCard, and Coca Cola sponsor golf (PRO
Sports, 2015, cited in Nuseir, 2020).
(h) Development of promotional programmes: Sports promotion helps
to stimulate consumers’ interest and increase participation in sports. Sports
promotion helps to win over the interest or hearts of many sports-loving fans
and users of sports products or services as much as possible while increasing
brand awareness. The sale of a firm's product or service is driven by promoting
its benefits to different potential buyers. According to Shank (2019; cited in
Greenwell & Thorn, 2012), conservative organisations take a strategic
approach to sports marketing. With strategic sports marketing, organisations
engage in careful planning before implementing marketing activities designed
to meet organisational goals. The organisation of sporting competitions like
domestic clubs' leagues, schools and colleges games at the district level,
regional level, and national level, and participation in international
competitions are essential for sports development. Companies or business
firms use promotional mixes such as advertising, public relations, sales
promotion (direct marketing), and personal selling as multi-dimensional
communication tools to brand their products and services. They do this to
stimulate the taste, desire, preference and emotions of prospective consumers
to patronise their services or products. Celebrities in the entertainment
industry are also involved in sports promotional activities by sports authorities
to help attract people to sporting events. Promotion develops
businesses. Arnott (2017) make one understands that in terms of promotion,
word of mouth communications influenced the development of the sport in the
public sector in the United Kingdom. A well-chosen promotional mix
increases the visibility and profitability of goods and services put on markets
for sale (Attia, Chepyator-Thomson, Sonkeng & Add el Azim, n.d.). Sports
marketers must invest sufficient time and resources in conducting a thorough
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market and consumer behaviour analysis as a foundation for a compelling
promotional mix.
(i) Payment of adequate remunerations and construction of
appropriate incentive packages: The payments of adequate and appropriate
financial and material rewards to employees in organisations boost employees'
morale to work hard to increase productivity, attract new employees, and keep
their best employees. These monetary and material rewards are because of
differences in skills, interests, needs, and employees' preferences, making each
employee unique. The development of sports in developing countries will
require heavy financial and material commitments on the part of owners of
sporting clubs/teams, national and local governments, and international
bodies. Financial and material commitments will motivate the best talents to
give off their best and make sports more attractive to prospective consumers
to become profitable to entrepreneurs in sports. The active years of sports
personnel are relatively short, so in the prime of their youthfulness, they need
adequate remuneration to enable them to feed themselves well, take care of
other personal needs, and prepare adequately for their future. Underpinning
the competitive model of sports remuneration is that pay or reward is
associated with preferences, abilities, and the 'personal scale of operations' of
sports stars (Disney, 2006). The organisation of sports leagues and
tournaments affects the remuneration of sportsmen and sportswomen.
Unfortunately, many people who engage in sports are without remuneration
because of a lack of exceptional talent. Also, most sporting activities do not
generate any revenue for the organisers. Adequate remuneration and the
payment of appropriate incentive packages to sports administrators, players,
athletes, and instructors or coaches are paramount for sports development in
developing countries.
(j) Prevention of deadly sports disasters: Stadium disasters, plane
crashes, vehicular accidents, terrorism, and hooliganisms result in deaths and
injuries to sportsmen and sportswomen, officialdom, and spectators. These
unfortunate incidents discourage prospective sportsmen and women from
participating in sports. They hinder sports fans from attending sports
programmes at the various sports centres. Although it may be impossible to
prevent all sports-related injuries and disasters from occurring, governments
and sports officials must ensure that appropriate measures are in place to
reduce their occurrences. Sports officials must educate sports personnel on
wearing appropriate protective gears such as boots, goggles, helmets, gloves,
etc. They are to ensure that sports equipment is in good working conditions
before a sportsman or sportswoman can use it. Again, sports officials must
educate spectators on the negative consequences of hooliganism. Intelligence
gathering by the security agencies before and during major sporting events
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will also help prevent unfortunate situations at sporting events. Everyone
wants to live long and be free from troubles.
