Jeju Cup scores big, puts hockey on the map in Jeju, South Korea

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Photo credit: Douglas Macdonald

I think we might have made hockey a thing on Jeju Island.

The Inaugural Jeju Cup was a stunning success. We amazingly met our fundraising goal of 1,000,000 KRW to benefit the Jeju Inline Academy with purchase assistance of their first set of goalie equipment, which we hope to acquired soon. Besides that, Jeju went from having zero hockey to six teams and 40 players in the span of nine months, featuring a tournament filled with players from Canada, the USA, England, South Africa, and Korea — some reconnecting with the game, and many trying it for the very first time. Backgrounds aside, everyone had a great time, and there were many requests for another event to be hosted in the near future.

But don’t take my word for it, here’s the coverage our tournament got from all over:

event rundown by the Jeju Weekly: http://www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=4231

the event made news in my hometown of Kelowna, BC Canada too, as Wendy McLeod of KelownaNow.com wrote us up: http://www.kelownanow.com/columns/sports/news/Sports/14/07/19/Okanagan_Hockey_Player_Brings_Canada_s_Sport_to_South_Korea

Locally renowned photographer Douglas Macdonald — who’s had his shots in National Geographic and Getty Images — captured our event through his lens too: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.247836218748279&type=1

If you’d like to support the ongoing growth of hockey in Jeju, South Korea, consider picking up one of our t-shirts, which we sold out of at the event and had to re-order due to their popularity: https://www.etsy.com/shop/davecunning

And you can always join the Jeju Islanders’ Facebook group if you want to keep up with our team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jeju.island.hockey/

Photo credit: Douglas Macdonald

Follow @davecunningFollow @JejuWeeklyFollow @dmac5dmark2Follow @WendyMcLeod33Follow @KelownaNow

Is the World Cup worth it? Infographic lets you be the judge.

With the 2014 FIFA World Cup now whittled down to its semi-finals,  and Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, and Argentina ready to square off against each other to see who will play for soccer’s richest prize, it seems like a good time to evaluate whether the tournament has been worth what Brazil paid to get it. The hosts were (and always are, not unlike Olympic hosts) heavily criticized for their expenditures a midst troubling economic times for its citizens — especially considering that hosts get very little money back at tournament’s end,  or over the long term.

The folks at 188betblog.com have made an infographic showing the costs that many host countries paid for past World Cups, and the returns the event created for both the host and FIFA. You’ll be interested to know how expensive it is,  and you may even start questioning whether hosting the World Cup is actually worth it in the long run or not — if you weren’t already prior to seeing this evidence.

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The 2014 World Cup is one of the biggest international sports events of the year, rivaling the Winter Olympics in Sochi held in February.  The World Cup is a celebration of football, a sport beloved by millions — if not billions — of fans from all corners of the world.

Fans are embracing the World Cup, but FIFA and other tournament organizers were concerned about the costs spent preparing for the tournament.  Many of the costs were tied up in stadium construction or investments in infrastructure.  On the flip side, the work stimulated thousands of jobs for the national economy.

But do those costs pay off over the long term? Economists predict Brazil will spend at least £8.6 billion ($14.5 billion), with some experts predicting the cost could even double that estimate.

If the total cost is finalized at the minimum projection, the bill will still be astronomically above the tabs for previous World Cup tournaments.  For example, South Africa spent approximately £2.6 billion ($4.5 billion) on the 2010 World Cup – only a fraction of the projected costs for Brazil.

What’s more concerning for the Brazilian economy is that history is not a comforting guide.  According to International Business Times, South Africa made back only 11 percent on a £2.6 billion ($4.5 billion) investment to host the 2010 World Cup – falling far short of initial estimated profits.

The same post mentions Brazil’s plans to bring home approximately £6.5 billion ($11 billion) in revenue from the 2014 World Cup.  Even if Brazil hits that goal, the revenue will still fall short of making back all the money invested into hosting the tournament.

The cost vs. benefit debate dates back to previous World Cups as well, with many experts questioning if hosting the World Cup is in a country’s best economic interests.  As costs and expectations continue rising with each passing year, is the payoff to host the World Cup really worthwhile?