The impact of COVID-19 sport events

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In the modern world, the sports issue has become an integral part of international relations. The outbreak of the coronavirus forced the suspension of sports events. In a year when the European Football Championship was to be held in 12 European countries (June-July), and the Olympic Games in Tokyo are scheduled for July-August, the sports calendar is completely revised.

Some sports events have been canceled. Some have been moved to other cities or postponed indefinitely. Other sports events are held without spectators or with a limit on the number of visitors. The pandemic has sowed a real panic in world sports. The organizers of sports events were not ready to take responsibility and were waiting for instructions from the national authorities and from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Sports Challenges On The Events During The Pandemic

Restrictive measures in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic have led to changes in the usual life activities including sports events and physical activity. Mass sports were the most affected by COVID-19.

However, the pandemic also affected professional sports and interested stakeholders: athletes, coaches, instructors, administrative personnel (employees of sports organizations), volunteers, officials involved in competitions (judges, members of delegations), enterprises, in particular micro and small businesses (fitness – clubs, gyms, retailers, event organizers, marketing agencies, sports product manufacturers).

The global value of the sports industry is estimated at $756 billion annually. Approximately $270 billion (36%) is in the retail sector, $200 billion (26%) in infrastructure, food, drinks, and sports betting is $171 billion. USA (23%) – for the professional sports industry and USD 115 billion (15%) – for the fees of clubs and gyms. Some of the owners manage to get their hands on quick loans, like the ones you can get at https://directloantransfer.com/payday-loans-online/, but others weren’t so lucky.

Sport is a significant sector in the economies of regions of the world and individual countries. For example, in the EU, the share of GDP associated with sports events is 279.7 billion euros which is equivalent to 2.12% of the total EU GDP.

The number of people employed in sports is 5.67 million which corresponds to 2.72% of those employed in the EU. Every 37th employee is engaged in sports events. The non-profit organization European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI) highlights a number of challenges faced by the European sports industry that are typical for all regions of the world:

• Sports organizations lost income because they were unable to provide citizens with a range of their own services. At the same time, it coincided with the period when the season for most sports begins: preparation and holding of competitions are organized, funds are raised through tournaments, various events, seminars, training camps are organized. Sports organizations have also lost a significant portion of their permanent income which comes from various payments including membership fees, licenses, and subscriptions.
• Athletes have lost an entire season and, as a result, certain financial benefits, as well as coaches and the opportunity to take part in sports and compete. For some, this means a loss of the opportunity to improve their status and receive funds from private and public sources (at the local, regional and national levels).
• Athletes did not receive financial support (scholarships) due to the drop in income of sports organizations. Organizations were struggling financially. They still had fixed payment obligations regardless of the loss of income. The problem of unemployment intensified: layoffs of employees, athletes, coaches, and other workers especially those whose wages depended on the aforementioned sources of income.
• Organizations have lost a significant portion of their unpaid workforce as volunteers have limited mobility during the pandemic. Industries that are directly or indirectly associated with the sports industry and scheduled events are seeing current business models fail. As a consequence, there is a need to change business strategies regarding certain events in the short and long term. It has affected a large number of jobs as well as entrepreneurs.

In connection with the fall in income, sports organizations are forced to reduce their costs in various ways which often affects the position of the athletes themselves. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many football clubs had to cut wages to their players (sometimes to the coaching staff): in Atletico and Barcelona they were forced to cut wages by 70%, in Juventus, the reduction in payments to players will save about 90 million euros, and in Borussia will keep 850 full-time and part-time employees working.

However, not all sports organizations were able to cope with the consequences of the pandemic: for example, the US Rugby Federation filed for bankruptcy due to financial difficulties.

Sports Affected

Already at the end of February, professional athletes began to massively refuse to travel to competitions. Therefore, the organizers of some of them closed access to spectators of the events. The stages of the Biathlon World Cup and Cross-Country Skiing were among the first to suffer.

The most high-profile event in the sports world since the start of the pandemic was the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. On March 30, 2020, the International Olympic Committee announced that the games will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021. At the same time, despite the transfer, they will retain the name of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Paralympic Games will be held from August 24 to September 5, 2021.

Photo by Steven Lelham on Unsplash