Not to be seen as a way of revisiting dark memories or days of sports,
but as a reminder of the lessons to be learned, the following deadly football
incidents that occurred across the globe are referred to: (1) May 24, 1964 -
Lima, Peru: 318 people died and another 500 injured in riots at the National
Stadium. (2) June 23, 1968 - Buenos Aires - Argentina: 74 people died, and
more than 150 injured when fans tried to leave the stadium by a closed exit.
(3) January 2, 1971 – Glasgow, Scotland: 66 people died, and 140 were injured
when barriers in Ibrox Stadium collapsed near the end of a match. (4) October
20, 1982 - Moscow: 340 sports fans died at a European Cup match. (5) May
11, 1985 – Bradford, England: 56 people died when a cigarette stub ignited a
stadium's wooden terrace section, and fire engulfed the structure. (6) May 29,
1985 - Brussels: 39 fans were killed before the European Cup final when
Liverpool fans attacked their Juventus counterparts and died against a wall
that eventually collapsed. (7) June 16, 1996 - Lusaka - Zambia: 9 soccer fans
died and 78 others injured during a stampede. (8) April 6, 1997 – Lagos,
Nigeria: 5 fans died, and more than a dozen injured when the crowd headed
for exits and found most of them locked. (9) April 23, 2000 – Monrovia,
Liberia: 3 people suffocated to death, and others were injured. (10) July 9,
2000 – Harare, Zimbabwe: 13 fans died after police fired tear gas into a crowd
estimated at 50,000 to quell growing unruliness. (11) April 11, 2001 -
Johannesburg, South Africa: 43 people died and 155 injured as fans tried to
push into an overcrowded stadium. (12) April 29, 2001 – Lubumbashi, Congo:
seven people were crushed to death in a stampede after police fired tear gas
into an unruly crowd. (13) May 9, 2001 – Accra, Ghana: At least 123 people
died in a stampede after police fired tear gas to disperse disgruntled Accra
Hearts of Oaks FC and Kumasi Asante Kotoko SC fans. (14) March 29, 2009
- Abidjan, Ivory Coast: thousands of fans pushing to attend a football game
between Ivory Coast and Malawi set off a stampede that killed 19 people and
injured more than 100 (Global News and the Associated Press, 2012);
http://www.pr-inside.com/football-stadium-disasters-1150259.htm, and
http://www.pr-inside.com/football-stadium-disasters-r1150259.htm).
The violence which ensued between sports fans at England's Euro 2016
match with Russia in Marseille resulted in injuries to more than 30 people.
This incident raised concerns about the need to prevent hooliganism in sports
stadia (Parkinson, 2016).
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Benefits of Sports Development and How They Affect Economic Growth
and Development
The question many readers may want to ask is: “Considering the above
incidents, what then makes the game of football and sports in general so
attractive that people tend to overlook its negative effects on societies and still
follow them?’ Sports development impacts positively on the service sector
growth and development and economic growth and development through the
following benefits they offer societies: jobs creation; incomes for clubs, sports
personnel, and ancillary workers; tax revenues for governments;
infrastructural development; promotion of political and social cohesion;
enhancement of the images of countries; healthier citizens for higher
productivity; and foreign exchange.
(a) Jobs creation: Many projects carried out by governments in the sports
sector, profitable investments of sports companies, sports clubs, sports
associations, and other ancillary companies toward sports development
provide job opportunities to many people. For example, sports offer jobs
to sports administrators, managers, coaches, instructors, sportsmen and
sportswomen, and workers of companies involved in sports-related
activities. These include Nike, Puma, Adidas, Lotto, food vendors,
hoteliers, cleaners, security officers, accountants, secretaries, sports
reporters and analysts, retailers and wholesalers who contribute to the
production and sale of sports kit and paraphernalia, as well as the
promotion of sports. Sports have helped to reduce unemployment in many
countries. According to the World Bank, the youth in Africa account for
about 60% of Africa's unemployed population. The youth unemployment
rate in North Africa is 25%. It is greater in Botswana, the Republic of the
Congo, Senegal, and South Africa. Africa has 200 million people aged
between 15 and 24. Africa has the largest population of young people in
the world (Ighobor, 2017). The African Development Bank Group (2018)
likewise projected that Africa’s youth population of 1.2 billion would
more than double by 2050. Africa will have one-fourth of the world’s
population, making Africa the world’s youngest region with a median age
of 25. Each year, 10 to 12 million young Africans join the job market. The
increased youth population can increase productivity and strengthen
inclusive, sustainable economic growth and development across the
African continent. Sports are labour-intensive and can employ more
people. Africa's youth unemployment challenges can be tackled in part
through sports promotion and development by governments and the
private sector if the youth participate in sports. In recent years, sports-
related employment is increasing and is creating jobs in other related
industries.
