A media analysis of the 2010 FIFA World Cup: A case study of selected international media

Abstract

This research study focuses on selected international media analysis of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was an unprecedented opportunity to make South Africa a more widely known and better understood country. The aim of this study was to investigate the media impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on Cape Town as a host city and major tourism destination in South Africa. Also, it was to provide insight into how Cape Town and South Africa have been profiled through the media – pre-, leading up to, during and post-2010 in order to determine what has changed about the perceptions of Cape Town and South Africa as a result of hosting this event. A qualitative analysis was undertaken including content sourcing, content identification, semantic cluster analysis and the use of Leximancer. Leximancer is an analytic tool that is used to evaluate the content of textual documents. The media content analysis was conducted in four key markets, viz: UK, Germany, the Netherlands and USA. The findings revealed that the sentiment on South Africa and Cape Town changed from a negative to a more positive perception over the four time periods. The lead-up period was a key for all markets thus emphasising the importance of setting and addressing expectations for future events in this period. Concerns regarding safety and security reduced significantly during the hosting period; however, what still remains is the issue of nation branding. The positive imagery which prevailed during the event needs to be further emphasised in future events.