What a year it has been for sport!
If 20/20 is supposed to be perfect vision, then the year 2020 was an eye test!
Domestic and international sport was interrupted like never before due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. The Olympic Games were postponed for the first time ever. Wimbledon had only ever been interrupted by two World Wars, but in 2020 it did not take place in the interest of everyone’s health.
Many competitions operated in “a bubble” where all of the teams were located in one place and monitored in order to have events played or completed. Some tried to soldier on and reach a conclusion, albeit under very different conditions. Competitions were abbreviated and some abandoned.
In the entertainment world there is a famous saying, ‘the show must go on.’ In today’s world, and certainly from a television perspective sport is entertainment, and it appeared that many sports were hellbent on living up to those words; although many were doing it to prevent the loss of revenue from the Television stations.
What have we learned from 2020 and where does sport go from here? Will it ever return to the way it was? Certainly some are sure it will, some are determined to push ahead with trying to reinstate what was, but one feels that those who adapt and reset will be the long term winners.
This year we have learned that sport is supposed to be played in front of packed stadia. That games played with canned crowd noise are far from being a similar experience. In fact the canned crowd noise becomes as annoying as canned laughter on a TV sitcom. If there was one lesson to be taken from the games played behind closed doors it is that the fans are a crucial component to sport. They play a massive part in creating the tension and atmosphere that we feel at home. It is also clear, and I speak from experience that commentators feed off those fans and the atmosphere they create. Without that as we have witnessed with some games and commentary it can all become extremely dreary.
The fans are an essential part to the whole entertainment experience and clubs, broadcasters and those administering the competitions would hopefully have witnessed that during the past year, learned from it, and will acknowledge the part they play and look after them better in the future. Hopefully they will no longer see them as simply a revenue stream!
On the plus side one thing that the lack of fans has done is open up some competitions. We have seen in the English Premier League how some of the big name clubs have suddenly lost their invincible tag when playing at home, with no crowd behind them, and baying for the referee to give decisions their way. Again something to be aware of when sport returns to some level of normality. Maybe more seats need to be allocated to away fans?
This year has seen more and more remote commentary taking place on major sporting events. This was something that was slowly creeping into sports broadcasting and the Tokyo Olympic Games were expected to be the last Olympic Games at which commentators would be at the events. While there is a cost saving to the broadcaster or production house there is no doubt that those watching miss out on the commentators not being there, as they cannot talk about the state of the pitch, any last minute conversations with coaches or the atmosphere; although many do phone the coaches prior to games. How long coaches will tolerate that remains to be seen.
What should have become clear is which sports can have commentators plying their trade remotely and which ones simply do not work. This is something the fans are going to have to get used to, of that there is no doubt. Hopefully once again those with the broadcast knowledge will realise which sports need to have commentators at the venue, and budget accordingly. If they don’t the price will be a heavy one, as fans will switch off and that sport will lose its market share, which then will impact on the sponsorship dollars and also participation numbers, as out of sight out of mind.
Initially the Zoom interview was a great way to stay in touch with sport; I too was involved in a few. Personally I hope that these become a thing of the past as many are hard to watch, with the athletes looked stiff and wooden, lifeless. Those carried out for Television sports shows and news are at times simply appalling and hard to watch due to the quality. Let us hope that these are not something that carries over into the future, or if they do, those developing the technology find a way to improve the quality of the picture and the sound.
The year 2020 also was a year in which there was a proliferation of podcasts related to sport, some good, some very good and unfortunately some downright terrible. The test will be which ones survive when the world finds a new kind of normal. Some clubs have opted to produce their own podcasts – these are not unofficial podcasts put together by fans – which was a good idea to stay relevant, and a great way of communicating with your fanbase. However many sadly have simply become propaganda platforms for the organisation. Guests are never asked any hard questions that may result in awkward answers, and many topics that fans want discussed have been skated over. Which makes one ask, why bother?