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Boateng (2018) reported that the sports industry created about 4.46 million
jobs in the European Union. This represented 2.12% of the total
employment in the European Union. In the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s)
2020 Manifesto, the government of Nana Akufo-Addo promised to create
job opportunities for Ghanaians through sports. CareerBuilder and
Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI) looked at post-
recession job growth in the six largest sports-related industries in the United
States. It reported that job growth in the six largest sports-related industries
in the United States increased by 12.6 per-cent between 2010 and 2014
(CareerBuilder, 2014). Moreover, sports jobs had a multiplier effect in
creating more jobs in other occupations and industries. For example, 100
new jobs in sports teams and clubs in Pittsburg generated $46.2 million new
earnings across the city. About 422 additional jobs were created outside of
the industry in construction, healthcare, sales, food preparation and
maintenance, and hotel. Average earnings across these occupations
amounted to $78,455, above the national average, $57,947.
(b) Incomes for sports clubs, sports personnel, and ancillary workers: Sports
have provided career opportunities for many people, as mentioned under
point (a) above. Many talented but academically not brilliant have found
solace in sports and have become more prosperous than their more
educated (academic) counterparts. Workers in the sports sector and other
ancillary sectors are paid wages and salaries, which are spent on goods and
services. Savings of these categories of workers are also borrowed and
invested by deficit spending units to produce more goods and services.
These incomes have multiplier effects with a significant positive impact
on economic growth and development in developing countries. Wages and
salaries in football are paid to players, technical and administrative
employees. Also, signing-on fees, bonuses, termination payments, social
security contributions, and other employee benefit expenses are paid to
deserving employees. Western (2020) published a list of the twenty (20)
wealthiest athletes in 2020, as compiled by Forbes and Celebrity Net
Worth. The list included Vince McMahon, an American former
professional wrestler, who had a net worth to the tune of $2.2 billion. The
net worth of Ion Tiriac, a Romanian former professional tennis and ice
hockey player, was $2 billion. He is now the owner of the Mutua Madrid
Open Tennis Tournament. Michael Jordan, an American retired
professional basketball player, had a net worth estimated at $1.9 billion.
Also, Tiger Woods, an American professional golfer, had a net worth
estimated at $740 million. Furthermore, Floyd Mayweather, a former
professional boxer and the founder of Mayweather Promotions, was worth
$565 million. LeBron James, an American professional basketball player
in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers, had a net worth of $480 million.
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Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese footballer, was reported to have had a net
worth of $460 million. According to Wilson (2018), the big five European
leagues generated a record 14.7 billion euros (an equivalent of 12.6 billion
pounds) in revenue in the 2016/2017 season, a 9 per-cent annual increase.
Again, Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance revealed that the
European football market generated €28.4 billion in revenues in the
2017/18 season. The ‘big five’ European leagues generated a record €15.6
billion in revenue in 2017/18, a 6 per-cent increase from the previous year.
On May 30, 2019, Deloitte & Touche (2019) reported that the European
football market's revenues grew by 11 per-cent to €28 billion. The increase
in revenue resulted from the increased revenue of the 'big five' European
leagues, which increased their combined revenues by 6 per-cent in
2017/18 and the revenue from the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Chappelet
(2010) adds that sports contribute about two per cent to the gross domestic
product in industrial countries.
