Football, Basketball, and Cricket Leagues Affected by the Threat of the Coronavirus

The sports world is no longer exempt from the effects of the rising threat of the 2019 coronavirus. Many scheduled matches and tournaments on different sports have recently been canceled because of this. Different leagues have already released memos addressed to the players and everyone involved in the events.

The threat of the coronavirus becoming a pandemic has now become very real and this is according to the World Health Organization. Over 110,000 people are now reported to be infected and almost 4,000 deaths were related to this.

With the quick spread of the virus, many countries are now executing precautionary measures to at least fight the spread. As of today, there is still no vaccine that could fight this virus and this is why public safety is now a great concern.

The sports industry is closely monitoring the situation and this is why there are already sporting events that have been postponed.

The NBA has already released a memo to its players to avoid giving fans the high five and shaking hands with them. Instead of these, giving fist bumps is advised. Borrowing of pens or markers from the fans should also be avoided when signing autographs.

It is also reported that the NBA is already discussing a number of possibilities when it comes to how the threat of the virus could affect the scheduled games. Pushing through the matches with closed doors may happen, but the most drastic measure could be having to suspend the events for a period of time.

For now, they are still closely monitoring the situation and no matches are canceled just yet. As a safety precaution, no media is also allowed in the locker rooms.

Cricket has also been affected by this. While the upcoming Indian Premier League is still likely to push through on March 29 in Mumbai, there are already several cricket events that were already postponed or canceled and here they are:

• Everest Premier League in Nepal (March 14-28)
• ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League A in Malaysia (March 16-26)
• Lancashire’s pre-season tour in South Africa and Dubai (March 17- April 1)
• Worcestershire’s pre-season tour in Abu Dhabi (March 18-29)
• Asia XI vs World XI T20s in Bangladesh (March 21 and 22)

 More scheduled cricket events could be added to this list if the threat of the virus remains unchanged. However, the IPL is still standing strong as of today. Sourav Ganguly, the head of the BCCI or the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has said when IPL 2020 will happen.

The IPL will ensure that safety guidelines released by the Health Ministry will be followed. However, the Health Ministry has recently raised a concern about this and this is why the two are set to talk about this next week. Updates on the ipl cricket prediction will still have to wait.

Meanwhile, the football industry appears to be the most affected by this. Many football matches all over the world are already postponed or canceled. Italy is now on lockdown and all sports events are already banned until late March. This may even last longer, but it really depends on how things progress by then.

Chelsea’s trip to Bayern Munich is now put behind doors after it sold 3,000 tickets. The same thing will happen to Manchester United’s match against LASK in the Europa League in Australia. This will also take place behind closed doors.

The Premier League is still set to push through with the matches and the only match postponed in England, Scotland, and Ireland is the one with Manchester City and Arsenal. This is because of the report that the owner of Olympiacos had contracted coronavirus. Apparently, Evangelos Marinakis had been at the Emirates about two weeks ago and met some of the Arsenal players and staff.

What fans are wondering is whether Liverpool will be able to get to finish the season and get the championship. The football authorities are in a tough position because if the league doesn’t finish, it is likely that clubs like Liverpool and Leeds will complain and possibly take legal action.

While ending the EPL early still seems unlikely, it’s still hard to conclude that no other matches will be canceled. This will mainly depend on the threat of the virus in the countries where these matches will take place. The EPL is also considering closing the doors during the next matches, but there is still no decision made about this.