Faced with the restoration of an indefinite professional sports league, how can the global sports industry respond to the crisis?

According to the Voice of China report: With the spread of the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic around the world, most sporting events have come to a halt. From the initial part of the Olympic qualifiers, to the five major European football leagues, the four major professional sports leagues in North America, to the European Cup, the Olympics. The 2020 world sports year, which should have been speeding up, fell directly from silence to silence.

Whether it is the Olympic Games or the extension of major professional leagues, it surpasses the experience and cognition imaginable by contemporary sports practitioners. Industry and society, individuals and the destiny of the times are closely connected. How will the global sports industry respond to the crisis?

New crown epidemic forced to stop five major European football leagues

On March 12, Liverpool played at home against Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. At Anfield Stadium, fans are full of pits and valleys. They are side by side, singing as usual, you will never walk alone. From Madrid also came 3000 expeditions to cheer for the team. It was a splendid and powerful dialogue, and the game was overtime. However, it was also in the more than two hours of the game that a breaking news popped up on the mobile phone of global sports fans: "Serie A Juventus player Rugani diagnosed new coronary pneumonia." Rugani confirmed the news It is like a stone plunging into the dark tide, making people realize that professional sports events can no longer close the door in this way to ignore the huge waves of the new crown epidemic in the world. Within four days, all five major European leagues will be suspended.

International football commentator Luo Ming believes that the league is forced to stop rather than being forced to stop: "It is deeply related to the economic interests of the leagues of various countries, so they can try not to stop if they can suspend. In fact, players It is very vigilant. You are like Spain, including Italy. Their player unions said very early that we should not play. There is really no way in Italy. Their entire country is under the severe blow of the new crown virus. So they are very It has long been decided to suspend the league. Compared with Italy, the outbreak is not as serious as in Italy, so they try to play as soon as possible. For example, Spain is also under great pressure, so they simply retain La Liga and B , The other leagues will not play. But because the Real Madrid basketball team has a diagnosis, and the Real Madrid football team shares a base with them. There are Real Madrid players to isolate, naturally they have more pressure, so they have to suspend La Liga. And The other three leagues are actually passively pushed by the epidemic. "

League recovery is still far away, can a sharp reduction in players' salary solve the problem?

At the beginning of the suspension of professional leagues in various countries, many people are optimistic that the game may resume in early April. Today, the day has gone to the imaginary beginning of April, but the league recovery is still in the end, and the suspended ticket income and broadcasting fees have made the money in the club ’s pocket almost bottomed out. Brian Barwick, the chairman of the European Union and former CEO of the FA, admitted that the spread of the epidemic is changing football:

"It will be difficult and grim. Therefore, we must pay attention to make good use of any opportunities provided by the government to us or the broader sports industry. Our clubs are professional to semi-professional. Basically, clubs are Built on the community where it is located. "

The data shows that if the Premier League ends this season, the total economic loss is 1 billion pounds. If the La Liga season ends this season, the planned 1 billion euros will also evaporate. "Kicker" magazine revealed that there is already a Bundesliga club in critical condition, which can only last until May, and three Bundesliga clubs may arrange to appoint a bankruptcy trustee in June. In the current crisis of survival, cost reduction is inevitable. Recently, people are discussing whether players who play in the top leagues should cut their salaries significantly. For example, before the Premier League moved 20 teams to collectively reduce their salaries by 30%. British Health Minister Hancock also shouted that Premier League players should first set an example:

"I think everyone should play a role in fighting the epidemic, the same is true for Premier League players. Many people have already made sacrifices, including some colleagues in the medical system, and even made extreme sacrifices. Life. I think the first thing a Premier League player can do is to lower their salary and contribute to their own strength. "

But this is not as simple as that, and star player Rooney responded: "If the government finds me, provides financial support, helps medical staff or buys ventilator, then I am willing to do it, I know where the money is spent. All professional players are required to reduce their salaries by 30%. Why do players become scapegoats? ". In fact, professional sports league games involve a lot of jobs. The stars are just the most shining group, but they are not the only ones affected. Take a North American ice hockey league as an example, there are generally about 1,500 staff working in and out of the stadium, covering customer service, franchising, parking, security, tickets, snacks, seats, etc. 30% of the salary of big-name stars, 30% of the salary of reserve players, and 30% of the salary of customer service staff have completely different meanings for their respective livelihoods. At this time, it may be a better way to separate the salary structure and deal with the salary structure separately.

The stadium changed into a cabin hospital and the racing production line was changed to a ventilator. When will the professional sports league return?

With the spread of the epidemic, many professional sports events are empty. Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the US Open will be converted into a 350-bed square cabin hospital. The Bernabéu Stadium at Real Madrid will be temporarily renovated to store anti-epidemic materials. The Premier League Manchester City team has made contact with the medical system, and the Etihad Stadium will be used as a medical training base.

Now, the sound of F1's engine is no longer roaring. Seven teams launched the "maintenance zone plan". The production lines of these teams can help build the ventilator that the hospital badly needs as soon as possible. Manufacturing, testing and other links began to pursue the "speed of life and death".

Dr. David Braley, University Hospital London, said: "This is incredible. People from all walks of life have united to deal with the new crown crisis. We have Mercedes-Benz racing engineers, medical experts, and aerospace experts. In the past, it took at least a year to work, but from research to production, the entire process took less than 100 hours ... "

From the stadium to the shelter hospital, from the roar of the engine to the flow of oxygen. Now look at the UEFA Champions League on March 12, but in just over half a month, everything seems like a world away. Hope the stadium can be filled with cheering crowds again, because that is also a proof of human victory over the new crown virus.

CCTV reporter: Zhang Wen