Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era 2020056986, 2020056987, 9781799867807, 9781799867814, 9781799867821, 9781799867838

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era Armand Faganel University of Primorska, Slovenia Igor Rižnar University of Primorska, Slovenia

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Arne Baruca Texas A&M University, USA

A volume in the Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage (ABSCA) Book Series

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Published in the United States of America by IGI Global Business Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global) 701 E. Chocolate Avenue Hershey PA, USA 17033 Tel: 717-533-8845 Fax: 717-533-8661 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.igi-global.com Copyright © 2021 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without written permission from the publisher. Product or company names used in this set are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or companies does not indicate a claim of ownership by IGI Global of the trademark or registered trademark. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Faganel, Armand, 1965- editor. | Riznar, Igor, 1961- editor. | Baruca, Arne, 1976- editor. Title: Impacts and implications for the sports industry in the post-Covid-19 era / Armand Faganel, Igor Riznar, and Arne Baruca, Editors. Description: Hershey, PA : Business Science Reference, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “This edited book explores the changes due to the global pandemic that have been created by the unexpected disruptions to the sports industry, fans consumption, and recreational habits”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020056986 (print) | LCCN 2020056987 (ebook) | ISBN 9781799867807 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781799867814 (paperback) | ISBN 9781799867821 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Sports administration. | COVID-19 (Disease)--Social aspects. | Sports--Social aspects. | COVID-19 (Disease)--Economic aspects. | Consumer behavior. Classification: LCC GV713 .I47 2021 (print) | LCC GV713 (ebook) | DDC 796.06/9--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020056986 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020056987 This book is published in the IGI Global book series Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage (ABSCA) (ISSN: 2327-3429; eISSN: 2327-3437)

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British Cataloguing in Publication Data A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. All work contributed to this book is new, previously-unpublished material. The views expressed in this book are those of the authors, but not necessarily of the publisher. For electronic access to this publication, please contact: [email protected].

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage (ABSCA) Book Series Patricia Ordóñez de Pablos Universidad de Oviedo, Spain

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Business entities are constantly seeking new ways through which to gain advantage over their competitors and strengthen their position within the business environment. With competition at an all-time high due to technological advancements allowing for competition on a global scale, firms continue to seek new ways through which to improve and strengthen their business processes, procedures, and profitability. The Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage (ABSCA) Book Series is a timely series responding to the high demand for state-of-the-art research on how business strategies are created, implemented and re-designed to meet the demands of globalized competitive markets. With a focus on local and global challenges, business opportunities and the needs of society, the ABSCA encourages scientific discourse on doing business and managing information technologies for the creation of sustainable competitive advantage.

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The Advances in Business Strategy and Competitive Advantage (ABSCA) Book Series (ISSN 2327-3429) is published by IGI Global, 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA 17033-1240, USA, www.igi-global.com. This series is composed of titles available for purchase individually; each title is edited to be contextually exclusive from any other title within the series. For pricing and ordering information please visit http://www.igi-global.com/book-series/advances-business-strategy-competitive-advantage/73672. Postmaster: Send all address changes to above address. Copyright © 2021 IGI Global. All rights, including translation in other languages reserved by the publisher. No part of this series may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphics, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information and retrieval systems – without written permission from the publisher, except for non commercial, educational use, including classroom teaching purposes. The views expressed in this series are those of the authors, but not necessarily of IGI Global.

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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Disruptive Technologies and Innovative Strategies for Organizational Success Nilsa I. Elias (Western Governors University, USA) Terry M. Walker (University of Louisiana, USA) and Robin Walker (Metropolitan State University, USA) Business Science Reference • © 2021 • 315pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799837909) • US $225.00 Cases on Digital Strategies and Management Issues in Modern Organizations José Duarte Santos (Instituto Superior Politecnico, Spain) Business Science Reference • © 2021 • 300pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799816300) • US $195.00 Advanced Perspectives on Global Industry Transitions and Business Opportunities Fanny Saruchera (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa) Business Science Reference • © 2021 • 352pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799843030) • US $225.00 Competitive Drivers for Improving Future Business Performance Carlos Martins (Lusíada University of Porto, Portugal) and Paula Rodrigues (Lusíada University of Porto, Portugal) Business Science Reference • © 2021 • 267pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799818434) • US $225.00 Entrepreneurial Innovation for Securing Long-Term Growth in a Short-Term Economy Jorge Gamez-Gutierrez (Universidad de la Costa, Colombia) and Jose Manuel Saiz-Alvarez (Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador & Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, Colombia & CEIEF-Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile) Business Science Reference • © 2021 • 256pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799835684) • US $215.00 Global Perspectives on Military Entrepreneurship and Innovation Sanya Ojo (Nigerian Defence Academy, Nigeria) Business Science Reference • © 2021 • 357pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799866558) • US $195.00 Handbook of Research on Sustaining SMEs and Entrepreneurial Innovation in the Post-COVID-19 Era Neeta Baporikar (Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia & University of Pune, India) Business Science Reference • © 2021 • 676pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799866329) • US $325.00

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Revolutionizing Institutional Theory Through Stakeholder Capitalism Neslihan Aydogan-Duda (UC Berkeley Extension, USA) Business Science Reference • © 2021 • 300pp • H/C (ISBN: 9781799844921) • US $235.00

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Editorial Advisory Board

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Nikša Alfirević, University of Split, Croatia Luisa Cagica Carvalho, Institute Polytechnic of Setúbal, Portugal Patrizia de Luca, University of Trieste, Italy Jens De Rycke, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium Soeren Dressler, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, Germany David A. Edgar, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Rune Ellemose Gulev, Fachhochschule Kiel, Germany Iván Darío Hernández Umaña, Universidad de Ibagué, Colombia Steve Jackson, University of Otago, New Zealand Aleksander Janeš, University of Primorska, Slovenia Ines Kersan-Škabić, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Croatia Satu Lautamäki, Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, Finland Oscar Martin, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Spain Branislav Mitić, Information Technology School, Serbia Montserrat Renedo, M&M Profuture Training s.l., Spain Marijana Sikošek, University of Primorska, Slovenia Andrzej Szymkowiak, Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Poznaniu, Poland Anita Trnavčević, University of Primorska, Slovenia Nataša Slak Valek, Zayed University, UAE

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Table of Contents

Preface................................................................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19........................................................................... 1 Igor Rižnar, University of Primorska, Slovenia Saša Zupan Korže, Vanadis, Slovenia Chapter 2 Maintaining Football Club Identity During COVID-19: The Case of the English Premier League..... 13 David Edgar, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Steven Edgar, Independent Researcher, UK Chapter 3 The Financial Impact: Will Professional Soccer Return to Its Market Value After the COVID-19 Crisis? Insights and Results From an Empirical Study.......................................................................... 40 Soeren Dressler, HTW University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany Sandra Dressler, Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany Thomas Rachfall, University of Applied Sciences, Merseburg, Germany Dirk Foerster-Trallo, Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy (IMW), Leipzig, Germany

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Chapter 4 Downfall of the Sports Industry Due to the Pandemic of COVID-19................................................... 60 Ranjit Barua, CHST, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, India Nibedita Bardhan, Calcutta University, India Chapter 5 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products During the COVID-19 Pandemic............................................................................................................................. 73 Tina Vukasović, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia Gregor Jagodič, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia

 

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Chapter 6 The Promotion of an Active Lifestyle After Loosening COVID-19 Measures: Recreation Load Distribution in a Tourism Destination................................................................................................... 91 Matej Plevnik, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Slovenia Daša Fabjan, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia Marijana Sikošek, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia Miha Lesjak, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia Chapter 7 The Contribution of Tourist Events to Local Development: A Case Study With a Sport Perspective in the Post-COVID-19 Era................................................................................................ 107 Ana Rita Dias, Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, Portugal Bruno Barbosa Sousa, CiTUR, UNIAG, Polytechinc Institude of Cávado and Ave, Portugal Adrian Lubowiecki-Vikuk, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland Chapter 8 Expected Benefts and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic.................. 122 Asli Elif Aydin, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey Chapter 9 ‘With or Without COVID’: International Perceptions of the Tokyo Olympics, its Postponement, and its Rising Costs.............................................................................................................................. 139 Christopher J. Hayes, University of East Anglia, UK Chapter 10 Fantasy Sports and eSports: Is Unconventional Becoming Conventional? A Case Analysis.............. 154 Arne Baruca, Texas A&M University, San Antonio, USA Ebru Ulusoy, Farmingdale State College, USA

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Chapter 11 Dealing With Adversity: An Examination of the COVID-19 Impact on High School Athletes and Their Coaches...................................................................................................................................... 169 Greg Selber, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA Kimberly A. Selber, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA Chapter 12 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic: The Case of Colombia.............................................................................................................................................. 180 Juan D. Zabala-Sandoval, University of Ibague, Colombia & University of Chile, Chile Andrés Gómez-León, University of Rosario, Colombia & Universidad Los Libertadores, Colombia Jaime H. Sierra-González, Pontifcia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia Iván D. Hernández-Umaña, University of Ibague, Colombia

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Chapter 13 Sport and COVID-19: The Case of Croatia and Serbia....................................................................... 199 Marko Begović, Union-Nikola Tesla University, Serbia Chapter 14 One Step Forward and Two Steps Back? Pandemic Efects and Women’s Sport in Australia............ 209 Michelle O’Shea, Western Sydney University, Australia Hazel Maxwell, University of Tasmania, Australia Sarah Dufy, Western Sydney University, Australia Nicole Peel, Western Sydney University, Australia Chapter 15 The Impact of COVID-19 on Sponsorship in Slovenian Sports.......................................................... 232 Armand Faganel, Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Slovenia Branislav Mitić, ITS Information Technology School, Serbia Aleksander Janeš, Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Slovenia Compilation of References................................................................................................................ 255 About the Contributors..................................................................................................................... 296

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Index.................................................................................................................................................... 302

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Detailed Table of Contents

Preface................................................................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19........................................................................... 1 Igor Rižnar, University of Primorska, Slovenia Saša Zupan Korže, Vanadis, Slovenia Social distancing and self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic have wreaked havoc on people’s brains and physical ftness. The current dire situation makes it extremely difcult for people to maintain sanity amid the pandemic, with more than 33 million coronavirus cases (as of September 27, 2020), more than a million deaths, and slightly less than eight million currently infected people, of which one percent are seriously or critically ill. During this time, the awareness that physical and mental health go hand in hand is extremely important if a “tsunami” of psychiatric illness is to be avoided. As COVID-19 will probably persist for months, this chapter aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining regular exercise routines for both physical and mental health; it is a warning against a sedentary lifestyle that inevitably leads to muscle loss, a slowing brain, weakened heart and lungs, weight gain, and poor sleep.

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Chapter 2 Maintaining Football Club Identity During COVID-19: The Case of the English Premier League..... 13 David Edgar, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Steven Edgar, Independent Researcher, UK As a result of COVID-19, the UK imposed quarantine restrictions in March 2020. All large gatherings of people were against the law, and the professional league football ceased. In June 2020, the season was allowed to start again but with strict health policies and procedures in place, minimal backroom staf, regulations for goal celebration, and stringent cleansing routines. A signifcant part of the measures was no supporters at games. Instead, games were televised and broadcast live on a range of channels. This unique situation has raised many questions about the role of football in supporters’ lives and the need for the “football fx” in the weekly routine. This chapter focuses on eforts made by football clubs to create an atmosphere and maintain an identity/attachment with their supporters. To do this, the authors combine principles and underlying theory from identity theory, attachment theory, community theory, and fandom to propose a framework of fan attachment. They apply the framework to the English Premier League to see how all 20 clubs responded to the challenge of maintaining fan identity.

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,





Chapter 3 The Financial Impact: Will Professional Soccer Return to Its Market Value After the COVID-19 Crisis? Insights and Results From an Empirical Study.......................................................................... 40 Soeren Dressler, HTW University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany Sandra Dressler, Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany Thomas Rachfall, University of Applied Sciences, Merseburg, Germany Dirk Foerster-Trallo, Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy (IMW), Leipzig, Germany The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has impacted many industries such as the professional sports business. Almost all professional sports leagues, events, and championships have been either postponed or canceled. This chapter investigates the challenges of reduced revenue streams due to empty venues and canceled broadcasts on TV and on the internet. Also, the efects on the related merchandising business are addressed. Based on a theoretical analysis and an empirical study, the chapter highlights these direct impacts and sheds light on the indirect efects as well. As the pandemic disconnects sports enthusiasts to a certain extent from the team and/or athletes of their choice, certain behavioral aspects could appear. The results of the study underline that the fnancial efects in the short-term could almost be balanced; the medium- to long-term efects, however, will decrease the market value and threaten the business model of professional sports. Chapter 4 Downfall of the Sports Industry Due to the Pandemic of COVID-19................................................... 60 Ranjit Barua, CHST, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, India Nibedita Bardhan, Calcutta University, India

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The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic that has spread around the worldwide in the last few months has not only had a severe impact on society, public health, and the entire economy; it has also inficted chaos to the sporting calendar. Due to the pandemic situation, all the sports matches and the leagues that were to be held were postponed to avoid the gatherings of large crowds of spectators. All the sporting organizations have suspended all their activities to avoid the risk factor due to the spread of coronavirus. In this critical situation, the capacity of sports to gather people together is missed very much. The COVID-19 pandemic has afected all the people along with the sports life because sports is a place where all types of people meet and gather irrespective of diferences. This chapter describes how COVID-19 has impacted sports organizations, clubs, and their supporters. Also, diferent sports clubs are taking up new strategies, which will be benefcial for the upcoming sporting features, players, and supporters. Chapter 5 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products During the COVID-19 Pandemic............................................................................................................................. 73 Tina Vukasović, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia Gregor Jagodič, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our daily lives. We have all had to adapt to the so-called “new normality.” In the research, the authors focused on checking recent changes in buying habits of consumers purchasing sports and leisure products. They found that the purchasing frequency decreased during the pandemic. An important increase is observed in the use of online stores, and the share of those

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



purchasing sports and leisure products spontaneously has decreased. Consumer buying habits were most negatively afected by government restrictive decrees. As evident from the research, the epidemic has caused signifcant changes in consumer buying habits, and its impact and changes will become even more visible in the coming period of uncertainty for all, with almost no possibility to infuence the changing conditions, only trying to adapt, at least partially, to “the new reality.” Chapter 6 The Promotion of an Active Lifestyle After Loosening COVID-19 Measures: Recreation Load Distribution in a Tourism Destination................................................................................................... 91 Matej Plevnik, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Slovenia Daša Fabjan, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia Marijana Sikošek, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia Miha Lesjak, Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia This chapter focuses on the association between the proximity of a physical environment suitable for recreation and physical activity, which is a public health priority in communities. After the COVID-19 lockdown, tourism destinations experienced an increased number of visitors who showed the need for physical activity. To ensure the health of visitors and promote physical activity, destinations try to provide safe infrastructure and distribute recreation load in time and space by managing visitor fow. With the newly imposed health standards, it is essential to identify overcrowding for eventual visitor management interventions by spatial planning or other regulation; thus, a pilot measurement of recreation load was carried out to compare the diferences between weekday and weekend physical activity on a chosen location in tourism destination. The fndings represent a basis for actions of visitor management with the aim to accommodate the recreation needs of locals and other visitors.

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Chapter 7 The Contribution of Tourist Events to Local Development: A Case Study With a Sport Perspective in the Post-COVID-19 Era................................................................................................ 107 Ana Rita Dias, Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, Portugal Bruno Barbosa Sousa, CiTUR, UNIAG, Polytechinc Institude of Cávado and Ave, Portugal Adrian Lubowiecki-Vikuk, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland Territorial marketing is a fundamental tool for destination management and strategic planning in order to promote and highlight a territory, place, or city. In order to understand and comprehend the importance of territorial marketing in promoting this event, an analysis of the results obtained through a qualitative approach is made. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted in a focus group of nine participants. The recent pandemic of the new coronavirus has signifcantly changed the lifestyle of the population, with a strong impact on the tourism, events, and sports sector. Consequently, the Braga Romana (Portugal) tourist, cultural, and sporting event was canceled in the year 2020 due to COVID-19. This chapter is intended to present a retrospective of this event and the growing importance of the safety and hygiene seal as a response (and anticipation) to the 2021 edition. Chapter 8 Expected Benefts and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic.................. 122 Asli Elif Aydin, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey The infuence of perceived barriers and expected benefts of exercise on exercise behavior is well

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



recognized. During the pandemic, individuals’ ability to perform physical activities is restricted due to isolation conditions. Still, adherence to exercise is more important than ever, considering the positive impact of physical activity on the immune system. Additionally, exercise helps people get rid of anxiety, depression, and stress, which tend to escalate in the pandemic. This chapter aims to increase exercise participation by understanding perceived barriers and expected benefts of exercise during the pandemic. The relationship between isolation, exercise, mental and physiological health during the pandemic will be discussed. Moreover, a review of the perceived barriers and expected benefts of exercise will be made. Last, an empirical study examining these relationships will be made. Chapter 9 ‘With or Without COVID’: International Perceptions of the Tokyo Olympics, its Postponement, and its Rising Costs.............................................................................................................................. 139 Christopher J. Hayes, University of East Anglia, UK The Tokyo Olympics are now the most expensive Olympic Games to ever take place. Or should that be “to not take place”? Originally scheduled to be held in the summer of 2020, like much of the sports calendar, the Games were postponed due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Now, delayed until Summer 2021, the costs for the Games continue to rise and will do so until the end of the competition. COVID has seen many tournaments cancelled, and there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Tokyo Olympics. However, on 7 September 2020, IOC Vice President John Coates said that the Games would go ahead “with or without COVID.” This chapter will examine the problems associated with the Games, those that existed pre-COVID and issues arising directly or indirectly from the pandemic. It will look at the media reporting of these issues internationally and the narratives about the Games within the COVID context. Is the media confdent that Japan will be able to pull of an event that will signal recovery from a global pandemic? Or is it just blind, and expensive, optimism? Chapter 10 Fantasy Sports and eSports: Is Unconventional Becoming Conventional? A Case Analysis.............. 154 Arne Baruca, Texas A&M University, San Antonio, USA Ebru Ulusoy, Farmingdale State College, USA

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Fantasy sports and eSports are relatively recent phenomena that are growing in popularity and importance in today’s society. Per their nature, they are also tightly connected with sports. In this chapter, the authors present these two phenomena and explain their importance in today’s sports industry. Furthermore, the chapter analyzes fantasy sports and eSports consumption patterns and discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic afected them. To conclude, the chapter suggests the possible implications for fantasy sports and eSports in the future. Chapter 11 Dealing With Adversity: An Examination of the COVID-19 Impact on High School Athletes and Their Coaches...................................................................................................................................... 169 Greg Selber, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA Kimberly A. Selber, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, has been that rare world-shaking event, from its efects on health, economics, and politics to its infuence on attitudes, behavior, and wellness. In a particular context, high school sports have also been greatly altered by the coronavirus, as many spring

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



seasons were abbreviated, truncated, or aborted altogether in the wake of the pandemic spread. This chapter seeks to examine the efects of the pandemic on high school coaches and athletes in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a southernmost region comprising four counties on the Texas-Mexico border and about 1.5 million people. The Valley, as it is known, has one of the lowest per capita incomes per region in the United States, and it is an area where high school sports is a very important vehicle for all its participants. Chapter 12 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic: The Case of Colombia.............................................................................................................................................. 180 Juan D. Zabala-Sandoval, University of Ibague, Colombia & University of Chile, Chile Andrés Gómez-León, University of Rosario, Colombia & Universidad Los Libertadores, Colombia Jaime H. Sierra-González, Pontifcia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia Iván D. Hernández-Umaña, University of Ibague, Colombia This chapter explores diferent impacts that the pandemic has had on athletes from bodybuilding, aikido, and squash practices in Colombia. It seeks to analyze the efects produced by the COVID-19 crisis and the response actions, seeking a structure that allows for the understanding of changes in sports practices as individual adaptation to the new conditions caused by the pandemic. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted to establish a baseline of sports habits and to investigate the efects on motivations, routines, times, spaces, and perspectives of the athletes. After describing the methodology, the main fndings are presented. The diversity of the responses was used to construct categories of analysis which, as an added value, allow for the grouping of heterogeneous positions, which were then divided into (1) adjustments, (2) adaptability, and (3) the negotiation of meaning. Finally, conclusions are presented.

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Chapter 13 Sport and COVID-19: The Case of Croatia and Serbia....................................................................... 199 Marko Begović, Union-Nikola Tesla University, Serbia This chapter aims to present the institutional response of two Balkan countries aimed at mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. The research methodology involves document analysis examining policy documents and legislation. The pandemic crisis is a worldwide reality resulting in implementing various physical distancing and preventive measures. These measures were very strict in the Balkan region, but the enforcement depended largely on political circumstances. The political management of the COVID-19 crisis showed that both countries proceeded with the centralized decision-making approach, including the adoption of specifc regulations and support for sport movement. The COVID-19 crisis will continue to disrupt sport on diferent levels, and strong public support will need to provide sustainability of sportrelated activities. The “re-thinking” of sport in its current form is inevitable to create more dynamic and resilient sport structures.

