Sports Value, a sports marketing company, has completed a study showing the impact of sports after the release of Olympic Games in the host country. Thus, Sports Value analyzed the investments countries made over time to receive the event and the “effective return” in medals at subsequent Olympic Games.
> See the best photos of Lionel Messi’s performance at Paris Saint-Germain
Thus, the study found that although it was the best brand in Brazil in the medal table (21), the result was in fact a “major failure”. This is because Sports Value makes it clear that Brazil has not been able, like other countries, to use the local Olympics as a “driver”.
– The medals are the result of the success of an ambitious plan to practice sports on a large scale by the population and to reveal young talents. States used the event to promote a rural sports project – says an excerpt from the Study of Sports Value.
The study also states that Brazil has more than 200 million inhabitants and reveals that half of the population is 100% settled. According to the company, those who exercise are more concentrated among the richest and among men. Thus, Sports Value asserts that exercise by the population, focusing on the poorest population, with reduced access to clubs and gyms, is the only way to change Brazil.
In addition, to support the position, the study highlights the speech of the President of the Supreme Council for Sport (CSD) in Spain, José Manuel Franco. In an interview with Revista Capital, he said that for every euro invested in the population’s physical activity, another 15 euros is saved in public health expenditures.
> See the schedule of the Brazilian Championship
Finally, the study says that a country’s sports project yields medals when the country “invests heavily in talent discovery, among these millions of new practitioners.” Therefore, it is emphasized that COE models will not solve the problems.
According to Sports Value, given the dimensions of Brazil, it will be necessary to train physical education specialists and a regional system to discover talent.
Athletes in the media space
Under the theme “The Impact of the Olympic Games,” The Value of Sport highlights the importance of athletes in the economy. According to the company, the medals produce idols that will be the “fuel of sports business.”
Thus, the study indicates that more and more idols will dominate the spaces in the media, especially in the digital sphere. In fact, the projection of Nielsen, the global information company, is that sports idols will quadruple their current media value by 2023.
For example, after The silver medal won by Risa Leal in TokyoNetshoes skateboard sales are up 80%. Another example is the series that talks about a former player in the NBA Michael Jordan, who caused an increase in sales of Chicago Bulls products in Brazil.
Japan’s Sakura Yosuzumi and Kona Hiraki won the gold and silver medals, respectively. Britain’s Sky Brown, who was born in Japan, took the bronze (Image: COI)
Effects on winning medals
Sports Value also analyzed the investments each host country made to host the Olympic Games. That is why the study dealt with sports investments, without looking at the infrastructure of cities such as streets, highways, ports and airports. See below investment in sports infrastructure:
Tokyo 2020 – 25 billion dollars
London 2012 – $15 billion
Rio 2016 – 14 billion dollars
Barcelona 1992 – 10 billion dollars;
Beijing 2018 – 8 billion dollars
Sydney 2000 $5 billion
Atlanta 1996 – 4 billion dollars
From this, the analysis went beyond the investments made using the medal tables in the following Olympiads. The study highlighted that it was “obvious” that countries such as Australia, South Korea, China, England and now Japan were “boosted by investments to host the Games”.
However, Brazil does not follow this line. According to Sports Value, Brazil has invested a lot, but the performance in Tokyo 2020 shows that the country has not been able to follow up on the good performance of other markets. The study notes that there has never been a concrete project for a sports state for Brazil. Rio 2016, as explained by the company, consumed nearly R$60 billion and did not change the scenario.
Entering new disciplines like skateboarding and surfing helped a lot. We could have gone worse. Brazil underperforms or falls below its potential in core styles such as swimming, athletics, basketball, handball, judo, wrestling, water polo, women’s soccer and many more – an excerpt from the study by Sports Valeu.
It is even remembered that the Olympic medalists in Brazil always carry with them stories of overcoming difficulties, a lot of effort and funding for their careers from money taken from their own pockets. Thus, Sports Value stresses that “there is no system that contributes to an increase in new talent and a structure for training on a large scale.”
Thiago Brazz, the bronze medalist in the high jump at Tokyo 2020, went without a club to train during the Olympics (Photo: INA FASSBENDER/AFP)
What does the value of sport say about each host nation since Atlanta in 1996?
United States (investing $4 billion in Atlanta 1996):
They have always invested heavily in sports, and the 1996 Atlanta Games were not critical to this growth. It is the country with the most powerful model in the world, with a versatility of sports.
Australia ($5 billion investment in Sydney 2020):
– Performance as an Olympic nation has improved since the 2000 Sydney Games. A sports project has put the country on the world sport map.
China (investment of $8 billion in Beijing 2008):
Although it is the most populous country in the world, it has not been able to transform itself into an Olympic power. The 2008 Olympics allowed the country to strengthen its strategic sports project.
United Kingdom ($15 billion investment in London 2012):
– It was not an Olympic power and built its strategic project with a focus on consolidating this new position in London 2012.
Brazil ($14 billion investment in Rio 2016):
Even with all the public investment in sports in Brazil, the country is far behind in being an Olympic powerhouse. The huge investments in the Rio 2106 already show that it has not resulted in better athletic performance at the Games.
Japan (US$25 billion investment in Tokyo 2020):
Like other countries, (Japan) shows that Tokyo 2020 is a turning point, positioning the country as a new rising Olympic power.
Japan had the best ever performance in its history at the Olympics, winning 58 medals at Tokyo 2020 (Photo: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP)
Conclusions
To close the study, Sports Value offers four conclusions. The first is that countries that have built a strategic project for sport have been able to reap “sports benefits”. Next, it is noted that public investment in sports should affect more sports in the population, which, according to the company’s study, leads to more medals.
It is also argued that the reduction of sedentary lifestyles and the organized model of attracting talent are pathways to transforming nations into Olympic powers.
In addition, Sports Value asserts that Brazil employs more than R$750 million in annual public resources for sport, invested R$14 billion in the sports infrastructure of the 2016 Games, but has “the most stable population on the planet and has always underperformed at the Olympics” .