There is no doubt that 2020 has been a year in which we have seen which organisations are being run well and which are not. The way clubs and competitions have reacted to the unprecedented events of 2020 has been a measure of their leadership both paid and at Board level. Some have truly looked after their employees and players, while others have been found wanting. In fact in many instants fans have asked whether the format and structures in place prior to the Pandemic in some sports can still exist once the world returns to a new kind of normal. Again this is where many organisations leadership will be truly tested. In a world bereft of true leadership this could prove to be a very tough period for many sports.
Some sports and sporting clubs have been truly magnificent in the way that they have reacted. So too have been many of the highly paid players, who have donated funds, time and so much more to those suffering. Promotion at such times is a real balancing act, as publicising such charitable and community-conscious acts can be seen as exploiting a situation for cheap publicity. Yet many of the top clubs appear to have handled the situation with the required sensitivity, and are to be commended for that. (The True Character of Sport To Come To The Fore)
Sadly others have been found wanting during these times. In some situations the leadership have clearly shown a lack of vision by cutting back the hours worked by their staff in communications, at a time when these staff potentially became their biggest asset. As a result communication with fans, members, sponsors and so many more associated to the organisations have been left in the dark. Communication has often been sporadic, and then when it has come has been irrelevant to the current situation engulfing everyone globally. It has been trite. Which has ended up doing more harm to their brand than good. In addition some have been shown to be out of their depth in creating content beyond previewing or reviewing a match and summarising a press conference. In time many organisations will realise that this area of their business needs more expertise, knowledge, creativity and investment.
Cashflow has been a major concern for many sports. Sponsors have wanted to reduce their investment due to the interruptions to the tournaments and competitions. Some of those sponsors have seen their business heavily impacted and simply can no longer be seen to be spending so much on promotion when staff are losing their jobs. This is likely to have a long term impact on many sports and many clubs, as the money that was available pre-covid is unlikely to be there in the future.
As a result of a limited incoming finances many sports looked to try and keep money trickling in by running coaching courses online. This too could have a huge impact down the track. For a start most of the courses on coaching have a practical side to them, in which the trainee coach must show their ability to communicate and put together training sessions with a set purpose, and also implement tactics in a game situation effectively. This part on many of the online courses has been bypassed. Yet coaches have been given certification. How will those coaches fare when they are faced with situations in real life? Equally interesting will be where that leaves coaching courses in the future. Will there be the need for wannabe coaches to pay a small fortune to travel to a hub to learn the skills in order to achieve certification? Will those coach educators need to travel around the world or the country sharing their knowledge, when in 2020 it was all done online? This was a topic we raised previously in Coaching Courses – Are They Still Relevant Or Do They Just Need To Evolve? Maybe this is the way of the future.
Where to into the future?
The postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games was a first, and despite upbeat comments from the International Olympic Committee there are many who wonder whether the Games will indeed go ahead in 2021. Qualifying in many events still has to be completed and that will be hard with many countries imposing hard lockdowns again. Will athletes be prepared to travel? If they do will their achievements always carry and asterisk if they go and compete and are victorious at a time when many of their rivals are not?
The way the Olympic Games issue pans out could have a far-reaching impact on many other multi-sport events. Not only may insurance companies steer clear of covering the eventuality of a postponement but also a cancellation, which will mean that the organisers will be left with the financial risk. Will fans want to or be able to travel to such events in the way they were prior to 2020? Will sponsors be so quick to part with hundreds of millions of dollars in the future? One feels that the ability to jump on planes and fly wherever will be vastly changed for the foreseeable future, which will impact on athletes attendance and certainly ticket sales. Such events post Tokyo 2021 will need to be looked at closely and possibly re-formatted. Not just to minimise financial risk, but also competitor and fan risk. (An Olympic Year?)
There are many who feel that the admission of Breakdancing into the Olympic Games in 2024 was the death knell of the Games as many of us knew it, and they may be right, but there are also other factors very much at play. Is it time that the IOC looked at restoring quality to the Olympic Games rather than giving us quantity? InTokyo this year there were scheduled to be 33 sports and 339 events; whether there are that many in 2021 remains to be seen. If we go back to the last time Tokyo hosted the Olympic Games in 1964 there were 163 events in 19 sports.