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



Chapter 14 One Step Forward and Two Steps Back? Pandemic Efects and Women’s Sport in Australia............ 209 Michelle O’Shea, Western Sydney University, Australia Hazel Maxwell, University of Tasmania, Australia Sarah Dufy, Western Sydney University, Australia Nicole Peel, Western Sydney University, Australia Over the last decade, professional sport for women in Australia has experienced signifcant growth. However, the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to all facets of life including sport has slowed momentum towards equity, diversity, and inclusion. This chapter considers the complex and contested growth of sport for women in Australia during this period. It starts with Australia and New Zealand’s bid win for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Then two Australian women’s sport leagues are presented as illustrative case studies: the Australian Rules Football League for Women (AFLW) and the Super Netball League. A study of grassroots women’s sports in 2020 highlights the challenges access and engagement can present for women and girls during this period. In summary, an exploration of the response of Australian women’s sport to the COVID-19 pandemic provides opportunities for sports organisations to reassess and recalibrate the ways they could beneft both professional and grassroots sport for all. Chapter 15 The Impact of COVID-19 on Sponsorship in Slovenian Sports.......................................................... 232 Armand Faganel, Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Slovenia Branislav Mitić, ITS Information Technology School, Serbia Aleksander Janeš, Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Slovenia

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Slovenian sport is fnanced from three main sources: public expenditure provided by the state through the annual sports program and the Sports Foundation at the national level and local communities; population expenditure on sports products and services; and economic expenditure, which is mostly sponsorship in sports. Each company follows its own sponsorship strategy, with many areas and projects always competing with each other, deciding which areas to invest in (e.g., sports, culture, etc.) and assess their priorities and relationships with other investments. 2020 has been heavily marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a profound impact on the world and the economy, as well as on sports and sponsorships. Namely, sport is one of the forms of social activity in which the participants are physically close or even in contact at all times. These are athletes, coaches, masseurs, physiotherapists, and others, as well as spectators. Most Slovenian companies have decided to insist on sponsoring selected sports activities, but they also expect some sort of government assistance. This chapter explores the impact of COVID-19 on sponsorship Slovenian sports. Compilation of References................................................................................................................ 255 About the Contributors..................................................................................................................... 296 Index.................................................................................................................................................... 302

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

xv

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Preface

When the idea for this monograph was born – during the first half of 2020 – many of us thought that at the end of March 2021 it will be more or less ‘business as usual’ in the sports industry and that our lives will slowly return to normal. It seems now that returning to normal life is going to be a slow process, especially with the more contagious and deadlier variant strains of COVID-19, which necessitate new lockdowns and restrictions leading to prolonged economic, social, political and personal impacts. At the moment, we hope that new ways of making vaccines will end the pandemic in the long run and make our efforts to contain the pandemic a bit more manageable and easier to cope with in the short run. This monograph comprises 15 contributions written by authors coming from different countries, different continents and different universities who, despite the variety of their backgrounds, all share interest for the same important topic: impact and implications for the sports industry in the post-Covid-19 era. In the first chapter of this monograph, the authors argue that during the time of COVID-19 crisis the awareness that physical and mental health go hand in hand is extremely important if a “tsunami” of psychiatric illness is to be avoided. They believe that raising awareness of the importance of maintaining regular exercise routines during the crisis should be a priority for individuals and governments due to their indisputable physical and mental benefits. Lack of regular physical activity may during and after the Covid-19 crisis, on the other hand, lead to chronic diseases. The authors of the second chapter focus on efforts made by football clubs to create an atmosphere and maintain an identity with their supporters. They proposed a framework of fan attachment and applied it to the English Premier league to see how clubs responded to the challenge of maintaining fan identity. Chapter 3 addresses the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis on professional soccer. By studying ticket sales, TV and Internet rights, advertisements and sponsorships, merchandising and fees for qualification in international competitions, the authors try to answer the question of how likely professional sports will be able to return to its pre-Covid market valuations. Through their research they arrive to the conclusion that Covid-19 may change the fundamentals of professional sports as all of the important revenue levers have been impacted by the crisis. The authors of the fourth chapter describe how Covid-19 has impacted sports organizations, clubs and their supporters only to discover that the pandemic has had a big effect on the sports industry upsetting the balance between companies and markets. They propose setting up a strategy comprising of protective actions that would prevent human-to-human interaction in order to reduce infections. The topic of the fifth contribution is consumer buying behavior when buying sports and leisure products during the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors focus on changes in consumer buying habits and find out that the purchasing frequency has decreased during the times of “new normality.” On the other hand, the share of people buying online has increased considerably.

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,



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Preface

Chapter 6 focuses on the relationship between the proximity of a physical environment suitable for recreation and physical activity in two coastal tourism destinations in Slovenia (Portorož and Piran), with findings that may represent the basis for actions of visitor management with the aim to accommodate the recreation needs of locals and visitors. The authors advice local authorities in tourism destinations to take a strategic approach to coordinate the needs of locals and to promote the recreational aspect of the chosen destinations to visitors. In their opinion it is crucial to measure visitor flows to understand the carrying capacity of the physical environment and identify the bottlenecks. They, too, mention the importance of physical activity and active lifestyle during the COVID-19 crisis. The next chapter addresses the contribution of tourist and sports event, the Braga Romana, to local development amid the pandemic in Portugal. The authors highlight the importance of strategic planning at the territorial marketing level as a way of developing a particular destination. The author of the eighth chapter deals with perceived barriers and expected benefits to exercise during the Covid-19 pandemic. He argues, that despite the limitations imposed on individuals by the Covid-19 pandemic (quarantines, shutdowns, closed gyms and fitness clubs, etc.) it is important to remain active, because physical activity is considered a preventive measure as it, among other things, boosts the immune system, strengthens the defense mechanisms of the body and helps people to deal with anxiety and stress. The postponement and rising costs of Tokyo Olympics is the topic of Chapter 9 in which the author examines the problems associated with the Games by analyzing pre-Covid issues and those that arose directly or indirectly from the pandemic. After thoroughly analyzing the situation, the author concludes that the road to Tokyo Olympics that may or may not be cancelled is a long and winding road. Chapter 10 discusses a relatively recent phenomena of fantasy sports and e-sports that are growing in popularity and importance. The chapter analyses their consumption patterns and discusses how the Covid-19 pandemic affected them. Their final conclusion is that e-sports is moving out of the role of the counterculture of sport and moving into being a part of the modern sports industry. Both e-sports and fantasy sports can, in their opinion, become a strong complement to traditional sports activities. In the next chapter, the authors seek to examine the effects of the pandemic on high school coaches and athletes in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Using interviews with coaches and student-athletes their research examines the classical conception of the value of play, competition and organized athletics, suggesting that for many students the suspension of games was a serious threat to their development and a hit to morale and self-esteem. The chapter points out the importance of teamwork, sportsmanship and cohesion amid the Covid-19 crisis. Chapter 12 outlines changes in sports (bodybuilding, aikido and squash) in Colombia brought about by the pandemic. The authors analyze sports habits and investigate the effects of the crisis on motivation, routines, times, spaces and perspectives of the athletes. Their conclusion is that the effects of the pandemic on the habits of athletes tend to be negative, if the athletes were not able to maintain a sense of purpose in their practices in order to cope with the quarantine through adjustment, adaptation, discipline and perseverance. Sports under Covid-19 in Croatia and Serbia is the topic of Chapter 13 in which the author describes institutional responses to mitigate the crisis in two Balkan countries and proposes a rethinking of sports activities as an inevitable action in order to create more dynamic and resilient sports structures. Chapter 14 highlights the disruption caused by Covid-19 pandemic in professional sports for women in Australia. The authors of this monograph wish their contributions will help ensure a secure and sustainable recovery in the post-COVID era. The authors emphasize the fact that a robust body of literature supports the benefits of participating in organized sports, including improved health and fitness, better xvi

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Preface

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mental health outcomes and stronger social networks. Unfortunately, empirical research also reports the barriers and constraints obstructing girls’ and women’s sports activities and recreational opportunities. The last chapter deals with the impact of Covid-19 on sponsorship in Slovenian sports, which is financed from three sources, namely, public expenditure provided by the state and Sports Foundation (annual sports programs), population expenditure (sports products and services) and economic expenditure (sponsorship). The authors conclude that sponsorship is an important co-financier of Slovenian sports, therefore it is of utmost importance to maintain sponsorship funds as much as possible by taking measures that would introduce at least temporary tax reliefs and/or exemptions in 2020 and 2021.

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Chapter 1

Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19 Igor Rižnar University of Primorska, Slovenia Saša Zupan Korže Vanadis, Slovenia

ABSTRACT Social distancing and self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic have wreaked havoc on people’s brains and physical ftness. The current dire situation makes it extremely difcult for people to maintain sanity amid the pandemic, with more than 33 million coronavirus cases (as of September 27, 2020), more than a million deaths, and slightly less than eight million currently infected people, of which one percent are seriously or critically ill. During this time, the awareness that physical and mental health go hand in hand is extremely important if a “tsunami” of psychiatric illness is to be avoided. As COVID-19 will probably persist for months, this chapter aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining regular exercise routines for both physical and mental health; it is a warning against a sedentary lifestyle that inevitably leads to muscle loss, a slowing brain, weakened heart and lungs, weight gain, and poor sleep.

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INTRODUCTION At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, some global thinkers predicted that this world-shattering event would not only change people’s lives, disrupt markets and expose the (in)competence of governments, but would also lead to a permanent shift in political and economic power. On the macro level, the pandemic should strengthen the role of states, reduce hyper globalization, change global supply chains, reinforce governmental interventions, contribute to a deterioration in Sino–American relations, weaken European integration, etc. (Allen et al., 2020). On the micro level, socioeconomic changes in mobility, socialization, consumption patterns, leisure, work and in other dimensions of social life will most likely have a significant impact on our lives. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch001

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19

Although the COVID-19 pandemic may not prove to be the worst pandemic in history, almost all affected countries have imposed extremely strict restrictions upon private and economic life in an effort to contain the virus (Messerschmidt, 2020). Nonpharmaceutical interventions were (and still are – until the vaccination can be widely administered) the main strategy to contain the pandemic (Gössling et al., 2020). States have adopted a set of emergency measures that include restricting travel, preventing inter- and intra-state movement, quarantine, isolation, surveillance using mobile telephone data, contact tracing digital apps, etc. The majority of people in the world have been faced with stay-at-home orders, limitations on the number of people assembled in one place and other restrictions concerning public gatherings, work-from-home orders, education-from-home orders, the closure of non-essential businesses, etc. (Richardson & Divine, 2020).

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The pandemic has had a more negative impact on economic activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast. There is a higherthan-usual degree of uncertainty around this forecast (IMF, 2020), while economic uncertainty among consumers and firms is near a record high (The Economist, 2020). Prospects for economic growth depend on various factors: on the likelihood of a new virus outbreak; the impact on consumer and business confidence; the extent to which governments’ aid for job and business can boost demand (OECD, 2020). The World Bank has predicted that hunger could swiftly follow the COVID-19 pandemic, doubling acute food insecurity by the end of 2020, when 40 to 60 million more people could be living in extreme poverty (Pangestu, 2020). COVID-19 has affected all levels of the education system, from preschool to university education. Different countries have introduced various policies, ranging from complete closure (e.g., Germany, Italy etc.) to targeted closure (e.g., United Kingdom) (Nicola et al., 2020). For students, school is not only an educational hub, but also a “home outside home,” with plentiful free space. Schools offer children a “window of freedom”’ and a place for interaction with their peers and seniors. Moreover, they play an important role in promoting the importance of personal hygiene, physical activity, healthy eating and body habits (Sylva, 1994). As schools used to provide a sense of normalcy, staying at home has meant a drastic change in the lifestyle, physical activity and mental excursions of children, which has imposed an immediate and lingering psychological impact on them. The routine habits of school-going, task-oriented education, peer group interactions, teacher–student relations and forming friendships with other pupils have been jeopardized (Ghosh et al., 2020). In addition, in schools and faculties, there has been a massive “migration” from traditional in-class face-to-face education to online education (Bao, 2020). Home schooling has not only been a massive shock to parents’ productivity, but also to children’s social life and learning. The global-scale expansion in home schooling might first have been seen quite positively, and likely to be effective. Until the pandemic, this way of learning was good as a complement to the input from school but was not a prime driver for learning (Burgess & Sievertsen, 2020). Moreover, home-learning has highlighted the wide disparity amongst populations in terms of those with a higher income compared to families with lower income; those that can help their children compared to those who cannot; those that have the necessary books, a suitable place to learn, computers, smartphone Internet access etc. compared to those that do not have all of these (Ghosh et al., 2020). Rapid, stringent and pervasive nonpharmaceutical measures (Ryan, 2020) have raised several legal dilemmas as to whether—and to what extent—they have or might have been justifiable in limiting basic 2

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19

human rights. In some cases, the measures restricting the enjoyment of human rights and the war rhetoric that accompanies them have opened the way to the abuse of emergency regulations and an overreaching of executive power. In the EU, certain governments have used the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity for more autocratic ways of leading their states. Drinóczi and Bień-Kacała (2020) point to the example of Hungary and Poland, where governments already apply the nonliberal version of the Rule of Law (illiberal legality) and have exploited the COVID-19 pandemic for political gain. In fact, the pandemic and the response to it have put human rights to severe test (Spadaro, 2020) and a growing number of studies have emerged to discuss this issue (e.g., Amon & Wurth, 2020; Spadaro, 2020; Valerio, 2020).

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BACKGROUND In November 2020, the world remains in a dire situation. By now, it has become increasingly clear that COVID-19 is not just a respiratory disease. Even patients who experience mild illness may report neurological problems, ranging from problems with memory, anxiety, confusion, delirium, fatigue, tiredness, problems with staying focused, and even a brain stroke due to a clot depriving brain areas of blood supply. A leading web-based platform for the assessment of cognitive function, Cambridge Brain Sciences (2020), has just been started in order to shed light on the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 on the brain. Hassanzadeh et al. (2020) state that although the most prevalent symptom that brings COVID-19 patients to the intensive care units is serious respiratory complications, some patients also show neurologic signs, ranging from headache, dizziness, impaired consciousness, ataxia to hypogeusia, hyposmia and neuralgia. Fitsiori et al. (2020), while observing MR images of patients tested positive for COVID-19, also point out the multiorganic nature of SARS-CoV-2. They describe brain microbleeds predominately affecting the corpus callosum. Butowt and von Bartheld (2020) critically examined the literature about how the SARS-CoV-2 virus can follow a route from the nose to the brain to cause brain infection. Numerous studies (Broadhouse et al. 2020; Gaitán et al. 2019; Mekari et al 2020; Opel et al. 2019; Segaert et al. 2018; Tarumi et al. 2015) have shown that regular physical activity improves cognitive function. A systematic review of structural and brain changes due to exercising carried out by Herold et al. in 2019 showed that there is growing evidence that points towards a relationship between cognitive function and muscular strength. They report that resistance training leads to lower white matter atrophy and an improvement in executive functions. Bidzan-Bluma and Lipowska (2018), in their systematic review of 58 studies that demonstrate the influence of physical activity on cognitive functions, suggest that engaging in sports positively influences cognitive and emotional functions of children (motivation, the ability to set goals, self-control). During the “quaranteaching” times it is equally important to be aware of the benefits of sports activities for the young as it is obvious that screen-based online learning and sedentary lifestyle will have a negative impact on young learners. In order to avoid synchronous video fatigue during remote learning, students should be advised to be as physically active as possible in order to avoid obesity, high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. A sedentary lifestyle does not only influence physical health, but cognitive and brain health as well. Lack of physical activity and its association with the decline in academic achievement and cognitive abilities have been discussed by many researchers (Chaddock et al., 2011; Marques et al., 2018; Phillips et al., 2019; Sattelmair & Rated, 2009), who point out the positive effects of physical activity on cognitive processes. Maugeri et al. (2020), who focus on the impact of 3

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 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19

the pandemic in Italy, report on the effects of physical activity on psychological health in Italy during self-quarantine. They concluded that maintaining a regular exercise routine is a key strategy for both physical and mental health during the pandemic, while stating that quarantine in Italy led to a significant reduction in total weekly physical activity energy expenditure in all age groups and especially in men, which had a negative effect on psychological well-being. Another review of the literature on COVID-19 and mental health by Rajkumar (2020), reports that symptoms of anxiety and depression (16–28%) and stress (8%), which may be associated with disturbed sleep, are common psychological reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic in four surveyed groups (general population, medical staff treating patients with COVID-19, general public, and individuals in self-isolation for 14 days). The dire consequences for health, economy and lifestyle have been discussed by Woods et al. (2020). They provide an overview of the impact of COVID-19 and related physical inactivity on human health and offer guidelines to people suffering from the adverse outcomes during the pandemic and to those recovering from infection. When addressing the harm to the body of physical inactivity associated with the virus outbreak, they point out that inactivity reduces heart health and increases the long-term risk of coronary artery disease. On the other hand, regular physical activity promotes cardiorespiratory fitness and longevity. While being aware that social distancing and quarantine are necessary for the protection against virus infections, they also emphasize the negative effects of social isolation: mental disorders; exhaustion; irritability; poor concentration; insomnia; fear; and anxiety. These mental and psychological disorders make individuals more vulnerable because of the weakened protective capacities of the immune system. In addition, they mention a study from 2016 in which Krüger et al. (2016) documented that regular exercise-induced adaptations enhance the effectiveness of the immune system. Thus, they emphasized that regular physical activity could attenuate the symptoms and consequences of quarantineinduced depression and recommend daily exercise for individuals of all ages. Di Stefano et al. (2020) discuss sudden changes in people’s lifestyle due to the quarantine measures introduced by governments worldwide in order to control the spread of COVID-19. They discovered a significant decrease in the total weekly physical activity levels both in patients with neuromuscular disease and in healthy individuals during the pandemic. In conclusion, they stressed that a sedentary lifestyle could have negative consequences on the health of the entire population. As outdoor physical activities are not always possible, they recommend performing indoor physical activities in order to maintain an active lifestyle. Ingram et al. (2020) examined the associations between sociodemographic factors and COVID-19induced changes and health behaviors (alcohol consumption, diet, sleep and physical activity). Their review of the literature shows that heightened life stress has been linked to unhealthy eating and poor sleep quality or disrupted sleep. They also confirmed in their study that full-time students spent less time being physically active, that shielding was associated with lower sleep quality, and that lockdown conditions were associated with a higher negative mood overall. Some authors also recommend application-based exercising (Müller et al., 2020), pointing out the anti-inflammatory effects of exercising, practicing mindfulness (Fisher et al., 2020), virtual reality exercising (Gao et al., 2020), and remote exercising (Worrall et al., 2020) for both healthy individuals as well as for patients. Although it is not always clear whether health improvements from, for example, virtual reality exercising are significant, it is beyond doubt that they improve motor ability, obesity status, cognition and have a positive effect on various psychological disorders.

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19

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A systematic review of the literature regarding practical recommendations for maintaining an active lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic carried out by Bentlage et al. (2020), emphasizes the importance of personalized and supervised physical activity programs that could be assisted, delivered and disseminated worldwide through ITC solutions. The conclusion from the above review is simple: Regular exercising is important for good physical and mental health. Exercising positively impacts serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine levels, the brain chemicals that play an important part in regulating one’s mood. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2018), adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and have at least two sessions of muscle-strengthening activities per week. Staying at home is the best way to avoid catching COVID-19, but staying at home and being inactive can also weaken your heart and lungs and impair brain function. Thus, it is sensible to recommend to all age groups that they become involved in moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (walking briskly, riding a bike, playing doubles tennis, etc.) or vigorous-intensity aerobic activities (running/jogging, riding a bike on hills, playing singles tennis, etc.) as well as practicing muscle-strengthening activities (lifting weights, working with resistance bands, or doing exercises that use one’s body weight for resistance, some forms of yoga, etc.). Physical activity is essential because it can reduce stress, prevent weight gain, boost the immune system and improve sleep. Governments, in their efforts to contain COVID-19, should have communicated this more frequently and with greater emphasis in order to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity for their citizens. Despite being a relatively recent field of inquiry, there is an extensive body of evidence suggesting that physical activity reduces the risk of age-related cognitive decline (Erickson et al., 2012), and has, equally importantly, positive effects on brain and cognition in children (Erickson et al., 2015), where research has shown that active children show greater hippocampal and basal ganglia volume, greater white matter integrity as well as superior executive and memory function. According to a review of literature carried out by Pedersen (2019), physical activity has a positive effect on learning, memory and attention, processing speed and executive function, reaction time and language learning, motor skills and learning, verbal visuospatial cognitive test results and academic achievement in children and intelligence in adolescents. The beneficial effects of muscle activity on cognition have mostly been demonstrated with aerobic exercise, but less is known regarding the effects of resistance training. In their conclusion, Kempermann et al. (2010) claim that physical activity and its consequences are evolutionarily inseparable from cognition, thus training to improve cognition will inevitably benefit from—if not depend on—physical exercise. In their view, physical activity is much more than just a healthy garnish to leading a healthy life, but an evolutionary fundamental aspect of activity, which is needed to provide the brain and its systems of plastic adaptation with the appropriate regulatory input and feedback.

