It has come as no surprise to anyone that the sports industry has been heavily affected by COVID-19 as has many parts of society with the tragic loss of lives hitting home for many, but how badly have the effects been, and will certain aspects of sports be able to recover.
A requirement that everyone has been told to follow during the COVID-19 pandemic is social distancing. This is to keep everyone safe and stop the transmission of the virus from spreading. This has meant that for many sports, there have been no fans allowed into stadiums (apart from a brief period before the third lockdown). Not only has this had an impact on the way athletes have been playing but also clubs have not been able to gain income from ticket sales meaning all clubs are missing a massive economic income they usually have.
Without games being played at all during the first lockdown, it had meant that broadcasting was not able to continue which led to many companies losing millions in advertising revenue. Employees also lost their jobs as there was nothing for them to work on. Another big hit was that Leagues like the NBA lost millions in revenue from their Tv contracts as they had to suspend their season. Without income coming in from ticket sales, advertising, sponsorships, and broadcasting many teams struggled to pay their players, coaches, and staff wages. Many players across the world had taken pay cuts and many employees at different sports teams also lost their jobs.
Like everyone, athletes have had to come to terms with the new way in which we live and have had to learn how to adapt to the new conditions. Playing their sports has been hard for many reasons including the lack of fans and teammates having to isolate at different times. Not having any fans to support them during their games and events means that athletes have not been able to get the adrenaline rush that they get when hearing the crowds chanting and supporting them which has led to many athletes not performing in the way that they want. Also, if athletes end up catching COVID-19 it leads them to have to self-isolate which means clubs might have to postpone matches and games or have to go into the games without certain players who were in their plans for that game.
Massive Events like the Olympics and Euros have had to been postponed and moved to 2021 so that there is hope that at least some fans will be able to go and watch whilst also making sure that the athletes and staff are safe. Not only has the movement and suspension of events and leagues had massive effects for members of the sports industry but also for society in general. Many use sports as a way to escape, being able to sit down and watch a bit of football for example can do someone the world of good. Sport is a passion for many and to see it being taken away by COVID-19 is a massive shame and hopefully, when we have a better grasp on defeating COVID-19 we can return to as much normality as possible.