Japan's medical fraternity feels it may not be possible to hold the Tokyo Olympics even from the rescheduled dates of July 23, 2021 if no vaccine or a surefire cure is found. And organising committee head for Tokyo 2020 Yoshiro Mori is categorical that the games will have to be cancelled rather than find new dates!
It may be a path-breaker for several sports organisations, especially UEFA which has rather ambitiously announced fresh dates from June 11, 2021 for the European football championships. The quadrennial event would mark its 60th holding but the planned rather extravagant 12-city 12-nation jamboree may simply not be possible given the trials and travails of some of the major stake holders on the continent.
La Liga (Spain), Ligue One (France), Bundesliga (Germany) and Serie A (Italy) are some of the major competitions still not able to take a firm decision despite the colossal loss of life and the huge dent to the economy. England's Premier League faces pressure from the UK government to get back to business as soon as possible, a shocking scenario to put it quite mildly.
Only the Dutch have been sensible in calling an end to the Ere Divisie with no title awarded and neither will there be any promotion / relegation. Its a blank ... or a zero / gap year!
Looking ahead, one thing is certain. The Japanese know what they are talking about. Holding any major sporting contest without a vaccine or even a cure may not be possible given the physical nature of most competitive pursuits. Plus there is also the danger posed to the myriads of fans packing into the venues to catch a glimpse of the live action!
Yes, television can be a viable alternative but only if there is someone willing to foot the bill. There will be no dearth of eyeballs but given the current economic slump world-wide, sponsors may not be the most eager to get involved. And TV networks do not run on charity. Rights alone cost astronomical amounts of money. Added to that is the production and distribution costs. Without someone willing to pay for it all, events could be a non-starter.
Better option would be to start slow, as is likely to happen with the economy! Just as companies get into recovery mode, sports must follow the example with smaller scale individual, stand-alone events to test the waters.
Let 2020 be set aside, just as the last century saw the nearly 10 years affected by the two great wars treated as an enforced break!
The sun is bound to appear after the worst of storms! Skillful navigating through the troubled times must be the watchword!
It may be a path-breaker for several sports organisations, especially UEFA which has rather ambitiously announced fresh dates from June 11, 2021 for the European football championships. The quadrennial event would mark its 60th holding but the planned rather extravagant 12-city 12-nation jamboree may simply not be possible given the trials and travails of some of the major stake holders on the continent.
La Liga (Spain), Ligue One (France), Bundesliga (Germany) and Serie A (Italy) are some of the major competitions still not able to take a firm decision despite the colossal loss of life and the huge dent to the economy. England's Premier League faces pressure from the UK government to get back to business as soon as possible, a shocking scenario to put it quite mildly.
Only the Dutch have been sensible in calling an end to the Ere Divisie with no title awarded and neither will there be any promotion / relegation. Its a blank ... or a zero / gap year!
Looking ahead, one thing is certain. The Japanese know what they are talking about. Holding any major sporting contest without a vaccine or even a cure may not be possible given the physical nature of most competitive pursuits. Plus there is also the danger posed to the myriads of fans packing into the venues to catch a glimpse of the live action!
Yes, television can be a viable alternative but only if there is someone willing to foot the bill. There will be no dearth of eyeballs but given the current economic slump world-wide, sponsors may not be the most eager to get involved. And TV networks do not run on charity. Rights alone cost astronomical amounts of money. Added to that is the production and distribution costs. Without someone willing to pay for it all, events could be a non-starter.
Better option would be to start slow, as is likely to happen with the economy! Just as companies get into recovery mode, sports must follow the example with smaller scale individual, stand-alone events to test the waters.
Let 2020 be set aside, just as the last century saw the nearly 10 years affected by the two great wars treated as an enforced break!
The sun is bound to appear after the worst of storms! Skillful navigating through the troubled times must be the watchword!
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