CONCLUSION Despite the fact that it is often possible and reasonable to be engaged in physical activities indoors, we would recommend mild or moderate regular exercising outdoors, while at the same time respecting distancing and hygiene precautions. Many COVID-19 studies emphasize the importance of maintaining physical activity levels in order to reduce the psychological burdens during the lockdown. Government policies related to COVID-19 should promote physical activity for vulnerable groups as well as for the healthy population of all ages, with guidelines regarding the volume, duration and intensity of indoor/ 5

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 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19

outdoor virtual/real activities. With people being less and less active under normal conditions, physical activities during the COVID-19 crisis, when it is often more difficult to remain motivated and selfdisciplined, should be promoted by state and local governments, the health sector, sports organizations, teachers and, last but not least, employers. Raising awareness of the benefits of physical activities during the COVID-19 pandemic might have a positive and long-lasting effect on the inactive population once the crisis is over, thus it is necessary to highlight the many benefits of regular physical activity—for brain health as well as for physical health and—equally importantly—for disease prevention. Cotman and Berchtold (2020) mention the robust literature that documents how exercise could regulate anatomical changes that support brain plasticity. The positive effects of exercising occur in the hippocampus, which is a brain region central to learning and memory. McEwen (2016), too, emphasizes the effects of regular physical activity not only on cardiovascular and metabolic systems, but also on the brain. Ho et al., (2020) believe that, in order to fight the psychological impact of COVID-19, it would be worthwhile to provide online education in order to promote mental wellness, particularly through mindfulness-based therapy, which has been found to be helpful in alleviating stress. They rightly suggest that the COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the fragility of mental resilience and the need for the provision of coordinated psychological intervention by governments across the globe. Hammami et al. (2020) give specific recommendations for home-based physical training by stressing the importance of our mental health and the need to improve our immune systems in order to be able to fight sickness. They point out that while staying at home can lead to a lot of stress, anxiety and mental distress, we can nevertheless become involved in home-based activities such as bodyweight training and dance-based aerobic exercise, and when possible, high-intensity exercise using stationary bikes or rowing ergometers. They recommend that these activities be combined with, but not substituted by, stretching and active gaming. The aim of this contribution was to provide some reasons for maintaining an active lifestyle for both the general and vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic by reviewing a number of studies on the basis of which we may confirm that physical activity programs are needed. The social distancing policies in different countries may vary, but in situations that can be considered safe, outdoor physical activities are preferred to indoor activities and/or virtual activities. When, in January 2020, WHO (2020) declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a global health emergency and later (in March) as a global pandemic, the situation negatively affected everyone—the sedentary and those with an active lifestyle—which could lead to serious and detrimental effects on health long after the pandemic is over. We emphasize the importance of personal hygiene, social distancing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, and encourage physical activity due to its indisputable physical and mental benefits for the whole population. With depleted options for outdoor activities, we also recommend—above all to high-risk groups—indoor and virtual exercising. Staying safe is of utmost importance but encouraging the whole population to maintain a physically active lifestyle as a preventive health measure during the time of COVID-19 is perfectly reasonable. One of the worrisome aspects of COVID-19 is that some symptoms (headache, cough, fatigue and a range of cognitive issues such as memory loss, inability to concentrate, etc.) can linger for months after the initial diagnosis. As we try to broaden our understanding of the long-term impact of coronavirus infection, some effective recovery practices should be recommended.

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REFERENCES Allen, J., Burns, N., Garret, L., Haass, R. H., Ikenberry, G. J., Mahbubani, K., Menon, S., Niblett, R., Nye, J. S., O’Neil, S. K., Schake, K., & Walt, S. M. (2020). How the world will look after the coronavirus pandemic. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/20/world-order-after-coroanvirus-pandemic/ Amon, J. J., & Wurth, M. (2020). A virtual roundtable on COVID-19 and human rights with human rights watch researchers. Health and Human Rights, 22(1), 399. PMID:32669829 Bao, W. (2020). Covid-19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(2), 113–115. doi:10.1002/hbe2.191 PMID:32510042 Bentlage, E., Ammar, A., How, D., Ahmed, M., Trabelsi, K., Chtourou, H., & Brach, M. (2020). Practical recommendations for maintaining active lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 6265. doi:10.3390/ijerph17176265 PMID:32872154 Bidzan-Bluma, I., & Lipowska, M. (2018). Physical activity and cognitive functioning of children: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(4), 800. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040800 PMID:29671803 Broadhouse, K. M., Singh, M. F., Suo, C., Gates, N., Wen, W., Brodaty, H., Jain, N., Wilson, G. C., Meiklejohn, J., Singh, N., Baune, B. T., Baker, M., Foroughi, N., Wang, Y., Kochan, N., Ashton, K., Brown, M., Li, Z., Mavros, Y., ... Valenzuela, M. J. (2020). Hippocampal plasticity underpins long-term cognitive gains from resistance exercise in MCI. NeuroImage. Clinical, 25, 102182. doi:10.1016/j. nicl.2020.102182 PMID:31978826 Burgess, S., & Sievertsen, H. H. (2020). Schools, skills, and learning: The impact of COVID-19 on education. VoxEu. org, 1. https://voxeu.org/article/impact-covid-19-education Butowt, R., & von Bartheld, C. S. (2020). Anosmia in COVID-19: Underlying mechanisms and assessment of an olfactory route to brain infection. The Neuroscientist. doi:10.1177/1073858420956905 PMID:32914699 Cambridge Brain Sciences. (2020). COVID-19 Brain Study: A global study of how the virus affects cognition. https://www.cambridgebrainsciences.com/studies/covid-brain-study

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Chaddock, L., Pontifex, M. B., Hillman, C. H., & Kramer, A. F. (2011). A review of the relation of aerobic fitness and physical activity to brain structure and function in children. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 17(6), 975–985. doi:10.1017/S1355617711000567 PMID:22040896 Cotman, C. W., & Berchtold, N. C. (2002). Exercise: A behavioral intervention to enhance brain health and plasticity. Trends in Neurosciences, 25(6), 295–301. doi:10.1016/S0166-2236(02)02143-4 PMID:12086747 Di Stefano, V., Battaglia, G., Giustino, V., Gagliardo, A., D’Aleo, M., Giannini, O., Palma, A., & Brighina, F. (2020). Significant reduction of physical activity in patients with neuromuscular disease during COVID-19 pandemic: The long-term consequences of quarantine. Journal of Neurology, 1–7. doi:10.100700415-020-10064-6 PMID:32661716

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 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19

Drinóczi, T., & Bień-Kacała, A. (2020). COVID-19 in Hungry and Poland: Extraordinary situation and illiberal constitutionalism. The Theory and Practice of Legislation, 8(1–2), 171–192. https://www. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20508840.2020.1782109 Erickson, K. I., Hillman, C. H., & Kramer, A. F. (2015). Physical activity, brain, and cognition. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 4, 27–32. doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.01.005 Erickson, K. I., Weinstein, A. M., & Lopez, O. L. (2012). Physical activity, brain plasticity, and Alzheimer’s disease. Archives of Medical Research, 43(8), 615–621. doi:10.1016/j.arcmed.2012.09.008 PMID:23085449 Fischer, R., Karl, J. A., Bortolini, T., Zilberberg, M., Robinson, K., Rabelo, A., . . . Mattos, P. (2020). Rapid review and meta-meta-analysis of self-guided interventions to address anxiety, depression and stress during COVID-19 social distancing. https://psyarxiv.com/ndyf4/ Fitsiori, A., Pugin, D., Thieffry, C., Lalive d’Epinay, P., & Vargas Gomez, M. I. (2020). Unusual microbleeds in brain MRI of Covid-19 patients. Journal of Neuroimaging, 30(5), 593–597. doi:10.1111/ jon.12755 PMID:32639679 Gaitán, J. M., Boots, E. A., Dougherty, R. J., Oh, J. M., Ma, Y., Edwards, D. F., Christian, B.T., Cook, D.B. & Okonkwo, O. C. (2019). Brain glucose metabolism, cognition, and cardiorespiratory fitness following exercise training in adults at risk for Alzheimer’s Disease. Brain Plasticity, (Preprint), 1–13. Gao, Z., Lee, J. E., McDonough, D. J., & Albers, C. (2020). Virtual reality exercise as a coping strategy for health and wellness promotion in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multidisciplinary Publishing Institute. Ghosh, R., Dubey, M. J., Chatterjee, S., & Dubey, S. (2020). Impact of Covid-19 on children: Special focus on the psychosocial aspect. Minerva Pediatrica, 72(3), 226–235. doi:10.23736/S0026-4946.20.05887-9 PMID:32613821 Gössling, S., Scott, D., & Hall, M. (2020). Pandemics, tourism and global change: A rapid assessment of COVID-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/096695 82.2020.1758708

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Guterres, A. (2020). Policy brief: COVID-19 and the need for action on mental health. https://un.org/ coronavirus/mentalhealth Hammami, A., Harrabi, B., Mohr, M., & Krustrup, P. (2020). Physical activity and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Specific recommendations for home-based physical training. Managing Sport and Leisure, 25(1-2), 1–6. doi:10.1080/23750472.2020.1757494 Hassanzadeh, K., Perez Pena, H., Dragotto, J., Buccarello, L., Iorio, F., Pieraccini, S., Sancini, G., & Feligioni, M. (2020). Considerations around the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with particular attention to COVID-19 brain infection and neurological symptoms. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 11(15), 2361–2369. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.0c00373 PMID:32627524

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Herold, F., Törpel, A., Schega, L., & Müller, N. G. (2019). Functional and/or structural brain changes in response to resistance exercises and resistance training lead to cognitive improvements: A systematic review. European Review of Aging and Physical Activity, 16(1), 10. doi:10.118611556-019-0217-2 PMID:31333805 Ho, C. S., Chee, C. Y., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Mental health strategies to combat the psychological impact of COVID-19 beyond paranoia and panic. Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, 49(1), 1–3. PMID:32200399 IMF. (2020). International Monetary Fund: World Economic Report Update, June 2020. https://www. imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/06/24/WEOUpdateJune2020 Ingram, J., Maciejewski, G., & Hand, C. J. (2020). Changes in diet, sleep, and physical activity are associated with differences in negative mood during COVID-19 lockdown. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2328. Kempermann, G., Fabel, K., Ehninger, D., Babu, H., Leal-Galicia, P., Garthe, A., & Wolf, S. (2010). Why and how physical activity promotes experience-induced brain plasticity. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 4, 189. doi:10.3389/fnins.2010.00189 PMID:21151782 Krüger, K., Mooren, F. C., & Pilat, C. (2016). The immunomodulatory effects of physical activity. Current Pharmaceutical Design, 22(24), 3730–3748. doi:10.2174/1381612822666160322145107 PMID:27000826 Marques, A., Santos, D. A., Hillman, C. H., & Sardinha, L. B. (2018). How does academic achievement relate to cardiorespiratory fitness, self-reported physical activity and objectively reported physical activity? A systematic review in children and adolescents aged 6–18 years. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(16), 1039–1039. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-097361 PMID:29032365 Maugeri, G., Castrogiovanni, P., Battaglia, G., Pippi, R., D’Agata, V., Palma, A., Di Rosa, M., & Musumeci, G. (2020). The impact of physical activity on psychological health during Covid-19 pandemic in Italy. Heliyon, 6(6), e04315. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04315 PMID:32613133 McEwen, B. S. (2016). In pursuit of resilience: Stress, epigenetics, and brain plasticity. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1373(1), 56–64. doi:10.1111/nyas.13020 PMID:26919273

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Mekari, S., Neyedli, H. F., Fraser, S., O’Brien, M. W., Martins, R., Evans, K., Earle, M., Aucoin, R., Chiekwe, J., Hollohan, Q., Kimmerly, D. S., & Dupuy, O. (2020). High-intensity interval training improves cognitive flexibility in older adults. Brain Sciences, 10(11), 796. doi:10.3390/brainsci10110796 PMID:33137993 Messerschmidt, K. (2020). Covid-19 legislation in the light of the precautionary principle. The Theory and Practice of Legislation. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20508840.2020.1783627 Müller, P., Achraf, A., Zou, L., Apfelbacher, C., Erickson, K. I., & Müller, N. G. (2020). COVID‐19, physical (in‐) activity, and dementia prevention. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 6(1), e12091. doi:10.1002/trc2.12091 PMID:33083514 Nicola, M., Alsafi, Z., Sohrabi, C., Kerwan, A., & Jabir, Al. A., Iosifidis, C., Agha, M., & Agha, G. (2020). The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): A review. International Journal of Surgery, 78, 185–193. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7162753/?report=classic

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 Mental Health and Sports Activities Amid COVID-19

OECD. (2020). OECD Economic Outlook, Interim Report September 2020. https://www.oecd.org/ economic-outlook/ Opel, N., Martin, S., Meinert, S., Redlich, R., Enneking, V., Richter, M., Goltermann, J., Johnen, A., Dannlowski, U., & Repple, J. (2019). White matter microstructure mediates the association between physical fitness and cognition in healthy, young adults. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–9. doi:10.103841598019-49301-y PMID:31501448 Pangestu, M. E. (2020). Hunger amid plenty: How to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the world’s most vulnerable people. https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/hunger-amid-plenty-how-reduce-impactcovid-19-worlds-most-vulnerable-people Pedersen, B. K. (2019). Physical activity and muscle–brain crosstalk. Nature Reviews. Endocrinology, 15(7), 383–392. doi:10.103841574-019-0174-x PMID:30837717 Phillips, D., Gregory, B., Hart, J., Arville, P., Dilworth, Q., & Burns, R. D. (2019). Effect of acute vigorous intensity physical activity on cognitive control in college-aged students. International Journal of Kinesiology in Higher Education, 3(4), 106–116. doi:10.1080/24711616.2019.1633708 Rajkumar, R. P. (2020). COVID-19 and mental health: A review of the existing literature. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 52, 102066. doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102066 PMID:32302935 Richardson, E., & Devine, C. (2020). Emergencies end eventually: How to better analyze human rights restrictions sparked by COVID-19 pandemic under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Michigan Journal of International Law. https://lsolum.typepad.com/legaltheory/2020/07/ richardson-devine-on-covid-19-the-international-covenant-on-civil-and-political-rights.html Ryan, M. (2020). In defence of digital contact-tracing: Human rights, South Korea and Covid-19. International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, 16(4), 383–407. doi:10.1108/ IJPCC-07-2020-0081 Sattelmair, J., & Ratey, J. J. (2009). Physically active play and cognition: An academic matter? American Journal of Play, 1(3), 365–374. Segaert, K., Lucas, S. J. E., Burley, C. V., Segaert, P., Milner, A. E., Ryan, M., & Wheeldon, L. (2018). Higher physical fitness levels are associated with less language decline in healthy ageing. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 1–10. doi:10.103841598-018-24972-1 PMID:29712942

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Spadaro, A. (2020). COVID-19: Testing the limits of human rights. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 11(2), 317–325. doi:10.1017/err.2020.27 Sylva, K. (1994). School influences on children’s development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 35(1), 135–170. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1994.tb01135.x PMID:8163626 Tarumi, T., Gonzales, M. M., Fallow, B., Nualnim, N., Lee, J., Pyron, M., Tanaka, H., & Haley, A. P. (2015). Cerebral/peripheral vascular reactivity and neurocognition in middle-age athletes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 47(12), 2595–2603. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000717 PMID:26083772 The Economist. (2020, Sept. 19). The 90% economy, revisited. The Economist, 59–60.

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Physical activity guidelines for Americans (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/sites/default/ files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf#page=56 Valerio, C. (2020). Human rights and COVID-19 pandemic. JBRA Assisted Reproduction, 24(3), 379–381. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7365536/ PMID:32401474 Woods, J. A., Hutchinson, N. T., Powers, S. K., Roberts, W. O., Gomez-Cabrera, M. C., Radak, Z., Berkes, I., Boros, A., Boldogh, I., Leeuwenburgh, C., Coelho-Júnior, H. J., Marzetti, E., Cheng, Y., Liu, J., Durstine, J. L., Sun, J., & Ji, L. L. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and physical activity. Sports Medicine and Health Science., 2(2), 55–64. doi:10.1016/j.smhs.2020.05.006 World Health Organization. (2020). WHO announces COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. http://www.euro. who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/news/news/2020/3/who-announcescovid-19-outbreak-a-pandemic Worrall, A. F., Bergstrom Mann, P. E., Young, D., Wormald, M. R., Cahill, S. T., & Stewart, M. I. (2020). Benefits of simulations as remote exercises during the COVID-19 pandemic: An enzyme kinetics case study. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(9), 2733–2737. doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00607

ADDITIONAL READING Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. Penguin Books. European Commission. (2020). Tackling coronavirus disinformation. https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-worktravel-eu/health/coronavirus-response/fighting-disinformation/tackling-coronavirus-disinformation_en Ho, A. J., Raji, C. A., Becker, J. T., Lopez, O. L., Kuller, L. H., Hua, X., Dinov, I. D., Stein, J. L., Rosano, C., Toga, A. W., & Thompson, P. M. (2011). The effects of physical activity, education, and body mass index on the aging brain. Human Brain Mapping, 32(9), 1371–1382. doi:10.1002/hbm.21113 PMID:20715081

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Loprinzi, P. D., Herod, S. M., Cardinal, B. J., & Noakes, T. D. (2013). Physical activity and the brain: A review of this dynamic, bi-directional relationship. Brain Research, 1539, 95–104. doi:10.1016/j. brainres.2013.10.004 PMID:24120986 Medina, J. (2008). Brain rules: 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. Pear Press. Ploughman, M. (2008). Exercise is brain food: The effects of physical activity on cognitive function. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 11(3), 236–240. doi:10.1080/17518420801997007 PMID:18781504 Voss, M. W., Vivar, C., Kramer, A. F., & van Praag, H. (2013). Bridging animal and human models of exercise-induced brain plasticity. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(10), 525–544. doi:10.1016/j. tics.2013.08.001 PMID:24029446

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Weir, K. (2020). How COVID-19 attacks the brain? American Psychological Association, 51(8), 20.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Application-Based Exercise/Virtual Exercise: Involves the use of technology to provide daily workout routines in some situations during the COVID-19 crisis under strict lockdown rules. There are many free virtual fitness applications, ranging from boxing to yoga, catering for different levels of fitness ability, mobility, and time constraints. Virtual exercising can be cost-effective, immersive, and convenient, but lacks social engagement and encouragement. Long-Term Cognitive Effects of COVID-19: Have become increasingly recognized by researchers, who suggest that COVID infection survivors may experience long-term brain damage due to encephalitis, or may suffer strokes. Lack of oxygen or inflammatory processes can also be the cause of brain damage. Patients’ white matter may frequently be affected by silent strokes, which lead to impaired attention. Longevity: In the sense of typical length of life, can often be attributed to exercise and a healthy diet. Suffice to say that it is equally important to raise awareness about this during the time of the COVID-19 crisis and during more fortunate times. It has been well established that regular exercise can reverse the effect of the ageing process. A number of studies have shown that maintaining a reasonable amount of exercise prevents the development of certain diseases and increases longevity. Mental Fitness: Is closely related to physical activity, which causes chemical changes in your brain that may lead to improved overall health. Persistent feelings of anxiety, apathy, difficulty concentrating or remembering things, insomnia or even a loss of formerly enjoyable sports activities during the COVID-19 crisis can, on the other hand, lead to moderate or severe mental health disorders. Quarantine-Induced Depression/Stress: Is a consequence of mass and self-quarantine and isolation. There are a number of factors leading to this type of depression and stress: prolonged quarantine duration, boredom, (mis)information, lack of emotional support, and poor diet, in addition to job loss, insomnia and reduced physical activity. Regular Exercise: Has many physical and mental benefits regardless of the intensity of physical activity. Some benefits include improved mood, help in maintaining muscle mass and weight loss, stimulating muscle building, and increased energy levels. On the other hand, lack of regular physical activity may lead to chronic disease, ranging from increased belly fat to type 2 diabetes or heart disease. Regular exercise improves blood flow to the brain, which, consequently, improves brain function, memory and thinking skills. Engaging in regular exercise can also help people sleep better. Sedentary Lifestyle: Is a lifestyle involving little or no physical activity and can be considered as another pandemic, which will continue long after the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sedentary lifestyle and inactivity inevitably lead to obesity, which is a major health challenge facing the modern world.

