Impact of COVID-19 on Sport
By || Study point kashmir
News desk || study point kashmir || 24 October 2020
Article
The ongoing health crisis due to the coronavirus outbreak has halted all sporting events across the world.There has been absolutely no action on the field and no live telecast of any sporting action since the last two months.The deadly coronavirus has so far taken 305,000 lives across the world while as the number of confirmed cases globally has surged past 4.5 million which has created an unprecedented crisis around the world.Amid all this the global sporting community has been forced to either cancel or postpone the various sports events worldwide.One of the much anticipated and most significant of the events due to take place this summer was the Tokyo Olympics 2020 but unfortunately it won't take place as scheduled due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The international Olympic committee has formally announced to postpone the event till july 23 to August 8,2021.The Indian premier league which happens to be one of the most popular cricket leagues around the world with lot of money and fans involved in it has already been postponed.The 2020 Wimbledon tennis championships have been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.It is the first time the championships have been called off since World War II.According to the international Tennis federation 900 tournaments across all its circuits had to be postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.The French Open has already been postponed until September 20 to October 4.In football the Major League Soccer top-tier football league in the worst hit US has extended its postponement of matches in the country until June 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.In Germany the top flight Bundesliga has been on hold since march while as this year's Copa America has been postponed until 2021.The African Nations Championship 2020 soccer tournament scheduled for April in Cameroon has been postponed indefinitely and The African Nations Championship 2020 soccer tournament scheduled for April in Cameroon has been postponed indefinitely and The Euro 2020 tournament has been postponed until 2021 by its governing body UEFA.In a major development The London Marathon,which was scheduled to take place on April 26,has been postponed until October 4.Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona marathons have also been postponed.The Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix, which was scheduled originally for August 2 can only take place without spectators.The action on the field of cricket is also missing since march.All the cricketing events around the world have either been postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus spread.A number of bilateral cricket series have been cancelled while as the Pakistan super league (PSL) had to postponed just before the semifinals.The Indian premier league also stand postponed for now while as the Much awaited T20 world cup scheduled to be held in Australia later this year seems to be under some uncertainty as of now.Many events in rugby,athletics,golf etc have also been cancelled due to the Corona scare.The standstill in the world of sports have forced the fans to re- watch the previous matches while as the sports stars in various sports have been trying to remain in touch with the fans through online live sessions on various social media platforms like the Instagram,youtube,Twitter etcAmong other things the novel coronavirus has given a huge blow to the sports.Millions have been lost in the world of sports by players,broadcasters,organisers and sponsors.The sports industry as a whole has been hit hardly by the pandemic.The key revenue generation for sports bodies is through licensing of television broadcast rights.With the stoppage in sporting events,it is obivious that most sporting bodies will face huge financial losses.Even if the sports events resume It would be interesting to see how the sports bodies cope up with the situation post the pandemic as many sports believe that there will be lasting disruption to the sports as the willingness of spectators to rush back to crowded stadiums will be tested.With this huge challenge of COVID-19 to the sporting world there is an urgent need to cope up with the situation in a measured manner.To begin with closed door competitions sans spectators could be a good idea to keep the players fit and to provide the people some entertainment at home through live action on TV.The sporting industry cant afford to lose both the fan base and the money.its obvious that the present scenario is going to continue for a longer period of time so a new approach is needed to deal with the situation.lets hope the sporting bodies across the world come up with a novel strategy to deal with the novel coronavirus and save the sports.
STUDY POINT KASHMIR
By || Rayees masroor
Kupwara Kashmir
(The writer is a writer and columnist and can be reached at rayeesrocks20@gmail.com)
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