Coronavirus’ impact on sports

24 March 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has created chaos across the globe, affecting more than 160 countries and taking the lives of close to 15,000 people. The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus is causing cancellations and postponements of sporting events and changing drastically every aspect of life in places with an outbreak.

The coronavirus outbreak has decimated the worldwide sporting calendar and affected some of 2020’s biggest sporting events, including Premier League, Champions League, Euro 2020, French Open, Grand National, boxing, and UFC.

As the spread of the coronavirus accelerated across the globe, several sporting events have altered their schedules in response to the pandemic.

Football

All English football fixtures, including Premier League, FA, EFL have been postponed until April 30 at the earliest because of the coronavirus outbreak. The 2019/2020 Premier League season could be finished in June.

The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, EURO 2020, has been delayed until the summer of 2021. The 24-team tournament would be staged from June 11 to July 11, 2021. Champions League and Europa League have also suspended their matches.

The Russian Football Union has suspended football games until April 10.

Spain’s La Liga and second division will pause for a while due to the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus.

The Bundesliga and the second-tier Bundesliga 2 have been suspended until April 2 and possibly beyond amid the ongoing global pandemic.

The first and second divisions of French domestic football - Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 - have been suspended until further notice.

Italy, Europe's most affected country, has cancelled all sporting events until next month due to fears of the virus. The country is currently in lockdown as it battles the COVID-19 virus.

The 2020 Major League Soccer season will not resume until May at the earliest.

The African Nations Championship 2020, Copa America, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, Turkish Super Lig as well as many other competitions around the globe have been postponed.

Tennis

The ATP and WTA professional tennis tours have been suspended until at least June 7 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ATP and WTA rankings have been frozen until further notice. Players will hold their current rankings until June and possibly, beyond as they are unable to add more points by winning tennis matches.

The French Open has been rescheduled from September 20 to October 4. The 15-day clay-court major at Roland Garros was originally pencilled for May 24 to June 7.

Among other tournaments, the BNP Paribas Open and Mutua Madrid Open were also cancelled.

NBA

The National Basketball Association has suspended its regular season indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A range of other sports has had to take action to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further, with postponements also hitting Formula One, Major League Rugby, table tennis championships, cycling races, cricket matches, and other competitions.

The outbreak of coronavirus has a huge impact on sports events all over the world, juggling with the sporting calendar as leagues across Europe and other continents have temporarily shut down due to the virus rapidly escalating in the world. All the sporting events will be played as soon as is safe and possible to do so. 



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