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Chapter 2

Maintaining Football Club Identity During COVID-19:

The Case of the English Premier League David Edgar Glasgow Caledonian University, UK Steven Edgar Independent Researcher, UK

ABSTRACT As a result of COVID-19, the UK imposed quarantine restrictions in March 2020. All large gatherings of people were against the law, and the professional league football ceased. In June 2020, the season was allowed to start again but with strict health policies and procedures in place, minimal backroom staf, regulations for goal celebration, and stringent cleansing routines. A signifcant part of the measures was no supporters at games. Instead, games were televised and broadcast live on a range of channels. This unique situation has raised many questions about the role of football in supporters’ lives and the need for the “football fx” in the weekly routine. This chapter focuses on eforts made by football clubs to create an atmosphere and maintain an identity/attachment with their supporters. To do this, the authors combine principles and underlying theory from identity theory, attachment theory, community theory, and fandom to propose a framework of fan attachment. They apply the framework to the English Premier League to see how all 20 clubs responded to the challenge of maintaining fan identity.

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INTRODUCTION Covid-19 (an infectious disease caused by a coronavirus), became evident in the UK in January 2020. Due to its rapid spread and high fatality rate the UK Government announced a National lockdown and quarantine restrictions on the 23rd March 2020. As a result, all large gatherings of people were against the law and events such as professional league football (soccer) ceased. While in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales the leagues decided to void the season and award the champions place to those at the DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch002

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Maintaining Football Club Identity During COVID-19

top of the league, in England, as with Germany, Spain and Italy the football season restarted. This restart happened on 17th June 2020, some two months after lockdown. Strict Covid-19 policies and procedures were put into place with minimal backroom staff, new breaks, regulations for goal celebration, stringent cleansing routines and no fans allowed in or around the stadium. As such, a significant part of the restart measures included no access for supporters to attend games; instead, games were televised and broadcast live on a range of channels, including internet streaming and mainstream broadcasters. A key reason for the restart of the season was the recognition of the need for sport to help morale and mental wellbeing of the supporters, not to mention to help clubs raise funds to survive, and to ensure a clear conclusion to the season thus allowing qualification to UEFA competitions. This unique situation and context has raised many questions about the role of football in supporter’s lives and the need for the “football fix” in their weekly routine. However, rather than focus on the supporter and their well-being, this chapter focuses on the efforts made by the football clubs to create an atmosphere and maintain an identity and attachment with their supporters. To do this, we combine principles and underlying theory from identity theory, attachment theory, community theory and Fandom to propose a framework of the antecedents of fan attachment. We then use our framework to apply it to the English Premier Football league to see how all 20 clubs have responded to the challenge of maintaining fan identity. As Covid-19 restrictions do not allow for personal interviews and clubs are not inclined to respond to survey requests, we use media footage to profile the fan experience for each club and offer suggestions as to the areas which seem to work and the pitfalls which need to be avoided.

THE RESEARCH CONTEXT The English Premier League

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The English Premier League (The Football Association Premier League Limited) was formed on 20th February 1992 as a result of clubs seeking to benefit from sources of additional revenue, mainly lucrative television rights. The shift resulted in a split of the Football League (originally founded in 1888) into a Premier League, composed of 20 clubs playing 38 games a season, and the Football League, composed of Championship and lower league clubs. Table 1 provides the profile of the clubs present in the Premier League during the period of this research i.e. 2019-20 season. From these clubs, Liverpool was crowned champions and Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich were relegated to the Championship for season 2020-21.

Covid-19 in the UK The World Health Organization (WHO) was informed on the 31 December 2019, of a cluster of cases of pneumonia detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The cause and nature of the disease where unknown, and the catastrophic impact unexpected. Following investigation, it was announced in January 2020 that a new coronavirus had been identified and was referred to as SARS-CoV-2, and the associated disease as COVID-19 (Public Health England 2021). By February 2021 over 109 million cases had been diagnosed globally with more than 2.4 million fatalities.

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Maintaining Football Club Identity During COVID-19

Table 1. English Premier League Clubs during 2019-20 Season

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Team

Stadium

Location

Capacity

Arsenal

Emirates Stadium

London

60,704

Aston Villa

Villa Park

Birmingham

42,785

Bournemouth

Dean Court

Bournemouth

11,329

Brighton & Hove Albion

Falmer Stadium

Brighton

30,750

Burnley

Turf Moor

Burnley

21,944

Chelsea

Stamford Bridge

London

40,834

Crystal Palace

Selhurst Park

London

25,486

Everton

Goodison Park

Liverpool

39,414

Leicester City

King Power Stadium

Leicester

32,243

Liverpool

Anfield

Liverpool

53,394

Manchester City

City of Manchester Stadium

Manchester

55,097

Manchester United

Old Trafford

Old Trafford

74,879

Newcastle United

St James’ Park

Newcastle upon Tyne

52,388

Norwich City

Carrow Road

Norwich

27,244

Sheffield United

Bramall Lane

Sheffield

32,125

Southampton

St Mary’s Stadium

Southampton

32,505

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

London

62,303

Watford

Vicarage Road

Watford

22,220

West Ham United

London Stadium

London

60,000

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Molineux Stadium

Wolverhampton

32,050

SARS-CoV-2 was found to be transmitted between people through respiratory (droplet and aerosol) and contact routes. It was found that the risk of transmission was highest where people were in close proximity (within 2 metres), and in particular in poorly ventilated indoor spaces e.g. offices, public transport, bars and shops. The first unconfirmed cases of Covid-19 appeared in the UK around early January 2020 with the first confirmed case being on 31st January. The infection rate spread rapidly from 13 cases on the 1st March to 590 on the 12th March. This exponential growth continued, resulting in the UK government and the developed parliaments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland implementing emergency measures to provide additional hospital intensive care beds, cancel non-urgent operations and issue advice for people not to travel. At this time, the slogan “protect the NHS” became popularised. The cases of infection and fatalities increased until by March 23rd when there was a total of 2335 cases per day (John Hopkins University 2020) and 335 deaths (The Guardian 2020), rising to a total of 4,223,232 confirmed cases and 140,062 deaths in the UK by March 2021. The highest death rate per head of population of any developed nation. Once the extent of the spread of the virus was evident and the speed of infection rate was recognised, the UK government imposed a stay-at-home order banning all non-essential travel and contact with other people, and shut almost all schools, businesses and gathering places. This was commonly termed the Lockdown, and the slogan became “Stay Home, protect the NHS, save lives”. Those with symptoms,

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Maintaining Football Club Identity During COVID-19

and their households, were told to self-isolate, while those with certain illnesses were told to shield themselves. People were told to keep apart in public. Police were empowered to enforce the measures, and the Coronavirus Act 2020 gave all four governments emergency powers. These developments in effect closed the football season on Friday 13th March 2020 when professional football across the UK was suspended. In early April, the suspension of live matches was extended mirroring broader changes globally in both football and sport (Bond et al 2020) until the 17th June when clubs were permitted to resume their fixtures but with no fans present, a condensed programme of matches and strict Covid-19 mitigations in place.

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Mental Health and the Role of Football One strand of the argument made by football clubs and supporters to allow the English Premier League season to resume was the positive impact sport and supporting sport can have on mental health. As such, we briefly consider the link between mental health and football in this section. One in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives (FSA 2020). In England, around one in eight men have a mental health problem but tend to be reluctant to seek support or disclose it to loved ones. In addition, men account for around three quarters of suicides in the UK (the largest cause of death for men under 50) and often linked to their mental health. Many studies (Olawa et al 2020, McKeown & Spandler 2015, Pringle 2004, Benkwitz and Healy 2019, Kelner 2021) make a direct link between mental wellbeing and the role of football. Indeed, charity organisations are also becoming more involved with football clubs in attempts to support players and fans in coping with mental health issues and seeking to actively champion the role of football in supporting mental health e.g. MIND (A major UK mental health charity), especially during time of isolation or where routines have been disrupted. While the English Football Association highlight that mental health of their players is an issue due to breaks in routine and lack of regular training and team events, the Football Supporters Association (2020) also highlight a similar situation for supporters. They claim that the mental health of fans is an issue as many fans have had “a uniquely tough year with public health protocols meaning many football fans feel more isolated than ever” (FSA 2020). In their research they highlight that “matchdays might normally have acted as a release valve, a chance to share a common experience with fellow supporters” and that this has been constrained and in some cases cancelled all together. This, combined with the timing of the lockdown measures over the winter period has compounded feelings of loneliness and isolation leading to greater stress and domestic pressures. In a similar type of study, Thinkpublic’s (2020) research highlighted that “28.5% of fans agreed or strongly agreed that the loss of football had affected their mental health” with 59% claiming they wanted and expected their football club to do more in providing mental health services. The former survey suggest that as the value of the football experience is co-created by club and fans, there is a need to better understand what it is that leads to fan identity i.e. what fans want, and indeed need, to be engaged by their football club. With empty stadiums and lack of social interaction, clubs must develop new engagement strategies to ensure the loyalty they have built remains and that they help protect the mental health of their loyal followers as well as the survival of their club brand. Indeed, Branscombe & Wann, (1991) have claimed that sports Fandom affects an individual’s development by helping them learn to cope with emotions and feelings of disappointment and that “It appears that sports fanship can

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Maintaining Football Club Identity During COVID-19

unite and provide feelings of belongingness that are beneficial to individuals and to the social setting in which they live” (Zillmann et al., p. 251). As such, during a time of lockdown, with imposed isolation and in some cases alienation, the role of clubs and the opportunity to create a positive impact on their supporters’ mental health becomes more important than ever. Consolidating our discussion this far, it is clear that football plays a significant role in supporting the mental wellbeing of supporters and the wider population, that Covid-19 restrictions have a significant impact on both mental health in general and the ability for traditional perspectives of supporting football clubs to occur, and that football clubs require to maintain their supporters for the clubs own financial survival as well as the wellbeing of their supporters. This therefore raises the question – how is football club identity maintained during a period of Covid-19?

Methodology The research underpinning this chapter was undertaken during a time of Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions. This meant face to face contact was difficult, if not impossible and access to supporters was limited. As such, the data collected comes from a mixture of desk research around the theoretical underpinning of sports identity and structured observation of televised football matches from each club in the Premier League. The theoretical underpinning combines principles and underlying theory from identity theory, attachment theory, community theory and Fandom to construct a framework of the antecedents of fan attachment which is then used to organise and make sense of the structured observation of the matches watched during lockdown. The framework is applied to all 20 English Premier League football clubs to see how they have responded to the challenge of maintaining fan identity.

ELEMENTS OF FAN IDENTITY This section explores the literature underpinning the area of fan identity. To do so, we examine theory from identity theory, attachment theory, community theory and Fandom. Often elements of the theory overlap. We have tried to keep the sections as discrete as possible to help provide a comprehensive and compact overview.

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Identity Theory Identity is a person’s sense of who they are and is linked to the concept of the “self”. The self is multifaceted, dynamic, and responsible for mediating the relationship between social structures and an individual’s behaviour (Hogg et al, 1995). It is shaped by the individual’s frame of reference and associated experiences that the individual has. In terms of studying identity, it is generally recognised that there are two dominant theories – identity theory (Stryker & Serpe 1994; Burke, 1991) and social identity theory (Tajfel 1981; Tajfel and Turner et al, 1979). Identity theory is a based on role-identity (McCall and Simmons 1966), where individuals base their actions on how they like to see themselves and how they like to be seen by others. As such, there are two key elements to the identity, the role and the identity associated with a role (Petkus, 1996). This

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makes personal identities “self descriptions [which] refer to unique or highly specific details of [an individual’s] biography” (Thoits and Virshup 1997:107) and reflect the symbolic interactions of role choice (Stryker and Burke 2000). The theory seeks to understand why people do what they do and why they make certain choices. Social identity theory, on the other hand, has its roots in social comparison theory (Festinger et al 1954), claiming individuals will attach themselves to other individuals who are similar or slightly better. As such, social identity theory focuses on “the ways in which individuals perceive and categorise themselves, based on their social and personal identities”. This emphasises inter-group relations (Brown and Capozza, 2000) and group processes (providing some overlap with community theory which we explore later), and as Strauss (1959) noted, can be either formal or more symbolic. This makes social identity theory of particular interest when exploring football fan behaviour and the fans association with a particular football club. In essence, the fans identify reflect their own understanding of “who they are” and means football fans divide their world into “them” and “us”. They will do this through a process of social categorization. Tajfel and Turner et al (1979) proposed that there are three mental processes involved in constructing such social categories: Categorisation, Social Identification and Social Comparison. Categorisation involves assigning people to particular categories by their characteristics and tells us things about them (what we believe to be their social norms). This may be by race, nationality, job, religion, or team affiliation. As such, an individual can belong to a range of different category groups. Social Identification is where the person (or fan) adopts the identity of the group that they have categorised themselves to belong to. This will involve an emotional attachment and significance to the group, and the person’s self-esteem will become entwined with the group membership. Such an association can be temporal i.e. the 90 minute nationalist when supporting the National football team. This means the behaviour, attitudes and actions of the person can change in different setting, context and environments depending on the membership of the group at that point in time. The final stage is social comparison. Once categorised and fans have identified with a group (or team) they will tend to compare that group with other groups. If self-esteem is to be maintained, the fans group needs to compare favourably with other fan groups i.e. our team needs to be seen as the best, most loyal, strongest, most aggressive, fairest, friendliest etc. This allows us to understand any prejudice, because once two groups identify themselves as rivals, they are forced to compete in order for the members to maintain their self-esteem.

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Attachment Theory Attachment theory has its origins in the work of Bowlby (1958), a psychiatrist in a Child Guidance Clinic in London. He treated emotionally disturbed children which led to him exploring the importance of the child’s relationship with their mother. This was in terms of their social, emotional and cognitive development. He explained such a relationship as their attachment and defined it as the “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings.” Bowlby (1958) proposed that attachment can be understood from an evolutionary context where the caregiver provides safety and security for the infant. Attachment is therefore adaptive, enhancing the infant’s chance of survival and causing closeness to caregivers when under stress or threatened (Prior & Glaser, 2006). As such, attachment is an emotional bond with another person.

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Originally, behaviourists had suggested that it was food that led to forming an attachment, but Bowlby and others (Schaffer and Emerson 1964) demonstrated that “nurturance and responsiveness were the primary determinants of attachment” and that there were four distinct phases of attachment: Pre-attachment where no particular attachment to a specific caregiver is evident, instead, they offer a signal (e.g. cry) and then a positive response, to encourage the caregiver to remain close. Indiscriminate attachment where infants begin to show preferences for primary and secondary caregivers and develop a trust that the caregiver will respond to their needs. Discriminate attachment where infants show a strong attachment and preference for one specific individual. They will protest when separated from the primary attachment figure (separation anxiety), and begin to display anxiety around strangers (stranger anxiety). Multiple attachments where children begin to form strong emotional bonds with other caregivers beyond the primary attachment figure. This often includes the father, older siblings, and grandparents. In addition, there are four patterns of attachment, these include: Ambivalent, avoidant, disorganised and secure attachment. Considering each: Ambivalent attachment usually occurs as a result of poor parental availability. The infant cannot depend on their primary caregiver so they become very distressed when a parent leaves. Avoidant attachment is often the result of abusive or neglectful caregivers and results in the infant avoiding parents or caregivers and showing no preference between a caregiver and a complete stranger. Disorganized attachment is where infants display a confusing mix of behaviour, seeming disoriented, dazed, or confused. They may avoid or resist the parent. Lack of a clear attachment pattern is likely linked to inconsistent caregiver behaviour. In such cases, parents may serve as both a source of comfort and fear, leading to disorganized behaviour. Finally, secure attachment occurs where children who depend on their caregivers show distress when separated and joy when reunited. In terms of football, the connection that fans develop towards their team is a type of in-group favouritism that helps a person develop a social identity by attaching themselves and attaining group membership in a group that has value and significance to them (Tajfel 1981). The fan seeks to join and retain membership in a group (reflecting a mixture of social identity and attachment theory) and this can result in the phenomena, of viewing a person’s favourite team just as positively after a defeat. This is due to the biases and discriminating behaviours a person has against the other teams, meaning they will attribute a loss or defeat to external cues rather than to their own team. A “true” fan will then find reason to explain the team’s loss and place the blame everywhere besides the team itself thus maintaining deeper attachment. In this process, fans can display the full spectrum of forms of attachment and the associated consequences.

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Community Theory A sense of community is a feeling that members have of belonging, that they matter to one another and to the group, and that their needs will be met through commitment to be together. According to McMillan and Chavis (1986) community consists of four elements: “membership, influence, reinforcement integration of fulfilment needs, and shared emotional connection”. However, Ramos et al 2017 extended the elements of “membership” into five core components: (1) boundaries, (2) sense of belonging, (3) personal investment, (4) emotional safety, and (5) a common symbol system. As such, we consider these in the development of our fan identity framework later. At this stage, we want to explore more fully the concept of community.

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Williams (1976) argued that community is treated almost universally as positive. However, this view is contested in terms of communities relating to exclusion, inequality, oppression and social divisions (Crow and Maclean 2006; Hoggett 1997). More recent views see community as paradoxical i.e. the term is used positively to represent social belonging, collective well-being, solidarity and support, but also negatively in relation to social problems and ‘problem populations’ (Mooney and Neal 2008). In addition community boundaries have new dimensions in an age of globalisation, internet communication and increased mobility revising and reshaping the classic distinction between communities of place, interest and identity (Willmott 1986) to extend to community as theory, method, place, identity/belonging, ideology, and policy and practice, (Blackshaw 2010, Thomas 2011; Wallace 2010; Phillipson et al. 2001; Spencer and Pahl 2006; Weeks et al. 2001; Wenger et al. 2002). Of particular note and related to the implication of isolation imposed by Covid-19 restrictions on sporting events, online communities come to the fore as a key area of community theory. Hsu et al (2012) claim that a “salient issue of great interest to marketers is how participants in online communities become affiliated with a specific brand, object, or organisation over time”. They believe that the building of online communities can be an effective means of communication which improves target marketing and brand awareness (MacAulay et al., 2007), and provides a diverse range of economic resources and emotional support to community participants (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2006). It also increases the reach and scope of the business and is relatively low costs with less resistance from consumers (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2002; Wang and Fesenmaier, 2003). These are elements of specific relevance to the football fans online identity and the community surrounding the online presence of the club (including the streaming of games and the interactions of fans and clubs on social media). In this regard, Hsu et al (2012) identify that the antecedents of community identification are being composed of three types of experience, utilitarian (specific and focused experiences which are effective, helpful, functional, necessary, and practical for the individual’s needs), social (the degree of social and relational benefits realised through interactions with other members in a virtual community) and hedonic (the enjoyment of the experiences which are fun, exciting, delightful, or thrilling). These antecedents are of particular significance to our model of fan identity during Covid-19 and are developed further later in this chapter.

