Let’s Win This Game Together’: Children’s Rights Violations, Macrosecuritisation and the Transformative Potential of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil

Sport's transformative potential is known to support marginalised children, to deal with traumatic experiences and instil positive values; yet hosting mega sporting events (MSEs) can have negative impacts. Drawing on participatory research with favela-based children during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, this article argues that MSEs bring a macro-securitisation of urban life, which causes considerable harm. This paper also suggests that the inclusion of children's voices in advocacy debates can challenge top-down securitisation and might allow MSEs to foster further positive social transformation. Therefore, juxtaposed with causing harm, macro-securitisations can open opportunities for children to take action and have their voices heard.