University sport events and environmental management in the global south: Prospects and challenges for sustainability

There has been growing interest in the relationship between sporting events and the environment they are hosted in. Such discussions have sought to unpack the implications of sporting events on the environment as part of broader sustainable development concerns globally. However, many such studie...

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Main Authors: Thandazani CHINHANGA, Martin MTHEMBU, Siyabulela NYIKANA
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Editura Universităţii din Oradea 2024-08-01
Series:GeoSport for Society
Subjects:
Online Access:https://geosport.uoradea.ro/2024_2/gss.2101-109.pdf
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author Thandazani CHINHANGA
Martin MTHEMBU
Siyabulela NYIKANA
author_facet Thandazani CHINHANGA
Martin MTHEMBU
Siyabulela NYIKANA
author_sort Thandazani CHINHANGA
collection DOAJ
description There has been growing interest in the relationship between sporting events and the environment they are hosted in. Such discussions have sought to unpack the implications of sporting events on the environment as part of broader sustainable development concerns globally. However, many such studies have focused on large-scale sporting events, neglecting small-scale events, and especially annual events at universities. This is in spite of the popularity, and the large numbers associated with university sports. This study critically analyses the relationship between university sporting events and environmental management. The growing debates around sustainability in events management and tourism have gained significant focus in recent years, particularly in the Global North. Such contestations have largely been neglected in the Global South contexts, especially in smallerscale events and university sporting events. A quantitative research design was adopted in collecting data from questionnaire surveys from event attendees at university sports events, using a spatially based systematic sampling technique. Findings revealed a lack of proenvironmental behaviour amongst the attendees, resulting in negative environmental impacts at the events. Furthermore, how these events were hosted suggests minimal implementation of proper environmental management, especially insofar as waste disposal, awareness raising about pollution, and encouraging pro-environmental behaviour. The study concludes that event managers at university sporting events ought to make environmental management central to their events planning and management, and thus make deliberate efforts to enhance environmental education and pro-environmental behaviour amongst attendees.
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spelling doaj-art-af029579f2c641a2bc7f979257a68d8c2025-01-23T08:49:07ZengEditura Universităţii din OradeaGeoSport for Society2393-13532024-08-01202728710.30892/gss.2101-109University sport events and environmental management in the global south: Prospects and challenges for sustainabilityThandazani CHINHANGA0Martin MTHEMBU1Siyabulela NYIKANA2School of Tourism and Hospitality, College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa, e-mail: thandazanichinhanga@gmail.comSchool of Tourism and Hospitality, College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa, e-mail: martinworldwide268@gmail.comSchool of Tourism and Hospitality, College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa, e-mail: siyabulelan@uj.ac.zaThere has been growing interest in the relationship between sporting events and the environment they are hosted in. Such discussions have sought to unpack the implications of sporting events on the environment as part of broader sustainable development concerns globally. However, many such studies have focused on large-scale sporting events, neglecting small-scale events, and especially annual events at universities. This is in spite of the popularity, and the large numbers associated with university sports. This study critically analyses the relationship between university sporting events and environmental management. The growing debates around sustainability in events management and tourism have gained significant focus in recent years, particularly in the Global North. Such contestations have largely been neglected in the Global South contexts, especially in smallerscale events and university sporting events. A quantitative research design was adopted in collecting data from questionnaire surveys from event attendees at university sports events, using a spatially based systematic sampling technique. Findings revealed a lack of proenvironmental behaviour amongst the attendees, resulting in negative environmental impacts at the events. Furthermore, how these events were hosted suggests minimal implementation of proper environmental management, especially insofar as waste disposal, awareness raising about pollution, and encouraging pro-environmental behaviour. The study concludes that event managers at university sporting events ought to make environmental management central to their events planning and management, and thus make deliberate efforts to enhance environmental education and pro-environmental behaviour amongst attendees.https://geosport.uoradea.ro/2024_2/gss.2101-109.pdfenvironmental behaviourenvironmental managementsmall-scale eventssport tourismsustainable development
spellingShingle Thandazani CHINHANGA
Martin MTHEMBU
Siyabulela NYIKANA
University sport events and environmental management in the global south: Prospects and challenges for sustainability
GeoSport for Society
environmental behaviour
environmental management
small-scale events
sport tourism
sustainable development
title University sport events and environmental management in the global south: Prospects and challenges for sustainability
title_full University sport events and environmental management in the global south: Prospects and challenges for sustainability
title_fullStr University sport events and environmental management in the global south: Prospects and challenges for sustainability
title_full_unstemmed University sport events and environmental management in the global south: Prospects and challenges for sustainability
title_short University sport events and environmental management in the global south: Prospects and challenges for sustainability
title_sort university sport events and environmental management in the global south prospects and challenges for sustainability
topic environmental behaviour
environmental management
small-scale events
sport tourism
sustainable development
url https://geosport.uoradea.ro/2024_2/gss.2101-109.pdf
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AT siyabulelanyikana universitysporteventsandenvironmentalmanagementintheglobalsouthprospectsandchallengesforsustainability