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Fandom Fandom refers to a subculture of fans regarded collectively as a community with the same interests and feelings towards a person, place or thing, or an affiliation in which a great deal of emotional significance and value are derived from group membership (Mehus and Kolstad 2011, Hirt et al., 1992). In this regard, Fandom can be seen be represent an overlap between social identity theory, community theory and attachment theory. Jones (2000) identifies a model of Fandom as composed of four key behaviours – in-group favouritism, out-group derogation, unrealistic optimism and voice. As mentioned earlier, the protection of self-image is important to the individual. Each of these four behaviours has a role in maintaining the positive consequences of group membership, and may occur individually or in combination. These behaviours ensure that group membership is generally seen as a positive experience, and participation in such activities does not harm the individual’s self-image. Once the fan has categorised themself they will have a social identity as a member of that group, e.g. a football fan, even if there is no direct interaction with other fans. If the rewards of membership outweigh the costs, then they will remain a fan. If the costs outweigh the rewards, then the individual may undertake one or more of the compensatory behaviours described above, that is in-group favourit-

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ism, out-group-derogation, un- realistic optimism, or voice. These behaviours compensate for the costs of group membership, allowing the individual to perceive the activity as rewarding, with subsequent perseverance (Jones 2000). In this respect, Dionisio et al (2008) claim that Fandom offers “the social benefits of feelings of camaraderie, community and solidarity, as well as enhancing social prestige and self-esteem (Zillmann et al., 1989). It is such fans that underpin the sports industry and “the crowd is the supreme authority without which the golden core of the game has no currency” (Taylor 2004). So Fandom allows individuals to be a part of the game without requiring any special skills or talent (Wann & Branscombe, 1993 1995), with the difference between a fan and a spectator being a matter of the degree of passion or enthusiasm (Anderson 1979).” Some researchers have proposed different typologies of fans, recognizing in each segment a particular behaviour e.g. Hunt et al. (1999) present concepts of temporary, local, fanatical and dysfunctional fans while Tapp and Clowes (2002) distinguish among fanatics, regular and casual supporters. Irrespective, the common element which binds these types of fans and thus a core element of Fandom is the idea of “commitment” (Pimentel and Reynolds 2004) and affiliation (Funk and James 2001). In terms of commitment, the devoted fans will commit to the team and are proactively engaging in sustained behaviours. These fans can be expected to continue supporting the team under any circumstance (Wann and Pierce 2003), although Malhotra and Galletta (2003) suggest that such commitment is a continuum, ranging from negligible or partial commitment to absolute commitment. In watching sport, Madrigal (2002) found that the most committed fans had higher pre-game expectations and strong emotional reactions during a game. They also tended to be less objective about the team’s likely future success, indicating a distinct bias, probably linked to threats to their self-identity (Wann and Grieve 2005). Affiliation is achieved through social recognition, symbolism and socialisation with Group affiliation motivated by the need for distinctiveness from other social groups (Collisson et al 2018, Madrigal, 2002). In affiliation, one important part of the identification process with the group is rituals like collecting, pilgrimages and viewing the club as a part of one’s self identity. These elements are of particular significance to the football experience and the influence lockdown and lack of stadium access have to such an experience (sportscape - Hill and Green 2000) and affiliation. As such, Dionisio et al (2008) recognise that “the utilization of cult symbolism is inherent to fan groups, products become social tools serving as means of communication between the individual and his significant references (Banister and Hogg, 2004). Consumption emerges as the linking value surrounding a common passion. Sports and football clubs, in particular, are full of symbols ranging from T-shirts, flags and scarves to a huge diversity of memorabilia”. This raises questions as to how such symbolism and associated socialisation or “social capital” (Richardson 2004), including learning the group identity and constructing it (mannerisms, attitudes, styles of dress, speech, and behaviour), is achieved during lockdown. So, sport Fandom and identity have two distinct theoretical levels: an interpersonal or network level which will reflect the influence of the community i.e. friends and family, a symbolic level, which includes team specific factors, such as personnel and unique factors, including the team name, logo, colours, and chants or songs. Our conceptual framework of fan identity encompasses these elements but also build on the work of Ben Porat (2010) in that we view Fandom as “identity formed by means of three domains of experience: emotional-affective, cognitive and symbolic, all articulated through the fan’s experience of the game of football as well as relationships/encounters with non-football experiences.” Each experience reflects elements we have discussed previously across the various theoretical foundations in this 21

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chapter: The emotional-affective experience is probably the most important and solidifies the individual fans into a collective, while cognitive represents the fans rational evaluation of their relationship with the club i.e. the costs and benefits of their relationship, and symbolic explores the fans meaning of their identity with the football club in comparative and contextual terms. Ben Porat (2010) claims that “based on most recent research,(Giulianotti 2002, Dunning et al. 2002, Sandvoss 2003, Ben Porat 2008) it is argued here that football Fandom is indestructible: it virtually begins in the cradle and ends in the grave. In other words, it is permanent; it is bounded”. We discuss these issues next as we explain the construction of out conceptual framework.

Summary Drawing on our discussion to date we can see the importance of the interplay between the different theories as a basis for understanding elements of fan identity. It becomes apparent that there are key areas of commonality around the sensory perceptions of supports which influence their interpretation of their experience and their environment through the social interaction they experience. This in turn influences the sense of community (or home) and the attachment to both the club and the fellow supporters. Ultimately these factors lead to the “match experience” and the degree to which fans will engage or commit to their club. We can now explore our Framework for Fan Identity.

A FRAMEWORK FOR FAN IDENTITY Building on the elements of fan identity we can construct a framework for examining how football clubs maintain fan identify. The framework is composed of five overarching elements: the Sensory Scope, Social Interaction, Sense of Home, the Experience and then the resulting level of Engagement or Com-

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Figure 1. Overview of Remote Fan Identity

mitment. These overarching areas are presented in figure 1. Clearly the fan identity is a socially constructed phenomenon formed by a combination of self and group. As such it embodies the underlying theories previously discussed. Unpacking each element of the framework allows for the antecedents of the fan identity to be clarified and shows where the underlying theory aligns and contributes to the framework categories. Taking each element in turn.

Sensory Scope The sensory scope aligns to the individual and the self. In this domain we see the interaction of the individual with their environment and the role of their senses and feelings in making sense of their ex-

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perience. This element of the framework captures the five sense of sight, smell, touch, taste and sound with an emphasis on the role of sound, in particular cheering, the quality of the sound system, music used, entertainment provided and the timing and pace of the audial stimuli. We also include the media itself as a form of sensory stimuli. In this regard we explore the messages portrayed, the quality of the information provided, symbolism and the participatory nature or interactivity of the media used.

Social Interaction The sensory scope provides the stimuli which when combined with the underlying theories allow an understanding of the nature and significance of social interaction, socialisation and the influence of group identity. The nature of social interaction has been divided into four key areas: a Fan Identity (the utilitarian experience); Fandom (social experience), Hedonic Experience, and Football Team Identity (or brand attachment). Each of the areas provides for distinct characteristics. Taking each in turn: •

• • •

Fan Identity provides for fve distinct factors. These relate to the symbolic level of recognition and engagement in terms of logos, chants, songs, team shirts etc. The interpersonal and network level (relating to extroversion), the personal image, trust in the identity and its meaning and beliefs, and the voice of the fans. Fandom, which as discussed in the theory section of this chapter represents the social experience and includes the boundaries of the fans identity, the emotional-afection, cognitive and symbolic experiences as well as the celebrity attachment and expected social norms of the group. Hedonic experience which refects the pleasure and enjoyment experienced by the fans and the recognition of hope and unrealistic optimism of team chances and success. Football Team Identity or brand attachment which represents the connection and commitment to the football club. In this domain there are the drivers of sentimental and emotional memory which link to symbolism, people, places and situations or events linked to the supporting of the club and often inherited between generations of the family and supporters. This element also has a strong focus on socialisation and the learning gained from family and peer social groups as well as the Para social (one-sided relationships, where a fan extends emotional energy, interest and time, and the other party, the player/celebrity, is completely unaware of the fans existence) dimension and social trust (i.e. community) dimension.

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These factors channel the sensory scope triggers and create the experiences which then lead to the identification of the community and the sense of home.

Sense of Home The sense of home is how the fan identifies with their community. This is manifest in how “at home” the fan feels in their environment and amongst their peers, it also reflects their degree of comfort both psychological and physical in nature and their feeling as to the degree the place represents who they are i.e. their affiliation.

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Experience The experience represents the overall effect of the social interaction and sense of home and leads to the degree of engagement and commitment with and to the football club. Given the act of supporting a team is a socially constructed phenomenon and is based on social capital as well as emotional and tangible commitment, the experience has a major impact upon the socialisation process and the chances of reenforcing or rejecting the fans identity.

Engagement and Commitment Level The final result of the framework is the intention to engage and commit or not and the level of such engagement and commitment. The fan can decide that the experience costs outweigh the benefits and reject engagement and commitment or they can decide to engage. Such engagement results in a return for the experience which is either driven by obligation (the die-hard fan) or as a result of their satisfaction in the process creating a desire to return. The satisfaction provides for dependable trust which reinforces the social interaction and sense of community. A summary of the final framework is shown in figure 2.

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Figure 2. Remote Fan Identity Framework

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FINDINGS: FAN IDENTITY DURING COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS This section applies the Remote Fan Identity Framework to the 20 English Premier League football clubs. We discuss the actions taken by clubs during lockdown to try to enhance the fan experience. In doing so, we separate out the actions relating to general spectators and those taken for fans. The summary of results is presented next, followed by the results discussion relating to each element of the fan identity framework.

Summary Results Tables 2 and 3 show a summary of the findings for each football club. These are discussed in more detail and with more artefacts in the following sections. At this stage we want to highlight firstly the degree of social media following (Table 2) and then the specific elements added by clubs to create the fan identity in the stadiums (Table 3). Table 2. English Premier League Club Identity Profile Twitter Followers Twitter Following

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Team Arsenal

15.9mill

Aston Villa

1.3mill

Bournemouth

525,000

Brighton & Hove Albion

281,200

Burnley

486,600

Chelsea

14.5mill

Crystal Palace

957,200

Everton

2mill

Leicester City

1.5mill

Liverpool

14.9mill

Manchester City

8mill

Manchester United

22.3mill

Newcastle United

1.5mill

Norwich City

699,800

Sheffield United

347,300

Southampton

1.2mill

Tottenham Hotspur

4.5mill

Watford

710,000

West Ham United

1.6mill

Wolverhampton Wanderers

613,500

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From table 2 it can be seen that the range of football clubs in the English Premier League have sizable differences in their twitter following and social media interaction. This reflect not only the international reputation and scope of the clubs e.g. Arsenal 15.9mill, Chelsea 14.5mill, Liverpool 14.9mill, and Manchester United 22.3mill) but also the degree of maturity and experience of each club in terms of managing technology and social media. While the location of the fan base may have some significance i.e. some countries actively ban social media platforms while others encourage it. The overall impact is awareness through exposure and experience (experience curve) as to the potential, power and significance of such forms of media. We see this later in the chapter when we discuss how fans have been engaged with and can see clearly the degree of engagement stimulated by the more social media active clubs. In addition to the online presence, clubs also projected a physical presence in the stadium. This was a combination of stadium aesthetics for image and functionality e.g. covering empty seating to speed up ball recovery and reduce “emptiness”, to more fan specific memorabilia, slogans and symbolism. Table 3 provides a summary of these symbolic artifacts. From table 3 it can be seen that the artifacts used in the stadiums varied between club images, political statements, and specific fan symbolism (as well as more general advertising materials). These are all discussed in more detail as we explore the implementation of the fan identity framework. So, examining each element of the fan identity framework we can highlight how clubs (and the media) have attempted to create and maintain fan identity during the Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions.

Sensory Scope The sensory scope can be seen to be split between the spectator and the fan. In the initial stages of lockdown and the first few weeks of televised games “behind closed doors” the games were televised using the regular camera angles, with live sound from the pitch (which often caused apologies for profanities and bad language) and with no real atmosphere of the game experience. This was frustrating for supporters who, where used to attending matches and being in the heart of the atmosphere, or who when watching televised matches had the mixture of crowd noise, player shouts and commentator comments. Even when playing football video games supporters were used to crowd gestures and supporting timely cheers of excitement or gasps of disappointment. Thus, the original televised games tended to lack any form of “experience” and while they may have kept the spectator content, they deeply disappointed the fans. As such, and as the experience of lockdown lengthened and clubs and media programme directors became more aware of the opinion of fans (mainly via social media) the televised offering and the efforts to bring the stadium terraces alive changed. The changes were manifest around the key areas of sensory scope as follows: Copyright © 2021. IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Media To enhance the experience it was clearly evident that the commentary and media presenting teams were extended in number, scope of discussion and use of supporting technology. In effect the broadcasting teams moved to be more analysts of the game and usually represented “legends” for the clubs playing as well as recognised experts in the field. The result was a more extensive media team presence and analysis of the facts and figures using smart technology and options for fan involvement through social media, video calls and phone-ins. This was combined with broadcasters offering more access to football games

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Table 3. English Premier League Club Identity Profile Stadium Banners Team

Political Banners

Stadium Banners

Arsenal

Blue NHS heart “Black Lives Matter”

“Come on you gunners” “We’re the north bank” “Victoria Concordia Cerscit” “Victory through harmony”

Aston Villa

Villa badge Lion’s face Villa lion emblems

“Congratulations AV Women FAWC Champions”

“Part of the pride” “We are villa” “UTV”

“Thank you key workers”

“Red army” “Eddie had a dream on minus seventeen” “Everyone, together” “AFC Bournemouth” “Up the cherries” “Come on you reds” “AFCB” “Together anything is possible”

Bournemouth

Brighton & Hove Albion

Bournemouth badge Picture of promotion celebrations from previous season

“Albion in the community” “BHAFC” “Albion as one” “We stand or fall” “C’mon Brighton” “Albion by the sea”

Pictures of fans cheering in the stands Brighton badge

“Up the clarets” “One club for all” “1882” with lion emblem “Sean Dyche’s claret and blue army” “Clarets” “Legs hearts minds”

Burnley

Burnley badge

“#blacklivesmatter” Blue NHS heart “This is everyone v discrimination”

Chelsea

Pictures of fans in the stands

“Thank you key workers”

“Chelsea pride of London” with Chelsea badge

Crystal Palace badge

Blue NHS heart Food bank banner “Text dinner £5 to 70085” “Black lives matter”

“South London and proud” “Eagles” “CPFC” “We love you we love you we love you” “Palace” “we follow we follow we follow” “SE25” “Crystal Palace”

Crystal Palace

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Club Images Arsenal cannon emblems Arsenal badge Red and white stripes

“The originals since 1878” “The people’s club” “Everton” “Onwards Evertonians” “Fantastico Magnifico” with picture of Carlo Ancelotti “On the banks of the royal blue mersey”

Everton

Everton badge Pictures of fans celebrating in the stands

Leicester City

Leicester badge

Liverpool

Liverpool badge Range of fan banners, mix of old badges, images of trophies,

“Unity is strength” “You’ll never walk alone” “Stay safe. Support us at home.” “Liverpool FC champions again”

Manchester City

Man city badge Live streams of fans watching from home behind each goal

“We’re not really here” “Cityzensgiving.org”

Manchester United

Pictures of fans Red, black and white stripes Man United badge

“HATRED” “United foundation” “United against racism” “Heroes”

“Football is nothing without fans - Sir Matt Busby” “We can’t wait to welcome you home to Old Trafford”

Newcastle United

Black and white stripes Newcastle badge

“Let’s talk… about mental health”

“Howay the lads” “United as one” “St. James’ Park” “#NUFC”

Norwich City

Yellow and green checkered Norwich badge Flags and scarves tied to seats

“Fashanu 9” on a rainbow Norwich shirt Green NHS heart

“OTBC” “#Apartbuttogether” “#Buildthenest” “Come on you canaries” “NCFC Anglia’s finest” “One city strong”

Sheffield United

Pictures of fans cheering Sheffield badge Red and white stripes Picture of Billy Sharp celebrating

“Thank you NHS”

“You fill up my senses” “SUFC” “We’re on the march” “Bladesmen from the lane” “We are blades” “The blades” “Est. 1889”

“Black lives matter” “Thank you NHS”

“With you then” “With you now” “With you again”

continued on following page

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Table 3. Continued Team

Club Images

Political Banners

Stadium Banners

Southampton

Southampton badge Red and white stripes

“1885” Abstract letters and numbers, couldn’t tell what was meant to be? “R” “0”

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham badge Pictures of fans celebrating White and blue checkered

“Come on you Spurs” “COYS COYS COYS” “Can’t smile without you” “#Together THFC” “Spurs” “To dare is to do”

Watford

Watford badge Social media links for Facebook/twitter/Instagram/tiktok Cartoon style picture of Troy Deeney Old Watford badge Yellow and black checkered Pictures of fans celebrating Cartoon style hornet

“Creating history respecting our past” “The hornets” “Est. 1881 Watford FC” “WFC”

West Ham United

Drawings of bubbles West Ham badge

“Willy Bonds Stand” “come on you irons” “East east east London” “West Ham till I die”

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Images of wolves players made up of many small images of fans Flags over seats left by fans

“The strength of the wolf is in the pack”

and at a reduced fee rate or free, as well as using more interactive technology, camera angles, goal line technology and deeper analysis. Use of Augmented Reality for team line ups allowed supporters and fans to bring the experience into their own living room and the use of additional information for player profiles, trivia and statistics added depth to the discussion. As such, overall there was generally more information and game/player statistics and greater access to live games.

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Sight While the media factor above includes elements of sight within it, there were a number of clear actions taken by clubs and broadcasters to enhance the sight experience and stimulate the fan senses. The most prominent of these actions were seen to be the use of different camera angles for the “action” and the ability of supporters to log into webcams or 360degree cameras and select the views they wanted of the game. This gave the fan a degree of involvement and allowed for elements such as player cams to be used where a fan can follow their favourite players on and off the ball. The most obvious visual stimuli evident was the way the clubs used banners and symbolism to show fans that they still have a place or home at the club. Table 3 previously highlighted the main banners and purpose of banners used by the clubs. These consisted of a mixture of the club image stimuli – usually portrayed by the club crest, badge or colours. The political banners – representing the club ethics and values – mainly Health service support, anti-racism (black lives matter) and specific club concerns (e.g. Crystal Palace support for food banks, Manchester United against hate crimes, Newcastle United supporting mental health and Norwich City supporting gay rights). Finally, there were the banners with specific quotes, song lines and mottos known to “true” fans e.g. Tottenham Hotspur “COYS COYS COYS”, Watford “The hornets”, West Ham United “West Ham till I die”, and Wolverhampton Wanderers “The strength of the wolf is in the pack”. Finally here, there were also attempts to make the commentator positions more interesting and varied and as such resulted in some commentators being pitch side during the match and others in the press box offering overviews of the game (although the pitch side approach did not last very long).

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Smell/Taste For this sensory scope, there was not really anything developed specifically but what was evident was an increase in food advertisements and pre-ordering of food for half time on broadcaster channels during commercial breaks.

Sound During a football match, sound plays a critical role. The sound is made up of the fellow supporters, the opposition, the players, the club administration tannoy announcements system, the music played when the teams emerge from the tunnel or a goal is scored, and the announcements of the team at the start of the game and substitutions throughout the game. Throughout the Covid-19 lockdown such atmosphere has been difficult to attain and maintain. However there have been some interesting initiatives. Initial football games tended to have no noise. They basically represented the commentators and sports pundits offering a view of the game. This lacked atmosphere and the cues needed for supporters and fans to appreciate the excitement of the build-up of play or the near miss or goal. As such, broadcasters moved to a system where fans could choose to either have pitch side sound or artificial crowd noise (similar to video games). Initially the artificial noise was made up of crowd reactions but gradually as the season progressed club songs and chants were added and the option to listen pitch side enhanced. Some fans chose this option to hear the efforts and instructions given to players and to help understand the reality of the event more deeply i.e. how football works. In effect it represented a return to grass roots football but in a professional setting. The specific chants for teams and added noise for excitement and disappointment certainly enhanced the viewer experience and while not replacing the live experience did help to create a degree of atmosphere. Again, as was seen with the media element, commentators overlaid the action with their own style and views (often well recognised voices) and additional expert advice and experiences were provided by former players and legends. Perhaps of most interest was the introduction of greater involvement of ex-referees in explaining decisions and assessing the referee’s performance. Again, representing a shift to more and more considered and in-depth information for the fan. These elements are unlikely to be removed when the full game attendance is permitted again. However, it will be interesting to see how the live and broadcasted experiences evolve and change over the period of the return of live sport.

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Touch Nothing was supportive of stimulating touch but fans were often pictured watching television or streaming media wearing their football top, scarf or hat. Thus the attempt to manage and manipulate the senses represented a clear attempt to enhance the fan experience and manage the fan identity. However, the identity was mainly managed through the approaches to social interaction and the use of the senses to replicate social interaction and feeling of being “home” or at least represented in the stadium.

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Social Interaction While social interaction is an area of critical importance for fans it is also an area which is incredibly difficult to manage in a period of Covid-19 restrictions. There was a range of ways in which the fan identity, Fandom (social experience), hedonic experience and football team identity were supplemented. These are as follows:

Fan Identity The fan identity was developed and maintained at various levels, the symbolic level can be seen in table 3 through the first column of the table. Here we see the efforts made by clubs to re-enforce their identity through the club badge and colours. However, some clubs added further additional dimensions, Bournemouth included pictures of promotion celebrations from the previous season, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Manchester United, Sheffield United, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford and Everton produced pictures of fans cheering in the stands, Liverpool had a range of fan banners and images of trophies, while Norwich had fan scarves and flags tied to seats and Wolverhampton Wanderers created images of their players made up of small images of their fans, they also left flags over the seats which had been placed by fans. The interpersonal or network level was more difficult to achieve but did see a number of innovations, including Manchester City providing a live stream of their fans into the stadium behind each of the goal posts, and Watford providing links to their social media accounts. The use of banners is also evident with many clubs using phrases like “all one” or “united” or “together” but perhaps one of the most pertinent in this regard is that of Wolverhampton Wanderers whose banner reads “The strength of the wolf is in the pack”. The personal image level was represented by the personal items left by fans i.e. scarves, pictures, flags and in some cases soft toys on their season ticket seat. This was a way of providing a permanent presence in the stadium and the sense of “home”. Indeed, this is a trait found in many cases where some degree of attachment is needed and something needs to be representative of the individual’s presence. Ultimately these elements have built and re-enforced the trust of the fans and have attempted to ensure they still have a voice. Much of this is evident in the fan specific slogans but also in explicit ways such as through Bournemouth “Everyone together” or “Together anything is possible”, Brighton and Hove Albion “Albion as one”, Burnley “one club for all”, Everton “The people club”, Leicester City “With you then” “With you now” “With you again”, Liverpool “Unity is strength” and Manchester United “We can’t wait to welcome you home to Old Trafford”.

