Empty seats as coronavirus hits the world of sports

The coronavirus pandemic has sent shockwaves around the world, leading to a public health emergency that has killed more than 100,000 people and has affected more than 1.5 million people. The stock markets around the globe have plunged and almost half of the world is under lockdown.

The novel coronavirus is not only threatening to human life but also affecting the global economy and sports as well. Major sporting events have been cancelled or postponed.

The global value of the sports industry was estimated to be $471 billion in 2018 – an increase of 45 percent since 2011. Now, every part of the sporting value chain has been affected, from athletes, teams and leagues, to the media that broadcast and cover games.

Let’s take a look at the major sports events impacted by the coronavirus around the globe.

Cricket

All major international cricket series and domestic tournament have been cancelled or postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The latest tournament that affected from the virus was Indian Premier League (IPL) – the biggest T20 tournament in the world. IPL was originally scheduled to start on March 29.

At the same time, the One-day international series between India and South Africa played behind closed doors.

Pakistan Super League’s semi-final and final stage were also postponed. PSL last three fixtures were organized with no spectators.

Similarly, a swathe of qualifiers due to take place before July for T20 World Cup and 2023 50-over World Cup were also postponed.

Football

With over four billion followers of football, it is by far the most popular sport around the globe. The novel coronavirus has also affected the football industry badly. All international and clubs matches have been postponed.

The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) has postponed Euro Cup 2020 until 2021 and has also cancelled all other international matches scheduled for June. The Copa America has been moved from June 2020 to summer 2021.  

UEFA has postponed the Champions League, Europa League and women’s Champions League finals, originally scheduled for May but has given no new dates.

The English Premier League has been suspended until April 30. In Germany, the Bundesliga suspension has been extended to April 30.

All professional football has been suspended indefinitely in Spain. Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 and women’s football have been suspended indefinitely in France.

Tokyo Olympics

The International Olympic Committee and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have concluded that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics must be postponed. 

The decision was made after holding out for weeks as local organisers and the IOC came under increasing pressure from athletes, national Olympic bodies and sports federations.

The event will now take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021

Tennis

Over 1 billion followers, Tennis becomes the most popular individual-based sport. Wimbledon – the oldest tennis tournament – has also joined the list of the major sports event to be affected by the coronavirus. The two-week event was due to start on June 29.

The French Open has been postponed from its May 24-June 7 slots to September 20-October 4. The finals of the Fed Cup, scheduled for Budapest from April 14-19, postponed indefinitely.

The US Women’s Open in Houston has been postponed from the end of spring to the middle of December.

Marathons

The longest distance race – Marathon – has also been affected by the coronavirus. The London Marathon, which was scheduled to take place on April 26, has been postponed until October 4.

The Boston Marathon, originally scheduled for April 4, is now expected to take place on September 14. Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona marathons have also been postponed. 

The Tokyo Marathon, which usually attracts 300,000 participants, was restricted to only 200 elite runners on March 1.

Boxing

An only combat sport in the list, boxing is truly global just like Tennis and Athletics. The world boxing heavyweight title fight between Briton Anthony Joshua and the IBF’s mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev originally scheduled for June 20 has been postponed.

The Tokyo Olympic boxing qualifiers for Asia and Oceania were moved to Jordan from China.

The European, American and final world qualifying boxing tournaments for the Olympic Games have also been suspended.

Golf

A very docile sport involving no real physical competition and can be played by people of all ages. Recently, the open championship 2020 cancelled for the first time since World War II.

The Masters’ Tournament 2020 has been provisionally rescheduled for November 12-15. The Indian and China opens have both been postponed. The Evian Masters women’s golf tournament has been moved to August.