Having been a major talking point throughout this whole period since the COVID-19 hit us, the notion of live sport returning to action has been widely received with open arms. A number of teams both in the footballing world and other sporting disciplines have been doing a lot of work to help out their governments in terms of helping fight this deadly virus we face during these uncertain times. Various ways of helping have been seen such as reduced wages and stadia being offered with the later solution recently as Watford football club offer Vicarage Road as a hosting place for NHS staff. These efforts are greatly admired by most of the general public but the main question then becomes, how long can this be maintained?
I ask this based on the fact that there have been multiple meetings between different governing bodies for all kinds of sport to return to action behind closed doors. Going into an area I am more familiar with, we see how the German soccer league (Bundesliga) is set to reopen sometime in May, with no specific date but Bundesliga CEO, Christian Seifert has said the 9th of May may be the day. This has seen teams from the German League return to training, along with all coaching staff and the rest of the staff altogether. This decision, made by the German footballing government has come about after meetings with club officials seem to see the main concern being the fact that contracts and certain salaries have to be maintained, with most of the money coming from tv rights and ticket sales. However, because it is simply impossible to allow fans to come and enjoy the stadium experience, the TV rights have been a major talking point along with the argument that players will not be both physically and mentally ready to return to action if the “break” continues. These arguments are all in the favor of the teams and the fans (I for one am excited, it’s been too long without football!). However, I believe we as a whole, fans and the public look at the bigger picture, the fact that even though the games are played behind closed doors, a lot of people are involved in making this happen, from the ground staff, coaching staff to the players themselves. With the virus said to sometimes take about 2 weeks to suffice and the beautiful game being a contact sport, we can never be too sure that the people involved are fully safe and protected from the virus.
Another problem to be considered is the fact that the fans are the 12th man on the football pitch and without them, the atmosphere, something is lost, especially with most players saying that one of the reasons they play the beautiful game is to see those fans on the stands happy and smiling, hence some motivation lost. As usual, there have been safety measures that have been put in such as continuous testing of all the people involved but there are still a few loopholes. Let’s take for example a situation where someone, unfortunately, contracts the virus from elsewhere (e.g. home) and they are tested positive after being in and around the rest of the team throughout a training session, there could be detrimental effects.
In as much as players might be confirmed fit to play, I feel like there's something unnatural about playing in an empty stadium. For sportspeople who are stimulated by crowds, an empty stadium can have an effect on their morale. I don't know, maybe there'll be virtual chanting and cheering in the background.
With the English Premier League set to return too, there a lot of people are for the idea, with a lot of important issues still in need of sorting out such as Champions League positions along with relegation and promotion and of course, seeing the 2019/2020 champions-elect claim their first Premier League title which would also see a first top-flight championship in 30 years for the current Club World Cup champions. As a lifelong Liverpool fan, the only thing that would make my year is seeing the squad lift that Premier League trophy but I also wouldn’t want to enjoy that moment while worried that someone from the squad or staff is not fully well due to the COVID-19 attacking them as a result of the season being re-opened or anyone from any other team or league for that matter.
As a football fan with attachment not only to the sport but also my favorite players who work diligently to reach the maximum of their capabilities entertaining the public, I say that sport shouldn’t return to action until there is an absolute certainty that the health of the players and all staff involved. This is a tough one but there’s a need to consider ethics and in this case, health comes first regardless of economic implications. The enemy we’re all concentrating on is the virus and there’s a need to be considerate and disregard some luxuries like entertainment.
Cover Image courtesy of The New York Times
Article written by Busani Ndlovu
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