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Fandom (Social Experience) Fandom was difficult to enhance or replicate during lockdown restriction. While there is often never any actual contact between the fan and the “celebrity” there were attempts by clubs to create a brand identity. This was done through the mixture of the club badge, colours and logos but also through the use of club colours to cover the many empty seats and thus give an image of no empty space. Using the colours of the club helped to re-enforce the Fandom identity and often images of players or club events were advertised. This, combined with the use of recognised statements presented in banners encouraged the emotional-affection experience as evidenced in the banners by Watford “Creating history respecting our past”, Sheffield United “You fill up my senses”, Manchester United “Football is nothing without fans – Sir Matt Busby”, Everton “Fantastico Magnifico” with a picture of Carlo Ancelotti, and Bour-

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nemouth “Eddie had a dream on minus seventeen”. These banners encouraged memories of past events, heroes and the emotional attachments to the club. While it was clear that clubs had been very selective in the materials they used and posted around their stadiums there were clearly efforts made to help keep memories alive. The cognitive experience was difficult to display as it reflected learning and is a focus for a forthcoming paper with fan based interviews. However, from the evidence of the efforts made by football clubs during Covid-19 it was clear that there was an attempt to represent different generations of supporter and that the clubs themselves did learn how to support their fans better as the season progressed. Clearly the symbolic experience was the area of most focus with clubs developing a range of symbols to help reflect the sentimental and emotional memory (football team identity) and to provide for a degree of social norms and celebrity attachment. We have discussed many of these already in this chapter but there were also more interactive efforts made by clubs as well. Indeed, some clubs organised fans to be able to watch (virtually via Zoom or similar) matches which were also attended by the club “heroes” or “legends”. As such, they could interact with their heroes and be seen to be watching the match with then. They could even record the experience for social capital with fellow fans. In a similar way, social media tags were used to connect fans e.g. Norwich City with “#Apartbuttogether” or “#Buildthenest”, and Tottenham Hotspur “#Together THFC” and others used their Fandom to re-enforced the stay at home message e.g. Liverpool “Stay safe. Support us at home” while some raised charity support for those in need Manchester City “Cityzensgiving.org” and Crystal Palace “Text dinner £5 to 70085”. These actions all enhanced the fans association with their heroes and the club and sought to create the affiliation, association and camaraderie needed to hold the fan identity together.

Hedonic Experience

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The hedonic experience is highly personalised and as such very difficult to replicate. However the attempts here were built around past success e.g. Liverpool “Liverpool FC champions again”, and Norwich City “NCFC Anglia’s finest”. However, worryingly, the betting companies also spotted such an opportunity and many timed adverts to fit with the game and the events occurring in the game which were broadcast (a situation unlikely to occur in a live football match). This played upon the fans “obligation” to defend their team by showing their loyalty by betting on their team, even if such an outcome was clearly fruitless. This reflected the unrealistic optimism of fans and the “hope” they still maintained, despite their detachment from the live experience. Finally here, social media tended to act as a vehicle to “let of steam” in essence as a replacement as fans could not display their emotions immediately in real time at the game (e.g. shout at the referee, chant against the opposition supporters, scream at their own players etc), as they would have done in the stadium and as such needed other releases of such emotions.

Football Team Identity Finally here we evidenced the sentimental and emotional memory of fans which was shown in the many banners, scarfs, pictures, slogans and quotes presented around the stadiums. The symbolism was clear in the badges and colours used, the reference to club history e.g. Burnley “1882” with lion emblem, Everton “The originals since 1887”, Sheffield United “Est 1889”, Southampton “1885” and Watford “Est. 1881 Watford FC”, mottos which often used colloquial terms only known to the true fans e.g. Arsenal “Victoria Concordia Cerscit”, Bournemouth “Up the cherries”, Burnley “Sean Dyche’s claret and

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blue army”, Newcastle United “Howay the lads”, Sheffield United “Bladesmen from the lane” and West Ham United “come on you irons”. People and places were also quoted on banners to show a degree of affiliation for example West Ham United “East east east London”, Everton “On the banks of the royal blue Mersey”, and Crystal Palace “South London and proud”. All of these elements help create the club identity as well as the rituals and routines clubs follow during their warm up, pre-match preparation and on field celebrations. Of particular interest and note was the way Tottenham Hotspur had a banner quoting “To dare is to do”, and Brighton and Hove Albion had “BHAFC” which may have been seen as simple, ordinary slogans or elements of a chant, but in reality are the slogan embroidered into the inside collar of the Tottenham Hotspur football shirt and Brighton Football Shirt respectively. This is hidden from view and only real known to the owner of the shirt or the true fan. These combined with support offered by clubs to their fans to help highlight the current sacrifice of the fans (i.e. the Covid-19 banners etc) as well as the political statements to show the fans and clubs values in relation to racism, equality, charity and thanks for the health service provide a significant moral messages and the values and beliefs which underpin the clubs identity and with which the fans will associate, embrace, emulate and embody.

Sense of Home and Experience The sense of home and experience are essentially the result of the various measures, actions and artefact’s implemented and discussed thus far. The result is unpredictable but on the whole good intentioned. In essence, the clubs need to try to ensure they are not seen as faceless commercial enterprises and instead they care and respect for their fan base. This sense of home is critical in trying to provide fans with continued “hope”, commitment and attachment. Clubs used different approaches to achieve this. As we established earlier, clubs used pictures of fans, scarfs, flags, video images and pregame and half time announcements. The idea amongst all is clear. The ability to “leave a piece of me” at the stadium or “home” that I can return to when Covid-19 is resolved and things return to some kind of normal. Some clubs seemed to go the extra mile here as could be seen by the range of activities in Table 3.

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Engagement and Commitment Level Finally in this section is the level of engagement and commitment. While it is too early to see the overall impact of the Covid-19 restriction on fan identity we are seeing clear evidence of continued support, funding pages and both moral and financial support for clubs. There is clearly some continued commitment and some sense of belonging but whether the measures put in place has been enough or even significant is difficult to tell without empirical primary research. Something we are currently working on. However from our reviews of social media, viewing numbers and the willingness to pay for extra services, it would seem that fans will return, they will share their dependable trust and they will continue to support their beloved football club. In the meantime, the efforts of football clubs can be seen to have provided a degree of community for fans and a very significant sense of belonging which will undoubtedly have helped many fans cope with the stress and strains of “loss” of such a significant element of their life and a major component of their mental health.

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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS To conclude our chapter, we offer a conclusion and some recommendations. We recognise our research is exploratory and a first stage to developing a deeper understanding of the remote relationship between football clubs and their fans. But, we also believe that our framework offers a useful way forward in disentangling a complex area of what underpins a fans identity and which we hope can later be aligned in a more conclusive way to the benefits of football fan identity, management and manipulation to underpin and support mental health and the wider benefits of being a sports fan. This means we can help clubs better enhance the fan experience of remote supporters, an increasingly prominent issue in terms of global Fandom and mental health of fans.

Conclusion This chapter explored the many questions raised about the role of football in supporter’s lives and the need for the “football fix” in their weekly routine. Rather than focusing on the supporter and their wellbeing, our chapter focused on the efforts made by the football clubs to create an atmosphere and maintain an identity and attachment with their supporters during the period of Covid19 restrictions and lockdown that had prevented attendance at live sporting events. To do this, we combined principles and underlying theory from identity theory, attachment theory, community theory and Fandom to propose a framework of the antecedents of fan attachment. We then used our framework to apply it to the English Premier Football league to see how all 20 clubs have responded to the challenge of maintaining fan identity. As Covid-19 restrictions did not allow for personal interviews and clubs are not inclined to respond to survey requests, we used media footage to profile the fan experience for each club and offered suggestions as to the areas which seem to work. Our research found that clubs are actively seeking to create the fan identity through a mixture of symbolism, interactivity and the stimuli of the sensory scope. We found messages clearly delineated between club identity and history, political messages and messages which need a deeper fan awareness to decode. As such, the actions of the clubs seem to seek to cater for the spectator as well as the deeper routed and dedicated fan. These findings were interesting and did stimulate some ideas for recommendations and further research.

Recommendations Beyond a more extensive use of our Fan Identity framework we have a number of areas for recommendations that clubs can consider for supporting both remote fan identity and in the reopening of stadiums.

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In Stadium Presence As lockdown eases and fans are allowed to return to stadiums, it may be worth the clubs still reflecting on how the online and virtual fan identity and presence was maintained. Many clubs have millions of followers (and fans) based around the globe. Their experience and the fan identity could be enhanced by the lessons learned from the Covid-19 experience. This may mean allowing for some virtual presence at stadiums (as Manchester City has done) or extending flags and banners for the international or absent presence of the fans (which was already evident in some stadia before the lockdown). This would also move the emphasis of clubs away from the experience of supporting the team as being one where

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personal presence is required. In this regard, clubs can explore what worked at their stadiums and adapt and refine these mechanisms for their fans after stadiums reopen.

Additionality of Experience When fans return to the stadium there will be a sense of relief, euphoria and belonging. There will therefore be a need to manage the return process sensitively (considering the elements of attachment theory) and be aware of how fans may react to each other and to opposing fans. We know fans will react in different ways and there may be a need to re-enforce expected behaviour as well as moderate interaction and excitement. Using the fan identity framework may help clubs manage the return process by stimulating the positive elements of the experience while moderating and managing the return of socialisation, self-esteem and frustrations of things like VAR decision waiting times.

Re-Enforcement of Activity Many things seem to have worked well as a response to Covid-19 restrictions, in particular the broadcaster responses to how to present the materials and use the vast range of technologies and information available to them. This is an area where further re-enforcement can be had. These recommendations will be further explored and enhanced as we gather more empirical data.

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FURTHER RESEARCH As Jacobsen (2003) highlights, “a number of studies have been carried out on sport fans and sports spectators, few of them conceptualize fan or spectator, and any conceptualizations that are provided are not used with any consistency. This is problematic in that spectators may not necessarily be fans. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for researchers to use the terms interchangeably” As such, further research is needed to understand the differences and overlaps between the fan and the spectator experience and profiles. Such an understanding can greatly enhance the management of the event experience and can be transferable to leagues across the globe. In terms of context we also recognise that the interaction effect between gender and level of competition clearly suggests that local and international football matches activate different identities. This is an area for further exploration. The nature of the sport and the degree of group and individual vocalisation at the event are areas which we consider particularly interesting. For example, during lockdown in the USA, the WWE wrestling matches saw fans composed of an array of individualised live TV screens, each interacting in the experience. However is other countries and sport experiences differed between controlled small elite groups of supporters attending the event to no evidence of social distancing at all. So, how do these different conditions influence fan identity? It is an area worth exploring further. Finally, we are currently exploring two interrelated elements, firstly, the longitudinal study of how Premier League football clubs evolved through the Covid-19 restrictions period, how they re-open and what reaction and behaviour fans show when they return to stadiums, and also to explore how the restarting and fans admittance changes thing for mental health and the younger population.

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Overall, these are exciting times and the area of fan identity is one which is rife for further investigation. We hope our contribution is a step in the right direction and stimulates others to get involved.

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Ramos, A. K., Suarez, M. C., Leon, M., & Trinidad, N. (2017). Sense of community, participation, and life satisfaction among Hispanic immigrants in rural Nebraska. Kontakt, 19(4), e284–e295. doi:10.1016/j. kontakt.2017.09.005 Richardson, B. (2004). New consumers and football Fandom: The of social habitus in consumer Behaviour. Irish Journal of Management, 25(1), 88–100. Schaffer, H. R., & Emerson, P. E. (1964). The development of social attachments in infancy. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 29(3), 1–77. doi:10.2307/1165727 PMID:14151332 Spencer, L., & Pahl, R. E. (2006). Rethinking friendship: hidden solidarities today. Princeton University Press. Strauss, A. (1959). Mirrors and Masks: The Search for Identity. The Sociology Press. Stryker, S., & Burke, P. J. (2000). The Past, Present, and Future of an Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(4), 284–297. doi:10.2307/2695840 Stryker, S., & Serpe, R. T. (1994). Identity Salience and Psychological Centrality: Equivalent, Overlapping or Complementary Concepts? Social Psychology Quarterly, 57(1), 16–35. doi:10.2307/2786972 Tajfel, H. (1981). Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology. Cambridge University Press. Tajfel, H., Turner, J. C., Austin, W. G., & Worchel, S. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. Organizational identity. REAd (Porto Alegre), 56–65. Tapp, A., & Clowes, J. (2002). From ‘carefree casuals’ to ‘professional wanderers – segmentation possibilities for football supporters’. European Journal of Marketing, 36(11/12), 1248–1269. doi:10.1108/03090560210445164 Taylor, J. A. (2004). Tribes, brands and the fate of consumer marketing. Consumer Insight Magazine. www.acnielsen.com The Guardian. (2020). Coronavirus latest: 23 March at a glance. The Guardian. Thinkpublic. (2020). The Forgotten Football Fans Survey. Thinkpublic Ltd. https://www.thinkpublic. com/post/28-of-fans-say-their-mental-health-has-been-affected-by-the-loss-of-football

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Thoits, P., & Virshup, L. (1997). Me’s and We’s: Forms and Functions of Social Identities. In R. Ashmore & L. Jussim (Eds.), Self and Identity: Fundamental Issues (pp. 106–133). Oxford University Press. Thomas, P. (2011). Youth, multiculturalism and community cohesion. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/9780230302242 Wallace, A. (2010). Remaking community?:New Labour and the governance of poor neighbourhoods. Ashgate. Wang, Y., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2003). Assessing motivation of contribution in online communities: An empirical investigation of an online travel community. Electronic Markets, 13(1), 33–45. doi:10.1080/1019678032000052934

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Wann, D., & Pierce, S. (2003). Measuring sport team identification and commitment: An empirical comparison of the sport spectator identification scale and psychological commitment to team scale. North American Journal of Psychology, 5(3), 272–365. Wann, D. L., & Branscombe, N. R. (1993). Sport fans: Measuring degree of identification with their team. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 24, 1–17. Wann, D. L., & Branscombe, N. R. (1995). Influence of identification with a sports team on objective knowledge and subjective beliefs. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 26, 551–567. Wann, D. L., & Grieve, F. G. (2005). Biased evaluations of in-group and out-group spectator behavior at sporting events: The importance of team identification and threats to social identity. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(5), 531–545. doi:10.3200/SOCP.145.5.531-546 PMID:16201677 Weeks, J., Heaphy, B., & Donovan, C. (2001). Same sex intimacies: families of choice and other life experiments. Routledge. Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: a guide to managing knowledge. Harvard Business School Press. Williams, R. (1976). Keywords: A vocabulary of culture and society. Fontana. Willmott, P. (1986). Social Networks, Informal Care and Public Policy. Policy Studies Institute.

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Zillman, D., Bryant, J., & Sapolsky, N. (1989). Enjoyment from Sports Spectatorship. In J. Goldstein (Ed.), Sport, Games and Play (pp. 241–278). Laurence Earlbaum.

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Chapter 3

The Financial Impact:

Will Professional Soccer Return to Its Market Value After the COVID-19 Crisis? Insights and Results From an Empirical Study Soeren Dressler HTW University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany Sandra Dressler Beuth University of Applied Sciences, Berlin, Germany Thomas Rachfall University of Applied Sciences, Merseburg, Germany Dirk Foerster-Trallo Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy (IMW), Leipzig, Germany

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ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has impacted many industries such as the professional sports business. Almost all professional sports leagues, events, and championships have been either postponed or canceled. This chapter investigates the challenges of reduced revenue streams due to empty venues and canceled broadcasts on TV and on the internet. Also, the efects on the related merchandising business are addressed. Based on a theoretical analysis and an empirical study, the chapter highlights these direct impacts and sheds light on the indirect efects as well. As the pandemic disconnects sports enthusiasts to a certain extent from the team and/or athletes of their choice, certain behavioral aspects could appear. The results of the study underline that the fnancial efects in the short-term could almost be balanced; the medium- to long-term efects, however, will decrease the market value and threaten the business model of professional sports.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch003

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Financial Impact

INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 crisis has affected professional sports substantially. Professional leagues have been terminated early, events and international championships have been canceled or postponed such as the EURO 2020 (UEFA, 2020a) or the US Open (USTA, 2020). While almost the entire world was forced to endure a lockdown situation, even sports was not available anymore for entertainment purposes. For many sports enthusiasts the uncommon situation provided a new learning: There is a life possible without consuming professional sports. Despite the extraordinary emotional connection of billions regular viewers of any kind of sports live, streamed or televised events people had to deal with this situation and found alternative ways of entertainment and relaxation. Many sports fans realized how intensively consuming sports has played a major role in their lives and that substantial amount of time and money has been spent in passively participating in professional sports. In addition, playing games and conducting competitions in empty venues has provided another learning: sports enthusiasm is to a certain extend driven by the crowd effects in the stadiums and not only by the teams or athletes performing the sport. Even the most prestigious events such as the Soccer Champions League came across as boring and lost lots of its glamour. While the pandemic was a completely new and uncommon situation, these aforementioned general observations lead to the key research question: how likely will professional sports and in particular soccer be able to return to its pre COVID-19 market values in the short- and medium-term perspective?

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BACKGROUND The sports industry has been one of the fastest growing markets in recent years. Shortly before the Corona outbreak the Business Research Company released a research paper stating a 4.3% CAGR of the sports industry from 2014 to (Torrens University Australia, 2020) and a further growth outlook until 2024 (Statista, 2020a). The overall yearly revenue of professional sports was identified at approximately 500 billion USD of which the majority was attributed to Soccer (43%) followed by American Football (13%), Baseball (12%), Formula 1 (7%) and Basketball (7%) (Statista, 2020a). Some of the most valuable teams are the Dallas Cowboys with a revenue of 5,5 billion USD followed by the New York Yankees (5 billion USD), Real Madrid (4,2 billion USD), FC Barcelona / 4,0 billion USD) and Manchester United (3,8 billion USD) (Badenhausen, 2020). However, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything. The revenue level of 498 bill. USD in 2019 (Statista, 2020a) will surely not be reached in 2020 as spectators were kept out of live events since March in most professional sports. Cancelations, early terminations of leagues or postponing of major events such as the Olympics or the European Soccer Championships have wiped out broadcasting, advertising, ticket sale and merchandising revenues in some areas completely – a least for the year 2020. If they will be back to regular levels in 2021 or in the years to come is unknown from today’s perspective. In addition to not recoverable revenues from the pandemic situation, another aspect plays an important role: how will the attitudes towards professional sports change in an after Corona world? There are behavioral and psychological effects. Behavior-wise many sports fans and frequent visitors to league games, sport events and live broadcasts had to re-shuffle their time budget during the COVID-19 pandemic constraints. Some former passive sports enthusiasts might have found a re-entry into active sports for themselves, others have rediscovered the importance of family time or forgotten hobbies while others have adapted new ways of dealing with free time and spend time outside. 41

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Financial Impact

A study published by Statista (2020b) under reference to Yougov.de regarding the interest in sports events on TV indicated that people may rather spend time with the family or enjoy the weather outside. Psychologically, in particular sports fans with a great emotional affection to a particular club, player or racing team might experience a certain loosening of this relationship. They may feel emotionally left alone and abandoned by their favorite sports team due to cancelation of the leagues, although the team is not the reason. However, strongly emotionally driven sports fans might turn their psychological attention to something or somebody else and will probably never be this close fan of the professional sports team or player any more. This could have serious consequences for the business model of professional sports. A study by PWC (2020) among 698 experts in the sports industry from 50 countries revealed that 43,4% expect a full recovery to the pre-Corona levels by 2022, while another 27,1% expect that to happen by 2023, and 10,9% project that scenario for 2024. In order to answer these questions, it is firstly required to investigate the major income sources of professional sports. For professional soccer for example revenues are realized through five main channels: 1) ticket sales, 2) television and internet rights, 3) advertisements and sponsorships, 4) merchandising and 5) fees for qualification in international competitions. It depends on the kind of professional sport how the shares of each channel vary. In order to narrow the scope, this publication focuses on professional soccer. According to the Deloitte study the revenue of the top five European soccer leagues is distributed as follows (fig. 1): Figure 1. Revenue split of top five European soccer leagues

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(own calculation, source: Deloitte, 2020)

In addition, clubs playing in the European club competitions such as Champions League or Euro League realize additional premium incomes directly through the UEFA. In the case of this year’s UEFA Champions League winner Bayern Munich, the premiums received add up to almost 100 million EUR (97,55 million EUR), and even teams such as Atalanta Bergamo who made it to the quarter finals realized 41,55 million EUR. Clubs like Dinamo Zagreb who dropped out after the group stage of the competition could still add 19,75 million EUR to their revenues through UEFA premiums (own calculation based on

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Financial Impact

UEFA, 2020b). For other sports such as American Football or Baseball, TV deals are among the most important revenue sources as well (Eckstein, 2020 and Fontinelle, 2020). Revenues through broadcasting rights, advertisements and sponsoring are driven by the number of sports consumers and the intensity of their consumption. Therefore, they can be seen as dependent variables, which are driven by viewers and clicks. Ticket sales and merchandising revenues are impacted directly by the willingness of the sports consumer to watch an event and to be emotionally connected to its favorite team. This indicates a gap in the current literature that is worth to be closed due to the practical relevance to mitigate financial shortcomings in the sports industries. The questions address behavioral and psychological effects of the COVID-19 crisis on professional sports enthusiasts that may lead to actions to balance current lacks in revenue. Due to the new allocation of time budgets and emotional connections, because of the lockdown and Corona restrictions it is uncertain which role sports will play in the future life of former sports fans. The methodological approach is survey-based in order to collect data from a broad range of sports enthusiasts, which is a well-accepted research design to derive recommendations (Stokes & Wall, 2014). The questionnaire enables gathering of data that answer the following research question and thereby answering the overarching research question. It investigates the attitude of sports enthusiasts concerning their willingness to spend money for their favorite sports prior and after the COVID-19 crisis based on a online questionnaire. A major benefit of this approach is capturing direct feedback from sports consumers while certain limitations need to be considered such not foreseeable changes in attitudes and behaviors due to the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. The appropriate research sample has been identified through capturing of the level of professional sports consumption. As such only respondents who have been self-identified as substantial consumers of professional sports in live and broadcasted events have constituted the research sample. For this, survey respondents had to choose from a 5-point Likert-scale ranging from being not interested in professional sports at all (1) to being absolute sports enthusiasts (5). Based on the results, a financial impact forecast is developed, which highlights potential consequences of COVID-19 to the sports industry in the short- and medium-term perspective.