(c) Tax revenues for governments: Governments contribute to economic
activities by providing social overhead infrastructural facilities, addressing
market failures, etc. (Acquah-Sam, 2020). Governments' finance their
expenditures through tax revenues collected from the citizenry and
companies. These companies include those in the sports sector. In
November 2020, New Jersey collected a total of US$6.23 million in tax
from sports betting, lower than the previous month's total of US$7.44
million (Lock, 2021). These government-financed activities contribute to
the growth of economies of the world. Sports personnel and sports
companies pay road tolls, income taxes, and corporate taxes on their wages
and salaries, and corporate profits. Again, sports clubs pay taxes on
entrance fees (proceeds) earned from sporting activities. Sports clubs pay
taxes on incomes from other revenue-generating activities of sports clubs.
It means that when sports are well-developed in developing countries, the
major players of sports may receive higher wages and salaries. These
sports personnel can pay higher taxes to develop their nations. In many
developing nations like Ghana, sports contribution to tax revenue
generation is inadequate because of the low incomes of sports personnel
and sports clubs. There is an adage in the Akan language in Ghana that
"kitiwa biara nsoa". It means that "there is nothing too small". Ghana
should start collecting income taxes from the incomes of footballers and
sports officials, no matter how small they may be, and develop it from
there. Many workers working in other sectors earn "peanuts", yet they pay
taxes to the states for economic growth and development.
(d) Infrastructural development: Sports thrives on adequate sports
infrastructures such as sports stadia, tennis courts, hotels, roads,
telecommunication networks, and market centres. Lange (2020) reported
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that a survey on a two-year projected non-player capital expenditure of
English Premier League clubs revealed that 7% of club directors stated
that they intended to allocate 50 million pounds. Governments use sports
events to develop cities by combining economic, social, environmental,
and other concerns. In the 2020 New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) Manifesto,
the party promised to build a fully-functional multi-purpose youth and
sports centre of excellence in each of the six newly-created regions in
Ghana. These were to augment the Ten (10) which were already under
construction and near completion. Also, to host and organise the 13th All
African Games in 2023, the party planned to construct a national Olympic
stadium complex to bridge the nation's sports infrastructure deficit which
would ultimately serve as a university for sports development in Ghana.
Sports infrastructure leads to economic growth and development since
they provide the tools for the efficient running of sports and their related
economic enterprises. During the construction of sporting infrastructural
facilities, roads, bridges, rail networks, airports, water, electricity, etc., are
also provided. International sports governing bodies also give monies to
member countries to help them develop sports infrastructure. The FIFA
Goal Project, aimed at helping developing countries mainly in Africa and
Asia to establish infrastructure and facilities to boost the game's growth,
has assisted in the infrastructural development of Member Associations on
the continent of Africa. In 2015, FIFA embarked on funding a four-star
hotel in Rwanda through its Goal projects. The hotel, when built, would
reduce the expenses that the Ministry of Sports and Culture (MINISPOC)
used to incur on national teams during residential training and
accommodation for visiting national teams (Africa for Africa, 2015).
(e) Promotion of political and social cohesion: The victories chalked by local
and national sports teams and individual sportspersons help promote unity
among the citizens of countries. One hardly hears citizens talk about
partisan politics when national teams or football clubs win matches at
major international tournaments. In the same vein, boxers and athletes
winning boxing fights and races or events at major competitions bring
national unity. Opposing parties in parliaments, organisations, and on the
street, all celebrate victories in sports. National and private television and
radio stations become occupied with sports-related issues. In times of civil
conflicts, sports have played a significant role in reconciling opposing
parties. The government of Ghana resorted to football matches to reconcile
the Kokombas and Nanombas in 1993 and 1994. The building of sports
facilities also boosts the chances of a sitting government winning an
election. Peace brings development as people go about their regular duties
in peace and security. Countries such as Germany capitalised on football
to improve the process of social integration of descendants of immigrants.
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According to Diop (2016), in September 2015, Jim Yong Kim, President
of the World Bank Group, was reported to have signed a US$50
million agreement with Novak Djokovic's foundation to support social
inclusion and early childhood development programmes in Serbia. This
agreement was to more effectively combat the inequality affecting young
children from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds. Sugden (2010)
referred to sports as a social good because of their fraternal and character-
building qualities and their capacity to bring together different kinds of
people, communities, and nations through regional sports festivals, club
football matches, athletic competitions, and international sports
competitions.
