Researchers at Coventry University's Centre for the International Business of Sport (CIBS) are preparing themselves for a summer of frenetic research activity, ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

With the tournament set to be held in Africa for the first time, the effects of the economic downturn still being felt in sport, and with the commercial development of football continuing apace, members of CIBS will be actively involved in closely monitoring and researching the business and management of the World Cup.

Professor Simon Chadwick, founder and Director of CIBS, believes that the World Cup is one of the globe's most important competitions for sport business researchers:

"The tournament represents a major opportunity for CIBS to further develop its research activities. Not only is it one of the most important events in the sporting calendar, but it also brings many sport business and sport management issues into sharp focus. As such, observing, analysing and reporting on South Africa 2010 will help us to better understand many of the most important emerging phenomena in sport.

"At CIBS, we will be taking a wide-ranging view of the tournament as we examine several of the most important aspects of the World Cup, while personally I will be closely monitoring various aspects of marketing, branding, commercial strategy, event management and security."

Deputy Director of CIBS, Dr Anna Semens, will be working directly with researchers in South Africa in order to assess the impact that FIFA's showcase event is having on entrepreneurial activity in the country.

Dr Semens will actually be spending her time working in South Africa for the duration of the tournament, interviewing and surveying local entrepreneurs as she seeks to identify how and where the World Cup is affecting business activity in the country.

"This is an exciting research opportunity that will give us first-hand information on the commercial impact of the World Cup", said Dr Semens. "I am hopeful that our research will provide value-adding insight into the way major sporting events influence commercial activity amongst small and medium enterprises."

Dr John Beech will be focusing on tourism in South Africa, specifically the fans that travel to the country and most notably those who choose to spend their time visiting and watching games in fan zones.

An experienced tourism researcher, Dr Beech believes that there are some important issues facing visitors to the World Cup:

"Clearly, some people have concerns about security, while others may still be affected by prevailing economic problems, which may be influencing their travel plans. However, there are also likely to be some more positive aspects to tourism. For example, the burgeoning use of fan zones, the people who visit them and their reasons for doing so have become interesting issues in their own right."

CIBS Research Fellows, Nick Burton, Lingling Liu and Sam Gorse, will also be closely following world football's big occasion. Since Germany 2006, Burton has been tracking and analysing cases of ambush marketing at sporting mega-events. Having compiled a database of more than 500 cases of ambushing, Burton thinks that we can expect more of the same during the World Cup. He said:

"We have already observed cases of ambushers trying to pass themselves off as official World Cup partners, and this type of activity will intensify as we get closer to the tournament."

Latest CIBS recruit Liu has just joined the CIBS team, having recently organised and managed the World Cup trophy's tour of Asia. Her focus will be on the competition's legacy in South Africa, something she is seeking to compare with the legacies of Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

Liu believes that the World Cup can have a positive impact on host countries, but equally there may be negative externalities too.  She said: "The economic benefits may not always be equitably spread. We will therefore be trying to assess how the tournament affects the country."

Following several recent high profile cases of athlete transgression and continuing concerns about governance and corruption in sport, Sam Gorse is researching the link between such phenomena and the activities of sponsors and other commercial partners.

"What the Tiger Woods case showed us is that commercial partners seem to be increasingly prepared to terminate deals if transgression or corruption reflect badly upon them', states Gorse.

"During the World Cup, players, managers and officials will be under close scrutiny, not just for transgressionary activity, but also for any evidence of drug-taking and corruption too. I will be following such stories, especially those with the potential for significant commercial fallout."

Professor Simon Chadwick concludes: "The business of sport is at the core of research we are engaged in here at CIBS. As one of the biggest global sporting events, the World Cup is clearly fertile ground for our research team. We are looking forward to an exciting tournament on the field, but we are equally excited by the prospect of an intriguing event off the field too."