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Revenue Generation Model of Professional Sports and Development of Research Questions In order to understand the revenue generation model (fig. 2), it is required to highlight the relevant interdependencies of the various sources of income. Regular viewers and followers of professional sports are driving certain direct revenues for sports teams and athletes through ticket sales and merchandising articles. Indirect revenues within the sports industry are generated through subscription fees for internet and broadcasting rights. They turn in direct revenues through contractual agreed fee payments either through the respective leagues or directly through a broadcasting or internet service provider. Lastly, another source of revenues comes from sponsorships. This entails all kinds of advertising or exclusive name rights (i.e. for venues, team names or entire leagues and events) and product placement for sponsors who then benefits from the high potential customer awareness of professional games and sport events. Therefore, it is crucial for professional sports teams and athletes to draw sufficient attraction from a potential viewer and follower base in order to stimulate direct revenues through ticket and merchandising sales. Subsequently, the indirect sources subscription fees and sponsorship fees can be utilized as well.

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 The Financial Impact

Figure 2. Revenue generation network of professional sports (source: own depiction)

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DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS During the first Corona lockdown the European soccer leagues were suspended at the beginning and then either terminated early (e.g. French Ligue 1) or completed delayed without any fans admitted to the stadiums e.g. Spanish La Liga, British Premier League and German Bundesliga. The UEFA Champions League was stopped and resumed in a tournament of the final eight teams played in Lisbon in August 2020. Cancelation of leagues would certainly lead to the biggest budget cuts as ticket revenues would be wiped out immediately and subscription revenues would dry out with a certain delay dependent on the contractual agreements with the broadcasting and internet service providers. In the current situation, at least rebates (SportsPro, 2020) have been granted (see below). Broadcasting revenues contribute more than half of the revenue of the top European soccer leagues (fig. 1). Thus, it is comprehensive that most professional leagues returned to playing games even without spectators within the stadiums relatively quickly. On May 16, 2020 the German Bundesliga resumed its campaign, La Liga in Spain on June 11 and the Premier League in UK on June 17. Although it felt somehow strange to watch games without any crowd support, sports fans following games on TV or live streams adjusted relatively quick and accepted the circumstances as a temporary solution. A research question to be answered is whether the broadcasted and streamed events without any packed stands and real-life audible fan support will capture the enthusiasm of the remote viewer as it did before. Consequently, will there be price erosions for watching live events to mitigate dropping numbers of subscribers? (Research Question 1) With the start of the season 2020/21, the national leagues had to follow the different regulations as set by their respective countries, regions, or cities on how to limit spread of the Corona virus. In England and Spain, it was planned to let up to 30% of the fans back into the stadium but infection rates turned out to be too high. In Italy, the attendance was limited to 1.000 spectators per game at the beginning of the campaign 20/21. The regulations set by the German government restricted attendance to 20% of the respective stadium’s capacity but in addition the German Bundesliga teams were dependent upon state and local authorities, which decided based on the hygiene concepts how many visitors could eventually

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 The Financial Impact

be allowed to the venues. In fact, Champions League winner Bayern Munich had to start the season almost entirely without fan support due to high infection rates in Bavaria. Finally, the second Corona virus wave set a halt to all fan and club hopes to bring spectators back to the stands at all. As of November 2020, all stadiums were more or less empty. An important research question evolves out of this situation: Would it be possible to stabilize the financial impact of less visitors to the venues with a smart pricing strategy? (Research Questions 2) Lastly, merchandise products have become a more and more important source of revenue for many professional sports. In soccer, the contribution of merchandising has even surpassed the role of ticket sales (fig. 1) and it is a necessity nowadays to develop and execute sound merchandising strategies to tap this important revenue source. However, even though merchandising leads to direct revenues it is not a product in itself. The success rate of merchandising is highly dependent on the willingness of the fan base to transform their enthusiasm and loyalty for the team into purchasing decisions for apparel or any kind of merchandising products. The lower the awareness of a team the lower the merchandising sales. Thus, it is of viable importance to create viewer and follower attraction via broadcasted and live events and through media channels to keep this revenue stream afloat. The last research question is targeting to explore the loyalty in form of willingness of supporters to purchase merchandising products even under COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. (Research Question 3) Sponsorships are very difficult to forecast (Jensen & Turner, 2017). Generally, a certain renewal rate counts as the most reliable data point in this regards. However, the Corona crisis and its various lockdowns and restrictions will most certainly lead to entirely new dynamics in this area. As such, at the moment it appears rather difficult to analyze any kind of effects and to derive reliable conclusions. Hence, sponsorships are considered as out-of-scope for this analysis although they are of very high importance as revenue source for the future of professional sports in an after COVID-19 scenario. Also, competition related fees are considered out-of-scope as they vary substantially and are not relevant for all professional sports.

ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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Broadcasting and Internet Streaming Rights First indications on the effects on broadcasting fees to be realized in professional soccer can be gathered through selected examples: The German Bundesliga could realize 4,4 billion EUR for the auctioning of the national TV and internet rights of the German Bundesliga for the time frame (Kicker, 2020). This is 264 million EUR below the previous 4-year-contract. The decrease is seen as mainly caused by the COVID-19 effects (Kicker, 2020). In the UK, the Premier League granted a 170 million £ rebate to pay TV broadcaster Sky Sports in order to help mitigate losses from three months without any live sports, which could have been broadcasted (SportsPro, 2020). In addition to those immediate reactions and new contractual agreements in place, it remains to a certain extend unclear how strong the COVID-19 pandemic experience will lead to less subscribers in the medium and long-term. Statista (2020b) has reported about a study carried out by Yougov.de in June 2020 with 6.009 respondents in Germany who have indicated to have the same level of interest (64%), whereas 19% reported about decreased interest to follow sports events on TV. In this context, 38% of the respondents to this study answered further that a decrease in interest to watch sports on TV may develop 45

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Financial Impact

due to ghost games. The dynamic developments during this unusual time may lead to updated insights in terms of spectators’ interest, which the present study evaluates. Sports enthusiasm and the readiness to follow live broadcasted or video events might have diminished in the meantime.

Ticket Sales Without any visitors at the venues, the source of ticket sales goes back to zero. Hence, these planned revenues have been irretrievably lost. However, allowing a capacity of 20-30% back into the stadiums has helped at least temporarily to restore the live event atmosphere and to generate at least some revenues. The following model presents a pricing model that would close the entire revenue gap. Sports venues have a natural capacity limit. Still, it can be assumed that supply and demand mechanism will lead to a market equilibrium, which eventually will constitute the ticket price (fig. 3). If a soccer stadium for example does have a maximum seating capacity of 40.000, following theoretical supply and demand dynamics could lead to an exemplified ticket price of 50,00 EUR (assuming no other category differentiation):

Figure 3. Supply and demand dynamics in sports venues

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(source: own depiction, illustrative data)

Therefore, these supply/ demand dynamics will lead to the optimal ticket price for each ticket price category. Assuming a soccer stadium with a capacity of 50.000 spectators in two different categories (40.000 seats, 10.000 in standing areas) could realize under a typical pricing structure 2.2 million EUR in ticket sales per sold-out game (50,00 EUR/ seat, 20,00 EUR/ stand). Under COVID-19 restrictions with only 20% of the capacity admitted into the venue this amount would be reduced to 440.000 EUR (Table 1). For this model, it is assumed that the share of seating categories would remain equal and that no price changes would be made. If a club now would like to close the entire revenue gap by incorporating a new pricing strategy, some severe price increases would be required. In order not to upset the most loyal supporters of the club (i.e. the fan clubs), the prices for at least this group could be remain stable. In this case, the prices in the other categories need to be increased by a factor of 5,2 in order to realize the same revenue levels compared to the no COVID-19 situation (Table 2).

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Financial Impact

Table 1. Ticket sales revenue before and with COVID-19 restrictions

It now depends on the price sensitivity of the regular visitors to the stadium, whether this model would be feasible. There are a number of factors influencing price sensitivity as the following examples emphasize: • • • •

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•

Regular ticket demand: is the stadium sold out for all games of a season or only for selected top games? How many season ticket holders are among the visitors and obtain rebated tickets already? Purchase power: are there sufcient visitors to the stadium who do have the purchase power to buy more expensive tickets? Competitive oferings: are there other teams and venues in the vicinity where sports fans could get access to top league soccer matches as well? Loyalty of the supporter base: how important is it for true supporters to be at live events of the team, how strong is the will to re-distribute the share of wallet in order to purchase a ticket?

Table 2. Pricing strategy to close ticket sales revenue gap under COVID-19 restrictions

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Financial Impact

There are many more of these influencing factors and with the COVID-19 pandemic effects being in place for such a relatively short time-frame most of these questions cannot be answered in systematic and research-valid way. Thus, it is required to operate with well-rationalized assumptions and explorative researched empirical data to derive an answer.

Merchandising Sales The first Corona lockdown drew some immediate effects. Fans were neither able to visit the fan stores any more, nor did clubs advertise new apparel and merchandising article due to the uncertainty of the situation (Morell, 2020). As a results, aside from the missing revenues through merchandising sales, professional sports teams and their retailers were facing challenges due to filled up capacities within the warehouses. In contrast to that, the sales data until the second COVID-19 wave in late 2020 suggest that customer aka fan loyalty will remain strong and even more, the growth rate of the licensed merchandising industry will be remaining high with a CAGR of 5,11% from 2018 until 2023 and eventually reaching a size of 34 billion USD (Kruse, 2020). The analysis of empirical data will provide further insights if and if yes, how strong the loyalty factor has been eroded and how strongly this will impact the merchandising revenue stream.

Empirical Analysis For the following empirical analysis (fig. 4), a data sample has been drawn based on the level of interest in professional sports. The total population of the study has been identified through sports forums and interest groups, active club members and university students in Germany. 161 respondents provided feedback out of which 112 identified themselves as very active followers and fans of professional sports. Figure 4. Interest in Professional Sports

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(own depiction and own data)

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Financial Impact

This group has been selected for the following analysis. The study has been carried out based on an online survey in Google-docs between October 26 and November 26, 2020. The questionnaire contains questions with closed-ended questions. With the study focus on Germany, it is not surprising that the vast majority of respondents favors soccer as most interesting professional sport to follow (fig. 4). Soccer is surely the no. 1 sport for Germany. Interestingly, despite the international focus on ice hockey and basketball and highly reputable professional sports leagues throughout Europe and in particular, North America the next most interesting sport for the respondents would be handball followed by American Football. In addition, there is a wide variety of other sports that German sports fans follow on a regular basis. The gender distribution of the sample lies with 88% of respondents on male versus 12% female. This could indicate a potential non-response bias, which underlines that someone not being interested in the topic refrains the completion of the survey. Age-wise the distribution is less biased due to the wide total population, which has been invited to participate in this study. Figure 5. Age group distribution of sample group

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(own depiction and own data)

The majority of the respondents (62%) is within the age range of 18 – 32 years of age. Within this group, the level of sports interest is generally high, many people are still active in competitive sports and follow professional sports on a regular basis. In addition, the age group of above 50 years of age is represented fairly well (23%). Often, long-standing sports fans with season tickets can be found in this group (fig. 5). Concerning the ticket prices (fig. 6), there are certain observation worth mentioning. Within the data sample the majority of sports fans prefers prices of maximum 30,00 EUR. Only 15% percent of the respondents accept the middle price range between 30,00 – 60,00 EUR and 13% accept prices above

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60,00 EUR. Under COVID-19 restrictions, the acceptance level changes significantly. The event visitors in the price range of 15,00 EUR and below drop from 38% down to 30% while the visitors with prices of 30,00 – 45,00 EUR increase from 9% to 28%. Figure 6. Ticket prices without and with COVID-19

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(own depiction and own data)

It appears that those fans who are buying a ticket in order to attend a live event from the low-ticket price standing areas are the ones least interested in a venue which is filled up to a certain restricted capacity only and in which social distancing is required. In contrast, the willingness to buy a mid-priced ticket between 30,00 – 45,00 EUR increases significantly by 19%. Several movements can explain this increase: Firstly, low cost ticket price buyers in no COVID-19 times which are under COVID-19 restriction willing to move into the mid-price range. 16% out of the below 15,00 EUR group and 34% of the 15,00 – 30,00 EUR group move into the range of 30,00 – 45,00 EUR under COVID-19 restrictions. These fans acknowledge obviously the fact that entering a live venue requires higher prices and they would be willing to pay it. A second movement comes from the upper mid-price range of 45,00 – 60,00 EUR group. Under COVID-19 restriction 44% of this group would downgrade their willingness to buy tickets and would only pay 30,00 – 45,00 EUR. Apparently, their enthusiasm suffers under the COVID-19 situation. During the COVID-19 pandemic professional sports organizer might consider extra charges for top events such as tournament or cup finals, European club competition games or even the top games of the national leagues. This is quite a common practice even without COVID-19 challenges but it becomes even more important under the given circumstances. The data analysis reveals (fig. 7), however, that acceptance rate of it is rather low and can very likely only be applied to certain visitors of live events. While overall, 59% of the spectators would accept an extra charge for top events, the levels vary. 39% would limit the extra charge to 50% and less than 10% would be willing to accept 200% and more. In conjunction with the aforementioned ticket price groups one can observe that again, the very low price category (less than 15,00 EUR) and the upper mid-price range (45,00 – 60,00 EUR) are the least

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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Figure 7. Extra premium for top events and its acceptance rates (own depiction and own data)

open groups to this price increase. Only less than half of the members of each group would accept an extra charge. The analysis of merchandising spend of professional sport supporters does not reveal any significant differences in a world with or without COVID-19 (fig. 8). Figure 8. Merchandising expenses without and with COVID-19

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(own depiction and own data)

The strongest movement worth mentioning is the shift from the 20,00 – 50,00 EUR group to the less than 20,00 EUR group. 32% of those who are willing to spend up to 50,00 EUR for fan products would only spend less than 20,00 EUR under COVID-19 restrictions. In other words, instead of the team shirt it will only be a coffee mug or key chain of the favorite team that makes it on the shopping list. Without being able to join live events, it can be assumed that the number of subscriptions for pay-TV and/ or pay-streaming would increase substantially (fig. 9). For many professional clubs and athletes, TV

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and streaming revenues were already the most important source of income before Corona and within a COVID-19 pandemic it will be even more important. In addition to the revenue effect, following a team and/ or athletes keeps the emotional connection alive which is vital to leverage this into merchandising and advertising effects. However, the data sample does not indicate a major surge in more pay-TV/ streaming viewers. Figure 9. Pay-TV/ Streaming subscribers without and with COVID-19 (own depiction and own data)

Unexpectedly, the absolute number of pay service users is actually decreasing. Compared to 69% of the data sample using pay TV/ streaming services in a world without Corona, this value drops to 65%. Although the majority keeps the service independent from a pandemic situation or not, it is worth mentioning that actually more respondents canceled their subscription than signing up for a new subscription due to the pandemic restrictions. Apparently, attractiveness of the professional sports events is lessening for TV/ streaming viewers very likely due to the empty venues. A smaller proportion is compensating the opportunity to join live events with a subscription service. In addition, it was expected that at least for a certain percentage sports fans would utilize the additional time available during a pandemic for watching sports on TV and/ or the internet. Seemingly, this is not the case. The question whether professional sports is consumed less or more during the pandemic should not focus on pay services only. Of course, many sports events are still broadcasted in free TV/ streaming. It depends very much on the level of sports enthusiasm in general, whether or not supporters keep loyal Figure 10. Sports enthusiasm and TV/ internet consumption of profession al sports during COVID-19 Copyright © 2021. IGI Global. All rights reserved.

(own depiction and own data)

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even under COVID-19 conditions in order to determine how intensively the respective professional sports is followed on TV/ internet. As the data in figure 10 report, it is to a certain extend concerning that 44% of the respondents of the data sample are turning their backs to professional sports during pandemic times. Reasons for this are manifold but, of course, the lower attractiveness due to empty venues plays undoubtedly a role. However, on the others side half of the survey group is displaying even more interest in professional sports. This might be for sure mainly due to the lack of other entertainment options. Also, other aspects such as somewhat more available free time and increased loyalty to the favorite team/ athlete in crisis times are factoring in. With regards to time spend for watching sports on TV there are no major surprises. For 50% of the data sample nothing has changed. The group of people spending less time in front of the TV is slightly higher than the group spending more time. Hence, the missing thrill factor of a fully packed stadium or arena is very likely causing many to switch the channel. With sports enthusiasm dropping in general during the COVID-19 pandemic, the loyalty to selected favorite teams or athletes was suspected to suffer not so much. However, the data tell a different story (fig. 11). Figure 11. Sports enthusiasm for favorite team/ athlete during COVID-19 pandemic

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(own depiction and own data)

Unpredictably, the level of support is shrinking among the fans of teams and athletes. Almost one third (28%) of the supporters feel less affected to the team or athlete of their choice during the crisis. The reasons for this are not as comprehensive as one would expect that in particular during an extreme situation and a challenging period such the COVID-19 pandemic, the supporter base would be very much steadfast. A friend in good times is usually an even better one in hard times. Not so in sports under Corona circumstances. Almost one third walks away, another two thirds stay the same fans than before and only about 10% feel a closer connection to their most beloved stars. Probably, within the pandemic people have to deal with themselves and many other challenges and are emotionally less supportive for sports in general and in special for favorite teams or athletes.

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Lastly, the sample participants were asked whether during the crisis their interest of other sports has been increased (fig. 12). 23% of the respondents agreed to this question but this effect is not offsetting the above made observation of lower enthusiasm in general. Figure 12. Shift of interest to other sport during COVID-19 pandemic (own depiction and own data)

Considering the time of the study (November), it is not surprising that 15% of the respondents interested in other professional sports during the Corona crisis developed a strong attentiveness on American Football. The NFL league started in September 2020 and was in full swing as the survey took place. The same very likely applies to the new American Football supporters. Due to lack of other sports to visit in person or being broadcasted, sports fans turned likely to the frequent live streams of American Football games instead. Noteworthy is the group of new supporters for the wide variety of other sports. Some uncommon types of sports such as chess and standup paddling can be found, but at the same time professional sports that have a high TV and internet presence anyhow such as dart or golf.

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CONCLUSION With regards to the first research question, it can be concluded that the concern of lower interest in broadcasted professional sports is indeed justified. While rebates have already been granted for pay services, the new contract negotiations indicate already a certain price pressure for professional sports leagues and events to sell off TV and internet rights. Lockdown scenarios without any games or competitions taking place are for sure the worst case and should only take place for very short periods, if the business model of professional sports should not be put at harm. However, even longer periods with restricted audience to live venues apparently impact professional sports negatively on the broadcasting

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front as well. Sports fans dislike empty stadiums and games without the crowd effect while watching them on TV or the internet. In fact, the empirical study was collecting data within a rather short time frame. If the circumstances would be projected on a medium or even long-term period, the effects could be disastrous for professional sports as it can be expected that more and more fans will turn their back on their favorite leagues and teams or athletes. In conjunction with the observations related to sports enthusiasm, this concern has to be taken serious. Just after a few months of professional sports without visitors, the attractiveness apparently suffers. Sports could lose its vital role in society if its attractiveness drives down due to artificial-like broadcast events with no obvious, visible and audible crowd support in the long-term. As a consequence, some reduced attendance should better be admitted in order to keep attractiveness for live streams in place. The question whether reduced attendances in the venues could mitigate revenue gaps of ticket sales by smart pricing strategies is in focus of the second research question. Concerning the ticket prices, though, the study does not really reveal a turning point. As discussed within the empirical analysis, there are two different price movements: A small proportion of the low price ticket holders accepts higher prices due to COVID-19 in about the mid-price range. Another significant movement takes place of upper midprice fans downgrading their willingness to purchase a ticket to the mid-price segment. Converting these movements into data points (Table 3), it can be concluded that in a scenario with capacity restrictions approximately a fifth of the low ticket price holders would accept an increase of a factor of 1,5 – 2,5. On the other hand, with so many upper mid-price ticket buyers abandoning the range, only half of the higher priced seating visitors would accept an increase by a factor of 2,5 - 3,0. Table 3 summarizes the categories and pricing factors.

