Impacts of Covid19 on English Premier League Clubs
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) is a highly contagious and chronic disease of the respiratory system that is rapidly impacting various elements of society. The negative implications have been experienced globally, and the professional football industry has not been exempted from the crisis. The nature of the problem is based on its broad range of consequences that different sectors have faced as businesses have shut down, workers have been laid off, and others have been forced to take unexpected wage cuts. The pandemic effects are likely to extend further as different containment measures are still in place, especially social distancing rules (Evans, Blackwell, and Dolan et al., 2020). From a broader perspective, the impacts of COVID19 are classifiable at the individual, organisational, and sector levels. In this case, the sector to focus on is the English Premier League (EPL) clubs, which have experienced sudden and significant shifts in their activities, and the consequences could be long-term. Currently, several measures have been undertaken to control the spread of the coronavirus while seeking to revive major events gradually, but football matches are not likely to resume the typical set up as that would compromise the rules on social distancing (Pamell et al., 2020). A notable measure is the return of selected football matches by the EPL clubs but without the presence of crowds of fans as is typical of such events. Hence, the negative implications are still inevitable despite the new development. Therefore, the proposal lays the ground for research to examine the impact of COVID19 to premier league clubs.
Background
The current COVID19 pandemic has disproportionately affected different industries, sectors, and departments globally. The sports docket is one of the most affected, especially for football, where matches are usually set with highly valuable spectators as they are highly valuable financially and socially to the teams. The premier league clubs are among the worst-hit organisations because they command massive influence globally, and negative implications on the clubs affect a large proportion of individuals and groups (Reade and Singleton, 2020). Following the directives of social distancing and imposing travel bans across diverse regions to curb the spread of the virus, football matches have taken a sharp downward spiral concerning the capacity to conduct significant events successfully. The English premier league clubs have experienced devastating consequences due to the cancellation of major sporting events and postponement of several others. The pandemic effects on the premier league clubs are quite profound since they have social and financial implications (Pamell et al., 2020). Revenues collected from sponsorships, television, and actual matches have been lost. Besides, before the suspension due to the epidemic, the English premier league anticipated close to £6bn in yearly revenue, which is unachievable as the crisis continues. An example is Manchester United, which could sacrifice up to £17.6m in matchday income during the current season because cancellation and postponement of main events imply that fans cannot attend the sporting events due to social distancing rules (Reade and Singleton, 2020). Having major events stalled is detrimental to the clubs because other associated projects have to be kept on hold……………………………..