Sports, as we know it, plays a pivotal role in the lives of countless people. As one of these people, I can say that the cancellation of my favourite sporting events can be very disheartening. To our dismay, this is exactly what has occurred due to sudden pandemic.
The Covid-19 outbreak was completely unprecedented and to protect us, governments were forced to cancel all quadrennial, biennial and yearly events. The main focus of countries and health organisations now is to improve the conditions due to the Coronavirus, which is still spreading at an alarming rate. These are testing times. Both small scale and larger global events (like Expo 2020) were either postponed or cancelled.
Here’s a list of the major sporting events that were impacted:
Every single football/soccer league (round-robin format) in Europe (which is currently one of the worst hit continents) has been postponed. There are primarily five major leagues for five major countries of Europe - Italy, Spain, England, France and Germany.
The UEFA Champions League- This is the world's most watched sporting event. 38 of the best teams from the above leagues go through a group and knockout stage. The group stage was successfully completed, but the association ordered for it to be postponed right when the knockout rounds were about to start.
UEFA Euro 2020 - This tournament is like the World Cup, but only between European nations. This version of the tournament was to be hosted in almost every single country of Europe but it was postponed to 2021.
Tennis Grand Slams - These are the four most difficult major tournaments on the international circuit. The Australian Open finished in January, but the Rolland Garros (French Open) and Wimbledon (UK Open) have been cancelled. There’s been no word about the US Open so far.
The IPL (Indian Premier League) - This caused shock throughout the entire nation of India. This is the most watched sports event in India, and since it is cricket it cannot be missed. At first it was decided to be played in an empty stadium, but even this was ruled out as the players disagreed.
The Olympics - Who can forget this? It is the biggest and oldest sporting event on Earth. Being so close to China, this tournament was declared high-risk and also postponed to 2021, causing major losses for the hosts and sponsors. It has never been postponed since its foundation in 1896.
Needless to say 2020 is looking bleak in terms of the excitement generated by sports, but with this colossal grey cloud comes a silver lining: the emergence of E-sports!