Assessment of the Perceived Socio-economic Impacts of Organizing a Major Sporting Event by Participants and Residents of the Host City: The Case of the 2019 African Games in Rabat

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-892-9_43How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Sports Events; Socioeconomic Impacts; Rabat African Games 2019

Abstract

In the context of Morocco’s growing investment in international sports infrastructure—and with the 2025 AFCON and the 2030 FIFA World Cup on the horizon—this study underscores the need to evaluate the perceived socio-economic impacts of major sporting events from the perspective of host communities. The organization of such events generates a wide range of direct and indirect externalities, making public perception a critical dimension in strategic planning and policy justification.

This research assesses the socio-economic impacts associated with the 12^th African Games held in Rabat in 2019, by analyzing the perceptions of both residents of the host city and participants involved in the event's organization. A structured questionnaire was administered to a representative sample (N = 225), and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and non-parametric robustness tests (Kruskal–Wallis). The factorial structure of perceived impacts was first explored through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and then validated via Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), ensuring the construct validity of the model.

Findings indicate a generally positive perception of the event’s socio-economic impacts across the sample. While no significant differences were observed between residents and non-residents, participants reported significantly higher positive perceptions than non-participants. No significant group differences were found regarding negative impacts. These results highlight the importance of stakeholder proximity and informational access in shaping event-related perceptions—an insight with direct implications for future mega-event planning and community engagement strategies.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Salim Drissi Saidi
AU  - Moulay Ismail Hafidi Alaoui
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/17
TI  - Assessment of the Perceived Socio-economic Impacts of Organizing a Major Sporting Event by Participants and Residents of the Host City: The Case of the 2019 African Games in Rabat
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research in Management and Economics (ICMRME 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 748
EP  - 771
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-892-9_43
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-892-9_43
ID  - Saidi2025
ER  -