Football is Back! But when will it get back to normal?

European football is back after season was put on a hold due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. However, all operations of the sport are not yet back to normal. Changes had to be made due to the implications of the pandemic, let us see what exactly has changed.

Its time again to watch those amazing goals, top of the table clashes and relegation battles. June has seen the restart of Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and now the Premier League, after three months of no action football is back! However, the pandemic has definitely made a huge impact on how football operates. We can clearly see the changes that have been made in all match day activities but other areas such as club finances, player contracts and broadcasting have also been massively impacted. Could the pandemic have changed football forever or will it go back to the way it was, let us look at what we know so far.

The changes in the matchday operations are obvious. All the games being played behind closed doors meaning no fans allowed in the stadia. Wearing masks is mandatory for everyone apart from the players and the mangers. And of course social distancing. But what about the things that are not very obvious to a casual football fan. While training was allowed to restart after three months of staying home, there were strict restrictions imposed on training methods and other essentials such as doctors and physios. Although players were keeping fit, doing what they can from the confines of their home, every professional would agree that match fitness is only achieved when you are playing regularly and not just by training. Even when players return from a normal off season it takes a couple of competitive matches to get back to full fitness. Therefore, returning to football after an extended gap is not ideal. Moreover, in normal circumstances there would be a weeks’ gap between two gameweeks, given that there is limited time period to end the current season the gap is reduced to 3-4 days. FIFA therefore rightfully changed the rule of having 3 substitutions available per match to 5 per match. Still consequences of having more matches than usual in short period of time can be seen in the increased number of injuries players have picked up since return of football (AFL2020).

So now that we know the busy schedule of games till the current season ends, from the prospective of fans its amazing that we will get to watch games almost every day. But since mass public gatherings are still prohibited it will only be on television. But is it as simple as it sounds? No. We don’t realise just how many essential elements are involved in a matchday. As fans all we see are the players, the coaching staff, referees and may be the stewards. But for a football game to go ahead there is need for at least 200 people inside the stadium including the cameramen, reporters, commentators, producers, technicians and safety officers. So proper safety precautions are to be followed by the clubs.

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Supporters in the stadium are big part of the sport, the noise, the chants, the whistles, we are very used to it. So having empty stands to look at would be a little awkward. To have some kind of visual presence in the stadia clubs have come with interesting ideas, all the Premier League clubs have placed crowd flags on the empty seats with some meaningful messages and some sponsor logos naturally. In Bundesliga some clubs have placed cordboard cut outs of their fans on the seats and some have organised zoom calls with the fans to be shown on the pitch side screens. Broadcasters are playing crowd noises while the live telecast in on to make viewers feel more comfortable.    

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As mentioned before there is limited time frame for the current season to end, that is because a normal football season is strictly structured according to not only the league games but also other competitions such as UEFA Champions league, UEFA Euopa league and domestic competitions. The end of the current season is expected end in August, that means delay in the start of the next season and may be some changes the year after. UEFA have confirmed its competitions will return in August and will be as straight knock-out tournaments. The EURO 2020 were also supposed to take place in current time period but they are also being postponed until 2021. Busy schedule throughout the next year would also affect the UEFA nations league and FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying stages (UEFA 2020). 

Apart from the actual matches themselves, club finances are most adversely affected element of the sport. Having an extended break of three months and no gate revenue for at least rest of the season does not go well with the financial structure of a football club. Most of the clubs faced losses for the third quarter of the fiscal year due to games not being played. The losses were largely due to loss of broadcast revenue. Premier leagues chiefs predicted a loss of £1bn if the season was not completed, that also might have played a role in restarting the season as soon as possible. Now with the comeback there is some good news for the clubs. But still clubs will be without their matchday revenue which includes not only ticket sales but other services like merchandise, food and VIP services as well. It might be easier for bigger clubs with big money sponsors and rich owners but for smaller who depend on their matchday revenue this means tough times.

Club finances are not only important for their operations but also for the team to achieve its targets. Player transfers are key for the success of any football club. Ever since the rise of super agents, player values and player wages have skyrocketed. With loss of revenue and uncertainty over coming months. Its highly unlikely to see crazy deals being made in the transfer market. Another thing to look at are the player contracts. Player contracts start in July end at the end of June, but due to the current season being extended some players whose contract were supposed to end have signed short term contracts. Players who were expecting to move to another club might have to delay for some time. Salary cuts were also introduced by some clubs to cope up the losses during the shutdown period. Furthermore, UEFA had to introduce new Financial Fair Play measures due to the pandemic. FFP rules are intended to encourage clubs to operate with the money they make and minimise their losses to a minimum of $30m over three years. The new measures state finances of the year 2020 will not be assessed under the FFP rules instead 2020-2021 will be assessed together as a single financial period. Moreover, clubs will be allowed to have losses in excess of $30m as long as it is due to the shutdown (UEFA 2020).

All in all the Covid 19 pandemic has made an impact on every element of the sport. Clubs will have to operate with precaution. Sporting federations could take this opportunity to introduce new regulations or review current ones, super agents, transfers and wages being the popular ones. A casual fan might not notice it but, it is interesting to see how the sport changes due to certain circumstances. There might be tougher times ahead for some clubs, some might surpass expectations with precise planning. We as fans will also have to get used to seeing empty stadia for now. Nevertheless, we are all happy that football is back! 

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