Residents Perceptions of the Economic Impacts of Hosting Mega Sports Events: A Cross-Sectional Study of Host Cities of AFCON 2022 in Cameroon

Economic incentives often constitute the thrustof galvanizing local community support for mega sports events. The purpose ofthis study was to explore the perceptions of residents of the AFCON 2022 hostcities on the economic impacts of the mega sports event on their lives and thecity. The cross-sectional study employed a quantitative research paradigmthrough the use of a questionnaire in collecting 1683 duly completed responsesfrom residents of the five AFCON 2022 host cities. Participants were randomlyselected among residents who expressed willingness to take part in the studyand descriptive and exploratory data analysis was performed on the data. Theanalysis revealed that the respondents place great importance on the securitysituation in the country and perceive economic benefits to be related to thesecurity situation. It is therefore concluded that to derive maximum economicbenefits from AFCON 2022, the government needed to have found a speedy way toresolve the ongoing armed conflict. Practicaland policy implications are discussed, particularly the development ofinclusive policies that would bring more women into the economic mainstream andthe combating of poverty with systematic policy instruments, rather than with aonce-off event such as the AFCON mega event.