The covid pandemic is affecting every aspect of the world. The disease has claimed millions of lives and continues to spread. The economic consequences of the pandemic are already being felt. Hospitals are overwhelmed and governments are struggling to respond. The social and political consequences of the pandemic are also becoming evident.
One area that has been particularly hard hit is a sport. Sporting events have been canceled or postponed all over the world. This includes football matches in the UK. The football competition in the UK was postponed for quite some time which caused trouble to the teams and all the players.
But UK football is not like other countries. Actually, the UK is the only country in the world that has its own football association, or rather 4 of them; including one for all Wales and another for Northern Ireland. And that’s why the biggest football clubs are not part of the Premier League but belong to their respective associations.
Every Scottish team belongs to the SFA, while teams in England and Wales are members of the FA. These associations organize premierships, competitions for clubs, and various tournaments within their own country. The associations also handle national football teams who compete in European or world championships. Actually, there is no such thing as the UK National team under the Football Association’s jurisdiction. All English players play for the England National Team. Welsh players play for Wales and Northern Irish players for Northern Ireland.
Football in the UK is almost getting back to normal by the time you are reading this. The competition is almost halfway through, with clubs having played about a third of their fixtures. But it’s not been easy getting to this point.
Clubs have had to deal with travel restrictions, restricted training, and the need to protect their players from the risk of contracting covid-19.
But How Did Football Teams In The UK Survive The Covid Restriction?
We know that most of the money gained by football clubs is coming from the television and that TV companies broadcast matches live. They pay a lot of money to do so, and sometimes they postpone the matches if there is no other way.
TV companies usually want to show as many matches as possible because it generates more revenue for them.
With no chances to play the games for almost a year, the football clubs in the UK had to find other ways to keep themselves afloat financially.
Luckily most of the teams are supported by sponsors. These sponsors can be companies, organizations, or even wealthy individuals. They give the teams money in return for things like advertising on the team’s jerseys or stadium. The gambling, apparel, and betting industry are some of the main sponsors’ industries for football teams (source: smartcasinoguide.com). These industries are connected directly with football so in some cases, they are also affected by this pandemic situation.
Some teams also have a merchandising business. This is where they sell things like shirts, hats, and other clothing with the team’s logo on it. The money from merchandise sales goes to the team. With the covid hit, the offline stores are also unprofitable since the stores are closed. The only available option was boosting their online sales.
The teams have also been able to raise some money by allowing people to watch the training sessions online. They usually charge a fee for this. Although this will be done on a strictly covid protocol to prevent the disease from spreading.
Not everyone was happy with the way football teams in the UK decided to deal with Covid restrictions. Some people said that it wasn’t fair that these teams were able to survive when other companies or organizations weren’t. They also believe that the government money was wasted because not every team benefited from it.
But whatever your opinion is, you can’t argue with the fact that football teams in the UK have found ways to survive and are slowly getting back to normal. Let’s just hope that this pandemic ends soon so that everyone can get back to their lives. Thank you for reading.