I am one of those who think that the negativities of the epidemic process for the sports sector, as in every sector, should be evaluated separately in each sports branch. However, there is a fact that the process that started with the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games for a year, where the dreams, which are the leading sports organizations of the world, combined with sports, in fact, it was announced that countries such as the USA, Canada and England, which had high success rates in the Olympic Games, would not send athletes to Tokyo then it gained momentum.
As of today, the hesitations of the official sponsors of the Olympics, their economic reservations, concerns about whether the games will be held despite being delayed for a year are still current. In this article, I will try to explain these issues in detail with examples from popular branches.
How did the epidemic affect and affect the popular football industry, which has a large share in the sports economy cake?
The postponement of the 2020 European Football Championship and the economic gains of this important sports organization, which we call the footsteps of national participating federations, were also postponed for one year.
Of course, the sustainability of activities in sports is related to the good management of economic data and flow. A virus has entered through many revenue gates such as sponsorships, matchday broadcast revenues, branch-specific revenues ...
Especially considering that 64 federations and 41 federations are Olympic in our country, it also shows how much investment and importance is given to the Olympic games as a country. A small detail about the Olympic Games is that the games will be held with the same name next year, Tokyo 2020.
Again, our main topic is the economy of sports.
The possible reduction of the epidemic process and the recovery of sports means an intensive work for sports economy stakeholders.
To give some statistical information from the football sector in terms of sports economy; Considering that Barcelona's ratio of matchday revenues to total club revenues in the Spanish League is 17%, we can say that its economy has been hurt considerably. I don't even count the effects of the Messi crisis on its economy for the club in case it results in a possible breakup.
Let's come to the cradle of football, the English Premier League. Isn't it interesting that the compensation item that the Manchester United team must pay to the sponsor company as per the contract if the Premier League season cannot be completed according to the article in the contract of the sponsor company during the epidemic process?
The issue of sporting contracts and athlete salaries seems to need to be addressed separately. The views of international sports associations on athlete contracts based on the end dates of the leagues have also brought and will bring new approaches in terms of sports law. It seems that the waiver request processes for the athletes in the high salary scale of the club management are still ongoing. It is impossible not to give right. The virus seems to take its place in the protocols with its new definitions in terms of sports law. Interestingly, we can say that as the industry develops and the economy grows, it is necessary to have a think tank in your team that will turn every possibility in your favor. According to the experiences I have experienced in my professional management career, I believe that institutionalism in sports will be more efficient only if the company logic has evolved into sports culture. If we come to the economic data, the economic loss in football and the five major leagues has already exceeded 4 billion Euros.
The biggest loss on the basis of the league is in the Premier League with a loss of 1 billion 250 million Euros. In our country, the losses of the Super League clubs have already reached 1.5 billion TL. If we look at the ratio of our country's football to the total revenues, it has reached the amount between 25% and 35%.
As someone who comes from sports and has a professional career in the sports sector, we can say how much the epidemic process has affected digital media sales.
The interest in sports equipment and its positive effect on sales figures has brought the digital platforms of the industry into an innovative perspective, and it looks like it will bring.
To sum up; While it is predicted that the Covid-19 process will go back to the sports economy in the range of 25% - 30%, this will be directly proportional to the direction of the process. Covid-19, which brings new dimensions to our social life and sports agenda, I hope it will end as soon as possible and we will reach healthy and enjoyable days with all aspects of sports.