THE coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) which has swept the world over the past year has not only had a significant impact on public health, society and the economy as a whole, it also wreaked havoc on the sporting calendar. In an effort to stem the spread of the virus, many professional and amateur leagues on all continents and in all sports have taken the unprecedented step of postponing or suspending their seasons on the advice of the CDC in order to avoid gatherings large quantities of people.
Following the news that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, the NBA was the first professional sports league in the United States to suspend its season indefinitely. At the time of the season’s suspension on March 11, 2020, there were still 259 games remaining in the 2019/20 NBA regular season. Combined league revenue Losses resulting from these cancellations were estimated at between US$350 million and US$450 million. The NBA was finally able to resume its season in a bio-secure “bubble” at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando. 22 teams still within reach of the playoffs played ranked matches, which were followed by the conventional post-season tournament. THE NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the LA Lakers ended with the victory of the latter on October 11, 2020, almost a year after the start of the regular season. The 2020-21 NBA season began less than two months later, in December 2020, with the regular season reduced to 72 games for each team. While fans have been allowed to return to arenas this season, only seven teams have played all of their home games in front of fans since the start of the season.
The day after the NBA’s initial suspension in March 2020, the NCAA, the organization responsible for college sports, followed the professional league’s lead in canceling all of its remaining winter and spring championships, including the wildly popular “March Madness” men’s basketball tournament. Television and marketing rights for this tournament alone, that represents 867.5 million US dollars, all thrown into chaos with the announcement of the first cancellation of the tournament since its inaugural season in 1939. Besides the financial hit that each college Due to participating in the ordeal suffered, the city of Atlanta, which was to host the Final Four stage of March Madness, was particularly affected. THE the city is estimated to have lost more than 100 million US dollars in areas such as ticket sales, advertising and sponsorship due to the postponement of this event. March Madness returned in 2021 and was hosted in several locations across the state of Indiana.
Upon arriving at the circuit, the Formula One the schedule was also affected by the pandemic. On March 12, 2020, Formula 1 canceled the Australian Grand Prix and upcoming races in Bahrain and Vietnam were postponed until the following day. THE potential loss of income Combined hosting costs for the entire season, paid by individual host countries, are expected to total more than US$602 million. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the F1 season, it is no surprise that the Formula 1 group lost 45 percent of its capital. market value on stock exchange, which represents an estimated loss of five billion US dollars. The season finally began on July 5 at the Austrian Grand Prix, with a total of 17 races contested in 2020. Among the Grands Prix scheduled on the initial calendar, only four races retained their initial dates. In the 2021 season, three Grands Prix were canceled or postponed, with 23 races scheduled until December 2021.
The Summer Olympics are a historic sporting event that has also been affected by the crisis. The 2020 edition of the Games was due to take place in Tokyo at the end of July but, in March 2020, it became the first edition of the Olympic Games to be postponed to a later date, July-August 2021. This is a decision that the IOC has clearly taken action. was not taken lightly, especially since it affected 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,4400 Paralympic athletes who had been training for years for this occasion. As with all Olympic Games, the financial burden on the host country is also enormous. The new Tokyo Olympic Stadium alone cost US$277 million and Japan has incurred a total of 13.4 billion US dollars for the organization of the event. Although the IOC has insurance In the event of cancellation, postponing the tournament to 2021 has certainly been a logistical and economic headache for all parties involved. On the eve of the Tokyo Olympic Games rescheduled for 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced a series of measures eSports Events, keeping in mind the potential future inclusion of video games in the Olympics. The said Olympic Virtual Series would feature video game-based competitions in five different sports: auto racing, baseball, cycling, rowing and sailing.
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