ABSTRACT
Writing in advance of the Football World Cup held in France between 10 June and 12 July 1998, Co-President of the French Organising Committee Michel Platini declared that ‘No organising committee, whether it be for the World Cup or the Olympic Games, can do without the help of volunteers. They are absolutely essential’ (quoted in France 98: 16th FIFA-World Cup Press Kit, 1998: 43). Following the tradition established at many previous major international sports events (such as the 1994 World Cup in the USA, the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996 and the Winter Olympics in Nagano in 1998) – which we will refer to hereafter in this chapter as sports mega-events – France 98 involved 12,000 volunteers. It was the largest volunteer programme ever undertaken in the country and required considerable planning, training and management (France 98: 16th FIFA-World Cup Press Kit, 1998: 141).
