As people try to adjust to the new normal during this period of global disarray and social distancing due to the coronavirus, many are having to do so without their biggest comforts in life. Whether it’s the ability to spend time with friends, family or a significant other, not being able exercise properly, or even not being able to take some time to treat oneself to a nice meal at a favorite restaurant, everyone is facing the reality that their current life is much different from the one they left just a few weeks ago.
For a large portion of the world perhaps the biggest thing missing from their lives right now is sports. Now is the time of year when college basktball fans would be following the incredible storylines of Cinderellas and Blue Bloods who are duking it out in March Madness. NBA fans would be anxiously awaiting the start of the playoffs hoping their team can squeak into the playoffs or the cards will fall just right so that their team gets a favorable first round draw. For the football fanatics the NFL draft and spring practices and scrimmages would be right around the corner to satisfy their craving. Then of course there’s baseball, which is always a signal of the official start of spring for sports fans and would just now be ramping up into high gear. And for the global audiences nearly every soccer league of consequence would be on its last legs with trophies up for grabs and the final rounds of the Champions League would be playing out.
Instead fans are stuck with watching reruns of games from a time when no one knew what the coronavirus was, the biggest scandal in baseball revolved around steroids and not a trash can and Kobe Bryant was still alive. Unless you live in Belarus…
There it seems as if nothing has changed at all. The Belarus Premier League, as their first division of soccer is called, is carrying on as normal with games, crowds and all. Even as neighboring countries like Russia and Ukraine shut down their sports leagues and and increasing number of countries go on total lockdown Belarus intends to continue with their soccer.
On average 1,000 fans are attending each game according to officials and while there are measures in place to try and seat fans farther apart from each other, the problems with this are clear. Belarus already has over 500 cases, which is nowhere near the totals of many other countries, but is a substantial enough number that a failure to keep things in check could see exponential growth. And the Belarus FA Chief’s claim that there are “currently no reasons” to suspend the league is exactly the type of irresponsible behavior that could lead to a more serious outbreak in the country.
The physical nature of sports means that it is only a matter of time before players get the virus and start passing it to each other. Furthermore, for fans who go to the stadium, they are likely interacting with employees who are taking tickets or selling food, bumping into each other and using shared public spaces like bathrooms, handrails and seating.
There is no doubt that sports, among other things, have acted as a community healing factor during past times of crisis, but this is the one time when they will only exacerbate the situation. There is little upside here for the Federation outside of the momentary high it might get from starved sports fans doing anything to get access to live sports, but it seems like it will only be a matter of time before they get a sobering wake up call as to just how serious the situation is.
Here’s a quick video detailing the situation.
J4804 Laird 