Top 10 Sport vs. Covid-19 articles

Article by Daniel Cade, Director at SchweryCade. 

 

Each week, for the past ten weeks, I’ve been sharing ten current news articles that have provided me with an insight into Sport’s actions in response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In keeping with the theme of ten, this week I have listed the ten articles that have resonated most with me over the weeks.

It’s also interesting to go back and look through the other 90 articles that I’ve shared, and to reflect on the way the world has changed over the past ten weeks. You’ll find most of those in other news articles on our website and, from mid-March to Mid-April, in my Linkedin posts.

I was reminded in a recent article about Colin Kaepernick that, “Sport holds a mirror up to society and the reflection isn’t always pleasant”. As society (and organised sport) starts to open up again, and we realise that pre-pandemic issues are still very much present – and extremely unpleasant – my hope is that we will use our unexpected timeout to build a positive and new pathway forward.

 

 

My top 10 (in chronological order)

 

‘It’s our time to give back’: football rallies to fight coronavirus depression

theguardian.com

17.03.2020

“We’re embedded in our community. We need our community to support this club and that’s what we ask for week in, week out, but the role’s been reversed. It’s our time to give back to our community and that’s the mantra of everyone involved.”

 

Shrunken leagues, virtual Olympics and simulated crowds: What sport might look like post-coronavirus

abc.net

28.03.2020

• The shutdown of other sports could mean a flood of interest in virtual competitions as broadcasters, hungry for content, turn to gaming.
• Fans may see sports retract in size or clubs and teams even relocate as finances are managed better. However, in the long term, fans could expect greater stability in the competitions they follow and support, as well as better integrity in their sports as healthier commercial outcomes are invested back into pro sports.
• As sport itself re-emerges from the shutdown, it’s likely that matches played in front of empty stands. Augmented reality is a realistic option to make the return of sport more like the experience fans remember.

 

Coronavirus crisis shines spotlight on football’s lack of leadership

independent.co.uk

02.04.2020

This week a mirror has been held up to the beautiful, morally bankrupt game. The eighth richest football club in the world, who have the highest-paid executive in the Premier League and are owned by a man with an estimated net worth of £4.3bn, announced a 20% salary cut for 550 non-football staff who would be furloughed “where appropriate.”

 

Coronavirus: How are Premier League clubs helping their local communities during pandemic?

www.skysports.com

09.04.2020

All 20 top-flight clubs are doing their bit in society to ensure those most in need of help are being reached. Here’s a run-down of what all of them are doing.

 

Corona: Leaving the current business model of sport offside

playthegame.org

24.04.2020

Few cultural fields, if any, have increased their popularity as much as sports in recent years. Equally, few such fields face as uncertain a future. The short- and medium-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are a big challenge for sport, at least for the kind of sport that has been promoted thus far by the international governing bodies of sport.

 

Unexpected timeout offers global sport chance to tackle its pollution problem

theguardian.com

29.04.2020

With no live sport to watch or play, exercise has never been more precious. Those minutes of freedom, an uncurling away from bad posture on the sofa, lifting the spirits and boosting the heart rate. But, as you slurp your morning lungfuls of air, have your noticed a change? Think the sky has looked a more perfect cornflower, noticed the stars shining a little brighter?

 

Pandemic Means IOC Must Review Budget and Priorities, Says Bach

nytimes.com

29.04.2020

Calling in an open letter for a ‘comprehensive debate’ to shape sport in a post-coronavirus world, Thomas Bach proposed a wide-ranging consultation on the future challenges and possibilities. Bach said the Olympic movement as a whole might “have to look more closely into the proliferation of sports events”.

 

Behind-closed-doors football would be catastrophic for Elgin City – chairman Graham Tatters

pressandjournal.co.uk

18.05.2020

“From our point of view, it’s not so much having no crowd coming in – I think that’s about 10% of our turnover. It’s the fact we’d have no hospitality, social club or functions in the room upstairs.”

 

German football chief Fritz Keller proposes salary caps to help sport through coronavirus pandemic

skysports.com

19.05.2020

The head of the German Football Association (DFB) Fritz Keller has proposed a salary cap to help make the sport more sustainable following the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Trying to save men’s football, but not women’s too, is not really saving football at all

telegraph.co.uk

19.05.2020

In Germany […], the Frauen Bundesliga is still planning to return on 29 May, thus achieving symmetry with the men’s Bundesliga. Why is Germany different? Because funds have been made available for women’s teams to complete the season.