COVID-19 has caused the sports world to shut down and postpone or cancel events. In addition to league cancellations within the United States, international sports, such as soccer and tennis – not to mention the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which has officially been postponed until 2021, have been affected.
Organizations such as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) have canceled leagues such as La Liga and they are expected to come back in mid-May.
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have canceled all of their events until June 7, including the French Open, which has now been postponed until Sept. 20. These cancellations and postponements affected the schedule in September, which led to Wimbledon getting canceled until further notice. The Madrid Open is canceled and the Rogers Cup is postponed until 2021.
Although these decisions were hard to make they are supposed to be the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
When COVID-19 first hit, many sports only took precautionary measures. Since then, France, the United Kingdom and Italy stopped all sports events.
It’s not just major international sports either. Cricket, volleyball, rugby and even golf have been halted. Especially in cricket, which requires many qualifying matches because of the four year differences between major tournaments, the global pandemic has hit hard. The Indian Premier League, a yearly T20 (20 over match) cricket league has been postponed to at least April 15, 2020. The International Cricket Council (ICC) decided that the men’s T20 World Cup will continue as scheduled. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would like to postpone the IPL, even if it starts in July or even August but that would require rescheduling the T20 World Cup, which was supposed to be held from Oct.18 to Nov. 15 in Australia.
Some players believe that the IPL should still be held despite major postponements.
“It is the kick-start to the cricket season,” said former England captain Kevin Peitersen on Star Sports Cricket Connected. “I think every single player around the world is desperate to play in the IPL.”
The Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) has been proactive in postponing the major tournaments. The Open Championship has been canceled and the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open and PGA Championship have all been postponed. The PGA Championship is postponed until Aug. 6, the Masters has been moved to Nov. 12 and the U.S. Open is postponed until Sept. 17.
Even fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship have been affected. Reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov from Russia was supposed to fight former lightweight champion American Tony Ferguson, but the fight was canceled.
Despite shelter-in-place orders, athletes are still finding ways to stay in shape and interact with others. Tennis stars like Roger Federer have started challenges at home that have gone viral and are being attempted by fans and players. Cricket players such as West Indies opener Chris Gayle, Australian opener David Warner and Indian batsmen KL Rahul have posted videos on social media of their workouts at home.
One of the most major effects of the lockdown is the economic state of these sports. Tickets, broadcasting, merchandise and sponsorships are the main ways in which leagues make money. The IPL had a $6 billion value in 2018 and in 2017 and Wimbledon generated $289 million, which is on the lower side of what a major event makes. The 2016 Rio Olympics made just over $4 billion, and nearly a quarter, $1.23 billion, came from a TV deal. If games resume without fans, the money made from ticketing and merchandise sales would decrease. However, it could lead to an increase in TV deals because it would be one of the only types of entertainment available to the public.
The biggest factor of the lockdown, however, is the future of all of these sports. The World Athletic Championship was supposed to be held in 2021 but will probably be pushed back to 2022 because of the Olympics. The future of all sports is in question for the next year or two. Will sports be held without fans? Will they be held at all? These questions are yet to be answered but if and when sports resume, the entertainment it brings will surely be noticed.
