The Economic Impact of friendly matches between national teams : the Case of the Handball Match France vs Slovakia

Friendly sporting events involving national teams have been completely ignored by the scientific literature with regard to their contribution to the economy of the host territories. Nevertheless, this is a central issue for public management, since these events are part of an annual calendar of sporting events established by the local community, in partnership with sporting federations, in order to generate economic benefits at a local level. To appreciate the efficiency of their sporting events hosting policy, decision makers need valuations that do not only deal with mega-sporting events, but also with intermediate sized events, such as friendly matches involving national teams. The analysis conducted on an international handball match between France and Slovakia provides a first series of lessons about the economic effects of such events, which appear relatively modest. However, by comparing that economic benefit to the limited cost bared by local taxpayers, the return for local authorities is far better than for mega-sporting events, which implies huge amounts of public expenditure.