IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON SPORTS INDUSTRY Since the outbreak of covid-19 pandemic, every sector of global economy has been hit hard. It has triggered the global economic slowdown in each and every corner of the world. The sports industry, just like other sectors of global economy has been pushed to the wall. Each and every game of sports i
industry is at complete pause and the longevity of such situation will make the matter even worse. The football clubs, the cricket boards, the Olympic bodies, and other governing bodies are finding it difficult to cope up with the economic crisis arising of this pandemic. They are forced to cut down the salaries and wage rates of players and coaching staff.

 The global sports industry stands at $160B at the moment. The major chunk of its revenue comes from ticket sales and broadcast rights. The more a game has fan followings, the more it generates income. But now due to the covid-19 pandemic, when there are no sports activities, the income graph is speedily decreasing. It has ultimately caused the cut down of salaries and funding to the players. The cancellation of global sports events like the Euro Cup 2020, the Wimbledon cup, the Copa America Cup 2020 and many more is further worsening the situation. 

Being the most watched game in the world, football, attracts more fan followings than any other game in the world and thus generates more income than others. But now the due to the pandemic situation, it is feeling the pressure as the football leagues around the world are facing multi million cash crunch. The Italian football club Juventus lost 60% of its stock value due this situation. Similarly FC Barcelona players gave up 70% of their salaries. Furthermore the Premier League is in talks to cut wages up to 30%. It clearly depicts the severity of the situation what football world is facing due to the covid-19 pandemic.

 Furthermore cricket is also no exception to this crisis. It is also feeling the aftershocks of the prevailing situation. All the cricket playing nations in general and low ranked teams in particular are heading towards economic crisis due to lack of funds in future. The cricket boards earn majority of their income from broadcasting rights but in such a situation when there is no certainty about the future events, no broadcasting company will come forward to have an agreement. Adding insult to injury, the broadcasting agreement of PCB, SLC and WICB with the Sony pictures (Ten Sports) has just ended. It will further tighten the noose around the neck of these boards. Windies Cricket Board (WICB) has announced 50% of temporary decrease in salaries and other funding. Similarly Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has also announced 25% salary decrease for coaching staff for the month of May. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also announced the downsizing in its head office. Apart from that the main global cricket event World T20 is also on the verge of postponement. It was expected to be a main fund generating source for the cricket boards. Every country had to get approximately $5M as per their share. But now the covid-19 pandemic has almost stopped this cash inflow as well. The picture looks gloomy for the cricket boards if the current situation prevails for a bit more time. 

The impact of covid-19 is not limited only to cricket and football rather it has affected the tennis field as well. The Wimbledon tournament was cancelled for the first time after World War II due to this situation. 

Apart from that the Tokyo Olympics 2020 was also postponed due to the covid-19 pandemic. It was supposed to be the most heavily sponsored sports event ever in the history but to make it happen, we will have to wait a bit more. Japan is expecting to face approximate loss of $6B due to the delay of the event. 

The NBA earns almost half of its $9B revenue from media fees but now the scenario has changed due to the pandemic. It is expected to lose $450 M from gate revenues. 

In the final analysis, it becomes very clear that the covid-19 pandemic has hit the sports industry harder than ever. It has caused complete stoppage of sports events around the world. Each and every game of sports has been affected badly. The stadiums once jam-packed with shouting fans are now lying empty since last six months. These empty stadiums have ultimately caused the economic problems for these sports playing countries. Owing to the shortage of funds, the coaching staff and players have to adjust with decreased salaries. No doubt the sports industry will have to face this challenging time for a bit more but there is light at the end of the tunnel as we are going towards games with closed doors. It will be a step in the right direction but going back to normalcy will take some time. It will be a major indicator of things going back towards normal if we can see players back in the field and fans on their seats.