(f) Enhancement of the images of countries: Sports serve as a critical strategy
for cities and countries to promote their images and global positions. These
benefits make nations compete to host major international sporting events,
despite the enormous costs involved. Sport Management Association of
Australia and New Zealand (1998) wrote that major sporting events
usually do not generate enough tax revenue to justify the taxpayers’ funds
used to organise them. Gripsrud, Nes & Olsson (2014) argued that when
countries host major sports events, they earn opportunities and likewise
face challenges. Whenever sports teams and players are involved in major
international competitions, the countries whose nationals are involved in
the competitions become household names to the rest of the world. For
example, Ghana is a household name in world football circles through the
following achievements in football: The four-time African Cup of nations
gold medals won by the Black Stars of Ghana. The 1991 and 1995 Under
17 FIFA World Cup gold medals won by the Black Starlets of Ghana. The
bronze medal feat of the Black Meteors of Ghana at the Olympic Games
in Atlanta in 1996. The country's participation in 2006, 2010, and 2014
FIFA World Cup tournaments. The Gold medal won in 2009 in Egypt, and
the Silver Medals won in Australia in 1993 and Argentina in 2005 by the
Black Satellites of Ghana. Ghana's image enhancement and other countries
have the positive effects of boosting aid, grants, international trade, and
attracting substantial foreign direct investments into various sectors of the
Ghanaian economy.
(g) Healthier citizens for higher productivity: Sports and recreations improve
people's physical fitness and health, which in the long run reduce the
medical bills of people and nations, which would have negatively affected
individuals' living standards and economic growth and development.
Sports help reduce heart problems, high cholesterol, mental stress, and
high blood pressure. Sports make it possible for people to develop their
brains and to think better and faster. During a game, individuals must make
quick decisions within split seconds to outperform their opponents.
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Physical activities contribute to forming a healthier society. Skills and
abilities developed through sports promote people's well-being and
directly improve their physical, mental, and psychological performance
and produce a better quality of life. The state of health of the workforce is
critical. Those who are more active physically, other things being equal,
are more efficient in their jobs hence increasing the productivity of
workers and the growth of GDP. Sick leave benefits and health insurance
costs are lower in organisations that have a healthy workforce. Promoting
good health among the workforce can be an investment in the future (Nagy
& Tobak, 2018). According to Diop (2016), in November 2014, the World
Bank, in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the
Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), organised an
awareness-building campaign in the fight against Ebola in West Africa.
The campaign brought together the world's top football players, including
Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo. Football was also used as an
effective vehicle for raising awareness of the ravages of AIDS, with FIFA
establishing HIV/AIDS prevention and control programmes as part of its
"football for hope" initiative.
(h) Foreign exchange generation: Remittances from sportsmen,
sportswomen, and sports officials who ply their trades in foreign countries
generate foreign exchange for local economies. Likewise, the sale of sports
kits overseas by kit-producing companies, the transfer fees of footballers,
and the organisation of international sporting events generate foreign
exchange for countries. The monies foreign sporting personalities and
sports fans spend on hotels and other forms of accommodation, meals,
water, and other goods and services during sporting events help generate
foreign exchange for the host countries. Foreign nationals who attend and
participate in international sporting events buy goods and services in
countries that host the sporting events. They do so by changing their
foreign currencies into domestic currencies. These sources of revenue help
reduce the exchange rate problems of domestic economies and reduce the
costs of importation of goods and services. It also helps to improve the
balance of trade position of countries. The increase in demand for goods
and services during sporting events and the foreign exchange earned when
invested in productive sectors of economies will increase the production
of goods and services to increase economic growth and development.
Hatzigeorgiou (2016) wrote that sports could help to increase foreign trade
and promote global economic integration. Sports can provide visibility
opportunities for countries and spur the interest of firms and consumers in
respective foreign markets. In this regard, countries which engage in
sporting activities with each other improve their bilateral trade.
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Conclusions and Recommendations
Section 6 concludes the paper and recommends the ways forward
for developing sports in developing nations for them to impact positively on
economic growth and development in developing countries.
