Abstract
Rural communities in South Africa remain marginalised and often impoverished. Few studies focus on rural community perceptions of mega events since there is a tendency to focus on host cities. This article specifically assesses what rural communities expected, both the costs and benefits associated with the 2010 event and how they planned to benefit from the event. Questionnaires were administered to 100 household respondents in Izibukwana near Durban, the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa and one of the semi-final host cities. The results indicate that communities expected direct benefits from the 2010 FIFA World Cup which were generally not realised. However, there was also generally overwhelming support for South Africa hosting the FIFA World Cup and future mega events. This suggests that even in rural areas people support countries hosting mega events despite them not directly benefitting from it. This indicates the importance of the social and experiential aspects of being part of a host nation rather than tangible economic and infrastructural benefits. The South African government promised that the hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup would improve the lives of all South Africans. Therefore, the planning of future mega and large-scale events must focus on ensuring that rural communities benefit directly. This will require linkages with economic activities that can create developmental opportunities for rural communities.