Conditions for Doing Business in Saransk before and after the World Cup 2018

The article raises the question of how holding a major sporting event in a relatively small regional center changes the business environment for local businesses. Saransk serves as an empirical example, the capital of the Republic of Mordovia, which in 2018 became one of the host cities of the FIFA World Cup. The research methodology comprises statistical analysis and content analysis of in-depth interviews. The holding of this sports megaevent led to significant infrastructural transformations of the territory, changes in the rules of doing business and the formation of a competitive situation in local markets. Research interviews with entrepreneurs and statistics show that the tourism, accommodation, and catering sectors have benefited from visits by numerous foreign guests. At the same time, the long-term outlook can be linked more to the development of domestic tourism than to corresponding flows from abroad. The legacy of the World Cup includes not only sports and other infrastructure facilities, but also a tougher competitive environment for local businesses. This is particularly evident in the areas of accommodation and retail trade. In recent years, local entrepreneurs have been forced to compete with both federal and foreign companies, many of which entered the Mordovian markets in anticipation of this sports megaevent held in Saransk.