From Olympics to Football: A World Without Sports

By Muskan Bhatnagar

"Bro, I miss watching football," said Arun, a 19-year old football fan.

"So do I, especially watching Leo score goals for Barca" replied his best friend Samank, another football freak.

It's been 1.5 hours since they've started discussing football and the discussion seems to have no end.

"Also bro, I've shared a video with you about the greatest El Classico goals ever. Do watch it. Bye!" said Samank, before hanging up the call.

"Sure buddy thanks, I'll call you tomorrow. Bye!" replied Arun.

Arun and Samank are not the only ones who miss watching their favorite sports live. Since the Coronavirus outbreak, things have completely changed in the sports world, for both fans and sportspersons.

The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a huge impact on sports, the biggest example being the 2020 Summer Olympics or Tokyo 2020 as it is commonly called.

The pandemic caused the postponement of 2020 Summer Olympics as on 30 March, Tokyo Organizing Committee (TOCOG) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) released a statement that they had reached an agreement regarding the newly changed dates for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, with the opening ceremony on 23 July 2021 and the Closing Ceremony to take place on 8 August 2021. Originally, the games were scheduled from 24 July to 9 August 2020.

The news was surely heartbreaking for all the fans worldwide who've been waiting for the past 4 years and for the participants who've been practicing day and night to prepare for the competition.

Concerns about the potential impact of Coronavirus outbreak on athletes and spectators were raised in January 2020. The qualifying events which are held before the Olympics were postponed or the venues were moved to alternative locations. For instance, the boxing qualification tournament which took place in Amman, Jordan was initially planned to be held at a.Wuhan, China, the epicenter of Coronavirus outbreak. Other than this, compulsory doping tests were called off due to the pandemic in early 2020

For the first time ever, the Olympics have been postponed rather than being canceled. The delay of one year will cost Japan 640.8 billion yen (US$5.8 billion). Complete cancellation would have cost 4.52 trillion yen (US$41.5 billion) to Japan.

Not just the Olympics, all sports events are facing huge losses from all aspects especially financially.

"The economies of sport will be affected the most, with many associations and athletes underfunded due to lack of events over this time," Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra told PTI talking about the outbreak.

Talking about tennis, the Wimbledon has been called off and the French Open has been pushed to September.

All top leagues have been canceled in football too which has majorly affected the revenue. Premier League is likely to lose more than 600 million pounds if the season is not over by June end.

Read More: Lockdown 2020: Prevention or punishment?

Similarly, from cricket to F1, all sports are facing losses. The global sports industry will generate $61.6 billion less than the projected revenue before the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, viewers and fans from across the globe are eager to watch live sports. In this difficult phase which has turned out to be "boring" for many, the absence of sports seems to be a big issue. Only 53% of the major sports events originally scheduled for 2020 are likely to take place this calendar year. As the fans look forward to watching their favorite events, teams and players live, likewise, the players too are impatient to get back on their respective fields and hear the crowds cheer for them.