After leaving hospitals scrambling for help, crushing stock markets everywhere and disrupting almost every airline route, the COVID-19 pandemic finally took a toll in the world of sports this week.
From European hockey and football leagues suspending or cancelling their seasons altogether to the NBA and NHL putting hundreds on hold indefinitely, league after league has had to cope with the increasing spread of the novel coronavirus worldwide.
After a massive outbreak of COVID-19 in Italy, the hardest-hit country outside of China with 12,462 confirmed cases so far, many of the large events in the continent have been canceled or postponed until further notice. Austria, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and the UK are among the countries that have already suspended large events, over 1,000 people, or called for events to be held with closed doors.
One by one, all the major European football leagues have announced changes to their upcoming schedule of fixtures to accommodate the growing fears of a generalized spread. The Italian Serie A announced on Monday, March 9, the suspension of all its games until at least April 3. Following the announcement, Juventus and Italy National Team center back Daniele Rugani tested positive for COVID-19, making him the first footballer among the five biggest European leagues to contract the virus.
“At this point, there is no reason for sporting events to continue. I’m talking about the football championship. I’m sorry to say this, but the fans should take note of this. We will not even allow gyms to be used for sports,” Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.
The Spanish top-flight league La Liga also announced on Wednesday that it will take steps to suspends all its fixtures for at least the next two weeks. In addition to the league-wide suspension, Spanish giants Real Madrid have put all of its players under quarantine after one of the club’s basketball players tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the team announced on Thursday. The French Ligue One, the British Premier League and the German Bundesliga also announced they will be suspending games, making it the first time in history that the “big five” football leagues in Europe are all suspended.
On the continental level, the EURO 2020, with previous kick-off scheduled for June 12 in Italy, could be pushed to the summer of 2021 to avoid the unnecessary spread of the virus and to allow extra time to conclude all the national football leagues. The Champions League, after a dazzling Wednesday night that saw Atletico Madrid and PSG come from behind to qualify to the quarterfinals of the competition, will also postpone next week’s games, as announced by the UEFA on Friday.
In the light of developments due to the spread of COVID-19 in Europe and related decisions made by different governments, all UEFA club competitions matches scheduled next week are postponed. #UCL and #UEL quarter-final draws have also been postponed.
Full statement: 👇
— UEFA (@UEFA) March 13, 2020
Many fans and managers have criticised games being played behind closed doors. So, a move to league-wide suspension makes more sense. However, the financial losses of playing games without crowds or canceling leagues will be a tough blow to an already plummeting European economy. In the 2019/20 season, the five “big leagues” (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Seria A and Ligue One) generated around €17.95 billion in revenue, Real Madrid by itself generated around €757 million in total revenue during the same time. Whereas the Champions League generated €2.1 billion in total revenue during the 2017/18 season, all data according to German stats-tracking website Statista. The impact of rescheduling or canceling EURO 2020 could have similar losses in revenue for the UEFA.
“The suspensions and cancellations of major sporting events throughout the world are unprecedented and might force governing bodies to answer even more difficult questions later. Fans have formed habits from, year after year, following seasons unfold and tournaments progress,” said Todd McFall, Sports Economics professor at Wake Forest University. “If I were a commissioner of a league or a president of a team or an event, I’d worry about fans not coming back.”
In the US, the NBA suspended the remainder of its season on Wednesday night after Utah Jazz star center Rudy Gobert showed symptoms and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Following the NBA, the NHL and MLS also announced the suspension of their season “until further notice.”
The #NBA is suspending its season. pic.twitter.com/78gChFJJLy
— Raul Martinez (@RaulNBCBoston) March 12, 2020
The NCAA, the American association of collegiate sports, decided to cancel its upcoming March Madness basketball tournament, an event that generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the NCAA and universities. Other big sports events such as Formula 1 are also expected to suspend its operations with the Australian Grand Prix being canceled days before the start of the F1 season. US President Donald Trump also suggested postponing for a year the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo set to take place this summer, which never happened in the events’ long history.
”The concern is how to cope with the next pandemic? Now that one has happened, the cost of insuring against these events (in sports) is going to magnify. How many contingencies should event or league organizers start creating? I’m frankly surprised that the NCAA basketball tournaments were canceled. Was it partially because the NCAA didn’t have proper back-up plans? Was it a failure of the imagination or just too expensive to consider?” McFall said.
If the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, the next few months could mark the first time in the modern era that all the whole world of sports will temporarily come to a halt.