In swimming in 1964 there were 54 medals available in the men’s and women’s events combined. There were ten events in the Men’s program and eight in the women’s. There were 405 competitors from 42 countries competing and a medal was extremely hard to come by. In 2020 there were scheduled to be 37 swimming events, 18 for the men, 18 for the women and one mixed event, this is up from the 34 events in Rio. Which means that 111 medals are now available in the pool alone! More than double what was on offer the last time Tokyo hosted the Games. Is that too many? There are many who believe that the key to the Olympic Games being the pinnacle in a sportsperson’s career was the fact that a Gold medal was exteremely hard to come by, and multiple winners at one Games were rare. As we have seen in recent times, with so many medals up for grabs is it any wonder we have so many multiple winners?
One feels that the key to the continuation of the Olympic Games is now linked to the old adage ‘less is more.’ Disciplines such as Swimming need to be cut back to a number of key events. Let Swimming’s World Championships have an abundance of events but make the Olympics truly special again having only key events contested. This will help restore the value of an Olympic Medal.
If the Olympic Games continue down the current path to Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028 without restoring that value, those sports that consciously look to shift the focus, importance and value of their own World Championships will reap the rewards in the long term.
Away from the Multi-sport events one feels that post-covid there will be a return to the days of old in terms of international sporting fixtures. What is meant by that is that we will only see our national teams play meaningful matches. There will be less friendly games played in which the results are not important, and the coaches can give fringe players a run. Many sports are already in this position, yet some see the international games as their main source of revenue in terms of crowds and sponsorship.
It may come as a surprise to many that In 1966 the year England won the World Cup in Football the national team played 17 games, including all of their World Cup Matches; They played eight international friendlies. In 2018 another World Cup year, where England lost their semi final but played off for third place, they also played 17 games. However this time only six games were friendlies.
However away from a World Cup year in 1967 the England team, even as World Champions played just six games, three of which were friendlies. In 2019 they played ten games and none were friendlies.
France won the World Cup in 2018, they played 11 games in 2019, with only one a friendly. In fact since their victory in Russia they have played 16 matches and only two have been friendlies. Which shows that the International football calendar is now full of meaningful matches. International competition in all sports is going to have to return to that level of match importance.
In cricket where they now have three formats of the game, T20, One Day Internationals and Test Cricket, and often three groups of players making up all three national teams, the feeling is once again that the calendar is going to have to be reduced, or the number of games in the various formats will need to be cut. The traditionalists fear that Test Cricket will be the one to suffer. Yet sending a team overseas to play a best of three series of five day games would probably make more sense in terms of having product in the market place than, sending a team away to play a best of three or even fives games in either of the shortened formats. This will be an interesting conundrum for the game’s administrators to work through. Hopefully the power brokers from India, England and Australia who are making most of the decisions when it comes to the International game are held accountable by the other test playing nations. As securing the future of the game in the long term is more important than any personal fiefdom.
As for International club competitions, such as the European and Asian Champions league, and World Club Championships in other sports, one feels that unless once again the number of teams is trimmed, such as returning to simply having the Champions compete, these tournaments are going to possibly face challenging times in the next few years. Already clubs in the Asian Champions League bemoan the fact that they make no money in the group stage. So maybe now Post Covid is the prefect time to re-format the competition? Hopefully those administering the game will have already realised this and will be looking at a number of new formats to carry the various competitions through the next few years until, whatever the new normal is going to be has arrived.
There are millions of sporting fans across the globe who will be pleased to see the back of 2020. However it could be a time in many sports, clubs or competitions history that will prove to be a turning point. That in years to come we will look back at 2020 and say that circumstances forced change that ended up being for the best. It may be a time when visionaries with those various organisations stamped there mark.
As 2021 approaches let us hope that the past year proves to be a tipping point for positive things in our sports, our clubs and our competitions. Let the next year and the next decade be the dawn of a new era, an era of positive change. After all sport is all about belief, a belief that you can overcome your opponent, a belief that you can win agains the odds. So now is the time for all in sport to believe that the best is just around the corner.