Conclusions
This paper explored some of the existing theories and empirical
literature on sports development, service sector development, and economic
growth and development. Specifically, it synchronises the underdevelopment
of sports in developing countries, the long-term complementary strategies or
cardinal pillars of sports development in developing countries, and the benefits
of developing sports in developing countries. The paper employed a narrative
overview research approach with the following findings:
(a) There are eleven general reasons for the underdevelopment of sports in
developing countries that need critical attention from various
stakeholders of sports development.
(b) Sports development hinges on the holistic development of ten long-run
complementary strategies or cardinal pillars. These strategies are the
establishment, development, and strengthening of relevant institutions;
the development and maintenance of modern sporting infrastructural
facilities; the training and development of sports administrators,
instructors, coaches, trainers, and referees; the identification and
development of talents; mentoring and role modelling; the promotion
of international relations and linkages; sponsorships; the development
of promotional programmes; the payment of adequate remuneration and
construction of appropriate incentive packages; and the prevention of
deadly sports disasters.
(c) Sports development can help developing nations as follows: Jobs
creation; incomes for clubs, sports personnel, and ancillary workers; tax
revenues for governments; infrastructural development; promotion of
political and social cohesion; enhancement of the images of countries;
healthier citizens for higher productivity; and foreign exchange.
(d) Interrelationships exist among sports development, service sector
growth and development, and economic growth and development of
developing countries.
Recommendations
Developing nations must develop sports based on the appropriate
sports infrastructural facilities, natural talents of the citizenry (children and
youth), and climatic conditions. They must also consider the availability of
financial, material, and human resources and the adaptation and adaptability
of the citizenry to foreign sports and sports technologies. For example, in
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athletics, athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, and most East African countries excel
more in long-distance running mainly due to the natural talents of their
citizens, the climatic conditions of the countries, and the availability of human
resources.
Developing nations must implement more and active national sports
policies that seek to tackle the development of the channels of sports
development holistically and devoid of partisan politics. Governments must
give tax incentive packages to sponsors of sports programmes and clubs to
attract more sponsors into the sector. There must be more public-private
partnerships and investments in sports.
The statistical service and its equivalent institutions in developing
nations must compile appropriate and accurate sports data to promote research
into the sector for national planning.
Developing nations must ban the sale of alcoholic drinks in and outside
sports stadia to reduce sports hooliganism. Clubs must play matches during
the day. They must also play games that have the potential of igniting violence
between rival supporters behind closed doors. Sports authorities must educate
supporters on putting up appropriate behaviour during and after sporting
events and fine those who go contrary to sports protocols. Sportsmen and
sportswomen must desist from making gestures of contempt during and after
sporting events.
Governments of developing nations must maximise the returns on their
investments in sports. They must ensure that all government agencies
mandated to promote the sector's development effectively monitor, evaluate,
and account for governments' investments or resources committed to sports
promotion and development.
Governments' interest in sports must not be limited to national teams
only. Governments must scrutinise progress at grassroots sports and club level
management to ensure sports personnel are adequately remunerated and are
well treated. The national teams must not be allowed to be used by a few sports
and government officials to amass wealth at the state's expense. Allah (2018)
referred to a report of the World Economic Forum that generally, grassroots
sports where innovative public-private partnerships and investments could
benefit society most were not receiving the appropriate levels of support from
various stakeholders.
Sportsmen and sportswomen must be educated and advised on the
efficient use of their wealth or incomes to impact economic growth and
development positively. They must not engage in wasteful spending to help
grow their economies and live decent lives after retirement. Sportsmen and
women have a limited number of active years of service of at most 35 years,
so they need to maximise the gains of their active years in sports.
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Sufficient and sustained levels of all kinds of investment in sports
coupled with strong institutions, good governance, and effective policies are
critical for sports development and economic growth and development to
improve the quality of life of the people in developing countries.
Future research works must look at the quantitative approach to
measuring the effects of sports development on the service sector growth and
development and economic growth and development in developing nations.
Other improved methodological designs such as systematic reviews and meta-
analysis are also recommended for future researchers in the area to exploit.
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