From inspiration to nostalgia: the football participation legacy of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan

Mass sport participation as a legacy of sports mega-events has been emphasized among scholars for decades. However, little is known about its effect in East Asian countries, especially Japan and South Korea, two major hosts of such events. Therefore, this study examines the causal connection between the 2002 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup Korea/Japan and football participation in the host countries. It is the first to use an empirical analysis based on the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and one of the few that combines the psychological constructs of inspiration and nostalgia to determine if they translate into behavioural changes in sport participation. Additionally, the study identifies the differences in the World Cup's spectatorship type and nationality. The results revealed that both inspiration and nostalgia evoked by the 2002 World Cup positively influenced football participation. However, not many differences were found in spectatorship pattern nor nationality.