How football is tackling the Coronavirus
By Milo O’Neill
Will the fans ever return? (Image courtesy of Pixabay)
Football. Soccer. Whatever you may call it, it is one of the world’s most popular sports. In fact, according to sportsshow.net, it is watched by 3.5 billion fans all over the world. That is nearly half of the world’s population! However, in the last few months, barely anyone has been watching any form of football due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Football competitions all over the world have been postponed and cancelled, and football fans all around the world have not had much to talk about.
“I used to read a lot about my favourite team, but now there are not as many articles to explore,” says Reuben Hui, a Year 7 student and passionate football fan.
Over two months after the first football competitions were postponed, some countries are recovering from the Coronavirus outbreak. Take Germany, for example. Germany has experienced a lot of cases, but a low fatality rate - as of May 22nd, 2020, they have had 179,021 cases and 8,203 deaths.
As a result, the German authorities decided to allow German football to restart, but with extra rules and safety measures, in order to limit the spread of Coronavirus. The most significant and prominent of these rules is the fact that there will be no fans in the stadium, changing the game’s atmosphere completely. Furthermore, goal celebrations have to take place within the social distancing rules, the footballs have to be sterilized and all players, coaching staff and support staff have to take mandatory Covid-19 tests. These new rules could give us an insight into what football might look like in the future.
But can football really return? Just ask Spain national team manager Luis Enrique. He called football with no fans “sadder than dancing with your sister.”
“According to some sources fans will not be able to return for another whole year. This makes it less enjoyable for the players and the supporters,” says Hui.
For many, football without fans isn’t football. Fans are a huge part of the sport, and without them, football matches will not be the same. Empty stadiums are not ideal, but they are necessary, in order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
As the world starts to recover from Covid-19, football fans can expect to see major leagues all around the world restart soon, bringing back the adrenaline and excitement that football fans enjoy.