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Table 3. Realistic pricing strategy under COVID-19 restrictions

Compared to a no COVID-19 scenario, the results are still generally good as the sales figures could double in the short-term. However, whether or not these price acceptance levels would still be realistic under a long-term scenario appears to be questionable. Likely, the purchasing power of the former low price ticket buyers will probably not maintain a price factor of 2,0 in the longer run. In addition, finding up to 4.000 spectators buying every other week a soccer ticket for 137,50 EUR might be doubtful too. Another option to close the revenue gap in ticket sale are extra charges for top games or events. The feedback of the empirical analysis was somewhat sobering as almost half of the respondents denied any extra charges. However, in a reduced capacity event those visitors would very likely not be the ones buying a ticket at all. The biggest group accepting a price uptick was within the range of up to 50% (39% of respondents). Very likely, this group which bought it in the new price range of 40,00 EUR (see

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tab. 3) would be the ones tolerating the 50% premium for top games as well. With regards to the ticket price range of 50,00 EUR, it can be argued that those visitors would not accept any top game premiums. The remaining 4.000 fans with a certain purchase power willing to pay 137,50 EUR for a ticket under pandemic restrictions need to be split in half according to the empirical insights. Whereas 50% (2.000) of them will likely admit an extra premium of 150% another 2.000 will even accept 200%. Table 4. Pricing strategy under COVID-19 restrictions including extra charges

Applying this model, the revenue gap for ticket sales under COVID-19 restrictions could be closed at least for top events. Very likely, a pricing as demonstrated above would work only on a short- to midterm basis as prices have partially increased substantially. It cannot be guaranteed that this ticket buying behavior would remain stable over a longer period considering that the venues are far off of being sold out. Underlining these findings, another study (Statista, 2020c) released in November 2020 reports about Figure 13. New demand curve implication for pricing under COVID-19 restrictions and with top game premiums

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(own depiction, data derived from own empirical study)

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an increased price index. Ticket prices for sports events rose around 1% from 106.9 in March to 107.8 in October 2020. Applying these data to a demand model would lead to an awkward looking demand curve. But the shape can be explained through the top price categories of 412,50 and 550,00 EUR respectively being closer to each other than to the price of 100,00 EUR for those spectators accepting no higher prices during COVID-19 in general but accepting a premium of 100% for top games. It is worth mentioning that sometimes cup games with a few thousand spectators can be more entertaining and lively as a broadcasted event than regular leagues games with 80.000 mainly season ticket holders in large stadiums without atmosphere. Hence, even a stadium filled with about 20% of its capacity can create an attractive environment for pay-TV or pay-streaming customers too and help reducing the ticket sale loss for the clubs. The last research question refers to the merchandising revenues for professional sports. As the literature review indicates, the complete shutdown has brought the merchandising business to a halt almost entirely. With professional sports resuming even under restricted attendance and shops re-opening, the merchandising business was for sure re-vitalized. But it remained below pre-crisis levels. The empirical data are supporting this fact as the average price of the sample for merchandising has dropped by more than one EUR from 42,03 EUR to 40,95 EUR. Furthermore, within the various groups selecting particular price ranges a shift could be observed of about 32% of supporters that would buy merchandise in the total amount of up to 50 EUR restrict their spending to 20 EUR under pandemic circumstances. While this in itself is already concerning, the merchandising challenge could even become more difficult if the aspect of sports enthusiasm is brought into the equation. Here, almost half the respondents indicate lower levels of enthusiasm during the pandemic, which eventually could lead to lower purchasing willingness of fan articles such as team apparel, gadgets or memorabilia. While the immediate short-term effect could erase up to one quarter of revenues the assessment of the long-term effects cannot be assessed yet. Team- or athlete-specific apparel or souvenir products are means to express loyalty and passion for a team or athlete and demonstrates fan affiliation to the own team or athlete and towards contestants. If limited or no open support is visible (due to empty venues and no fan groups or individuals displaying their team colors in the open), it is argued that related imitating purchase decisions are postponed or even canceled entirely. Just imagine, the ten-year old kid in China watching a Real Madrid game on TV: with no spectators on the stands wearing the original white dress of the “Royals” of Madrid will he/ she be interested to possess a team shirt? Very likely not, the role model is missing. Perhaps, COVID-19 is about to change the fundamentals of professional sports. All of the important revenue levers are impacted and as of today, it is unknown whether and when everything will return to normal. Maybe, it never will. Sports fans are more accustomed to living a life without live and broadcasted sports. With lower passion for the sport, it is being claimed that merchandising sales will reduce too. Independently from how long the crisis will be around, it surely has short-term and very likely as well a long-term effects on the business model for professional sports.

REFERENCES Badenhausen, K. (2020). The world’s most valuable sports teams 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ kurtbadenhausen/2020/07/31/the-worlds-most-valuable-sports-teams-2020/#

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Deloitte. (2020). Annual Review of Football Finance 2020. https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/ sports-business-group/articles/annual-review-of-football-finance.html Eckstein, J. (2020). How the NFL makes Money. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personalfinance/062515/how-nfl-makes-money.asp Fontinelle, A. (2020). Major League Baseball’s Business Model and Strategy, https://www.investopedia. com/articles/personal-finance/062415/major-league-baseballs-business-model-strategy.asp Jensen, J., & Turner, B. (2017). Advances in Sports Sponsorship Revenue Forecasting: An Event History Analysis Approach. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 26, 6–19. Kicker. (2020). Wer zeigt was? Die TV-Pakete ab der Saison 2021/22 im Überblick. https://www.kicker. de/wer_zeigt_was_die_tv_pakete_ab_der_saison_2021_22_im_ueberblick-778029/artikel Kruse, J. (2020). Local sports stores hold strong despite pandemic’s impact on professional seasons. https://biztimes.biz/local-sports-stores-hold-strong-despite-pandemics-impact-on-professional-seasons/ Morell, J. (2020). With professional sports on hold, what about the related merchandise? https://nrf. com/blog/professional-sports-hold-what-about-related-merchandise PWC. (2020, October). Wann wird die Sportindustrie sich vollständig von den Folgen der Corona-Krise erholt haben? https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1183024/umfrage/erholung-der-sportbranchevon-der-corona-pandemie/ SportsPro. (2020). Premier League and Sky Sports settle Covid-19 rebate. https://www.sportspromedia. com/news/premier-league-sky-sports-broadcast-rights-rebate-settlement-coronavirus Statista. (2020a). Sportmarkt: Prognose zum Marktvolumen weltweit 2024. https://de.statista.com/statistik/ daten/studie/1171615/umfrage/marktvolumen-im-sportmarkt-weltweit/ Statista. (2020b). Würden Sie sagen, dass Ihr persönliches Interesse, Sport im TV zu verfolgen, im Zuge der Corona-Krise weniger oder größer geworden oder gleichgeblieben ist? https://de.statista.com/statistik/ daten/studie/1123568/umfrage/interesse-an-sport-tv-in-corona-zeiten/ Statista. (2020c). Monatlicher Verbraucherpreisindex für Besuche von Sportveranstaltungen in Deutschland von Januar 2018 bis Oktober 2020. https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/736058/umfrage/ monatliche-verbraucherpreise-fuer-besuche-von-sportveranstaltungen-in-deutschland/

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Stokes, P., & Wall, T. (2014). Research methods. Palgrave Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-92672-5 Torrens University Australia. (2020). https://www.torrens.edu.au/blog/business/why-the-sports-industryis-booming-in-2020-and-which-key-players-are-driving-growth UEFA. (2020a). Spielplan der UEFA EURO 2020. https://de.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/news/02530d820ec63626-e75859a771ad-1000--spielplan-der-uefa-euro-2020/ UEFA. (2020b). Prämienausschüttungen an die Klubs der UEFA Championsleague in der Saison 202021. https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/247150/umfrage/auschuettung-an-die-teilnehmendenklubs-der-uefa-champions-league/

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USTA. (2020). US Open 2020 Tournament FAQs | US Open COVID 19 Protocols - Official Site of the 2020 US Open Tennis Championships - A USTA Event. https://www.usopen.org/en_US/content/ us_open_tournament_faqs.html

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Broadcasting Rights: Assigning exclusive rights to broadcast professional sport events on TV. These rights are generally compensated on a contractual basis and can refer to an individual event, a tournament or a league. Extra Charges (Also Referred to as Extra Premiums): A pricing strategy by professional sports event organizers by adding a price premium on top of a regular ticket prices due to an above-average demand to attend specific events. This strategy is applied often when top athletes or teams contest again average or below average athletes o teams. Internet Streaming Rights: Assigning exclusive rights to stream professional sport events on the internet. These rights are generally compensated on a contractual basis and can refer to an individual event, a tournament, or a league. Merchandising: Revenues generated through merchandising refer to team/ athlete-specific sportswear, sports apparel, fan and souvenir articles and memorabilia. Professional Sports Revenues: Revenues which are generated by a sports business organization attending competitions (team and/ or athlete) through broadcasting and/ or internet streaming rights, selling of related merchandising, sponsorships, and ticket sales. Sports Venue Capacity Management: Refers to the management of restricted capacity due to regulations such as the COVID-19 restrictions. Ticket Sales: Revenues generated through ticket sales refer to ticket prices per category multiplied with the volume of ticket for a specific category within the sports venue. If retail and/ or wholesale partners are involved the respective margins have to be deduced. Ticket prices need to be treated before VAT, which is to be contributed by the visitor.

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Chapter 4

Downfall of the Sports Industry Due to the Pandemic of COVID-19 Ranjit Barua https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2236-3876 CHST, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, India Nibedita Bardhan Calcutta University, India

ABSTRACT

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The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic that has spread around the worldwide in the last few months has not only had a severe impact on society, public health, and the entire economy; it has also inficted chaos to the sporting calendar. Due to the pandemic situation, all the sports matches and the leagues that were to be held were postponed to avoid the gatherings of large crowds of spectators. All the sporting organizations have suspended all their activities to avoid the risk factor due to the spread of coronavirus. In this critical situation, the capacity of sports to gather people together is missed very much. The COVID-19 pandemic has afected all the people along with the sports life because sports is a place where all types of people meet and gather irrespective of diferences. This chapter describes how COVID-19 has impacted sports organizations, clubs, and their supporters. Also, diferent sports clubs are taking up new strategies, which will be benefcial for the upcoming sporting features, players, and supporters.

1. INTRODUCTION The pandemic outbreak and transmission of COVID-19 disease have affected worldwide every region. Entertainment and Sports regions are one of the most distressed as they have gone a major volume of revenues as all their events are paused entirely. Games and Sports, inexact, will remain to be below some pressure in the upcoming months though when the world twitches adjusting to active the daily normal life DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch004

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 Downfall of the Sports Industry Due to the Pandemic of COVID-19

cycle. When the economy is completely unlocked, noticing the people using face masks, sanitized and social distancing would be usual (Mann et al., 2020). Though, still, some questions will be arisen- how the sports and gaming atmosphere is going to manage with their procedures post and continue pandemic time. Many sports and athletics events were postponed till the month of March 2020 due to the limitations compulsory by the national governments throughout the world (Parnell et al., 2020). Especially, the Tokyo Olympic-2020 events, which were scheduled this year in July have been suspended by IOC (the International Olympic Committee) to the next year due to the increasing the COVID-19 infections and also worry about this pandemic not finishing (Culbertson et al., 2020). IPL or The Indian Premier League is the famous cricket tournament in the world. This league was suspended till March 2020 by BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), and later the league was rescheduled in the month of September last week to November first week, 2020 without any spectators in the stadium (Madan et al., 2020). Also, the ICC World T20, which is listed in October 2020, but it’s also probable to reschedule to the coming year 2021 by ICC which is known as the International Cricket Council. The postponement and rearrangement of sporting events have left the supporters dissatisfied. Many games are played in front of a filled stadium, but due to this pandemic situation, social distancing is very much needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. So, the players will not be receiving the gratification of fascinating the supporters-full stadium as they would be enforced to perform in front of unfilled stands or without spectators. No visitors were allowed in the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) during a cricket match between Australia and New Zealand in March 2020. This match didn’t go well so the organizers had to call off the leftover series. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic which transmitted all over the world at the starting of 2020 was not only an immense risk to the health system but also a great threat to the whole sports industry. Numerous famous sports leagues, for instance, the NHL and NBA, and also the most famous soccer leagues in Europe, decided to delay and reschedule their events to avoid the community transmission of the COVID-19 disease (Vaishya et al., 2020). Back in March 2020, a survey states that a few fifty-six percent of participants thought that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a main significant impact on the sports industry negatively as an entire. The famous business data platform “Statista” shows the public views of COVID-19 impacts on the sports industry in Fig.1 (Statista, 2020).

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1.1. Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) Earlier January 2020, the first cases of novel coronavirus disease were associated with the Wuhan City, to be specific a wholesale market named Huanan Seafood Market (Huang et al., 2020). It was beloved that the main reason for infection of coronavirus disease was caused due to the animal to the human transmission which is known as zoonotic transmission (Wu et al., 2020). The data available to date, say, the main reason of human to human spreading coronavirus infection happens due to close touch with the infected patient and open to aerosols or droplets (Nishiura et al., 2020). The droplets of cough or sneeze are believed to go inside the lungs through inhalation via mouth or nose when a COVID-19 infected person’s cough or sneeze (Velavan et al., 2020). The virus-infected atmosphere can cause the spreading via interaction with mucosal membranes, like the nose, mouth, and eyes (Wu et al., 2020). Research has also stated that the coronavirus is sustainable till hours as droplets or aerosols and on surfaces for a day (Huang et al., 2020). The typical intermediate period of incubation was expected to be about five days, the bulk of those whose symptoms will appear within 11.5 days, and around one percent will grow symptoms after fourteen-day (Jin et al., 2020). The calculated R0 was 2.2 on average, which states that approximately a COVID-19 infected patients will spread the novel coronavirus to near about two other 61

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Figure 1. Public views on impact of sports industry during pandemic COVID-19 (Image Source: ‘Statista’ data platform)

persons (Han et al., 2020). Basically, the symptoms of COVID-19 disease are fever, sore throat, dry cough, etc. It was a tough phase in terms of evolving an observation procedure for events related to sports as a virus-infected individual was frequently asymptomatic and did not suffer from fever or illness (Sahin et al., 2020). The virus noticed in asymptomatic and symptomatic persons were kind of same stages and the shedding pattern of viral nucleic acid was found almost same to influenza rather than severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, suggesting that asymptomatic diseased persons are as transmittable as those who are having symptoms (Zhang et al., 2020).

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1.2. COVID-19 Impacts on Sports The pandemic of COVID-19 makes a huge impact across worldwide sports events as well as also significant effects on society, public health, and global economy, it has also inflicted chaos to prepare the sporting time schedule (Rothan et al., 2020). Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease was first recorded in Wuhan city, China in December 2019 and affected groups of respiratory infections (Mo et al., 2020). The extremely infectious disease-causing infection is affected by the novel coronavirus which is known as SARS-CoV2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2); the genomics analysis uncovered that genetically this novel coronavirus is linked to the severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS disease epidemic which affected 8098 persons around 26 countries by respiratory infection (Jiang et al., 2020). In the duration of the last eight months (March 11, 2020), WHO (World Health Organization) has announced that the COVID-19 is a pandemic. The number of confirmed cases rapidly increases, at present (15th November 2020, 9.29 am CET) there are 53,507,282 confirmed infected cases, and 1,305,164 confirmed death cases were reported by WHO which is shown in Fig.2 (WHO, 15 NOV. 2020). This indicates that the virus transmission rate is much greater than the severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS disease outbreak very nearly two decades before and has affected the maximum of sporting actions to be postponed or suspended. UEFA (The Union of European Football Associations) officially decided to suspend the top stage UEFA Champions League football games on 23rd March 2020, till further announcement, as news of football players were tested COVID-19 positive. IOC (The International Olympic Committee) IOC, besides the Japanese Government, declared on March 30, 2020,

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Figure 2. Confirmed COVID-19 infected data Reported by WHO (15 NOV, 2020, 9.29 am CET)

that the Tokyo Olympics-2020 will be suspended to July 2021, at the same time as the name will be the same Tokyo Olympics-2020 (Culbertson et al., 2020). Fig. 3 shows the number of people affected by the Olympics 2020 delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic incident (Statista data platform, 2020). It is crucial to know what established the sports business, rather than digging into the effect of COVID-19. The live sports events consist of three main profit sources: i. profit gain on match day (ticket sales), ii. On-air profit and iii. Sponsorship and advertising profit. As a result of lock-down and COVID-19 restrictions, these three main profit sources for the sports industry withered out as no live sports event took place. Moreover, the sports business not only involves the live events which are shown on air, but also effected other businesses that are reliant on the happening of such live events. The business that is linked with the live sports events includes- stadium charges, host of the live event, merchandise, sporting equipment, hospitality, fantasy sports, etc. All of these business has undergone a huge loss. Many companies were depended on funding the events for their publicity so that it can uplift their sales. Entities, who works mostly on every event, for instant umpires, referees, or other support staffs, players Figure 3. Number of people affected by Olympics 2020 postponement due to the pandemic COVID-19

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(Image Source: ‘Statista’ data platform)

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who do not have any backers/with no specific income have also been badly affected. At the beginning of 2020, no organizer/player/fan has ever imagined that match or sports event could be organized behind a closed door (in an empty stadium and quiet environment), yet, the COVID-19 pandemic paused the sporting world. Although the love sport event are progressively taking place over the past few months, with strict restriction and without supporters. The intensity of the atmosphere can be acknowledged by the fact that the IFAB (International Football Association Board), instructed that in an event, if a player is acts like coughing falsely, could be punished with the red card, and refers to the decision of the referee (BBC, 2020). The ICC (International Cricket Council) also changed its playing rules by banning the use of saliva by the cricketers to make the cricket ball shine (The Guardian, 2020), yet, they can use their sweat to shine the ball (New York Times, 2020). As the new rules imposed, on one hand, technical innovations were made to create artificial pre COVID ambiance in the stadium, and exclusive ways to create an image of supporters’ experience.

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1.3. Effects on Sports Industry Sports play an important role in contributing to social and economic development. Its role is mainly observed by the Governments which includes the Political Declaration of the 2030 Agenda, which states, “The contribution sports make to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals, and communities, as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives” (UN, 2020). At the start of 2020, pandemic COVID-19 affected the sports industry badly. As the public sporting events were canceled all over the world, many important leagues globally withdraw their seasons which led to the job risk of many individuals. Investigation proposed that income through the industry of sports, in 2020, will be within 74 billion U.S. dollars, as an outcome of this critical situation, which is probably half of the pre-COVID-19 calculation (Statista data platform, 2020). Fig. 4 shows COVID-19 pandemic impacts on worldwide sports industry revenue. In the last few months, the 2019-20 coronavirus has not only had a major influence on public health (physically and mentally), community and as a whole economy, but also destroyed the sports industry. As the virus is spreading rapidly from human to human, the sports administrative agencies took the exceptional step to delay or withdraw their seasons on the suggestion of the CDC to stop the mass gathering (Statista data platform, 2020). This pandemic has a huge impact on the sports’ industry negatively. Globally most of the professional leagues withdrew their prescribed matches which had a negative impact on the youth sports industry which was even more extensive and reflective. Approximately 700 thousand youth sportsperson in the USA was not able to take part in planned events at a cost of 700 million U.S. dollars to the events managements in March 2020. The Olympic Games which was going to take place in Tokyo, Japan in July 2020 took the decision to postpone the Games till 2021 as per the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (Culbertson et al., 2020). Due to the practice session and commitment of a sports person involved in this Olympic year, this delay has had a vital effect on the 11,000 Olympic sportsperson and 4,400 Paralympic sportsperson who were to participate in the Games. The planners and the Japanese government stand to drop the 277 million U.S. dollars invested into the new Olympic Stadium in Tokyo for the upcoming events. To organize this event Japan has dedicated a total of 13.4 billion U.S. dollars (Statista data platform, 2020). The several precautions that are taken to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 had a straight impact on different companies related to sales and mass production, accordingly, the companies had to decrease their budgets of sponsorship, to upturn their financial state, which is patent from the agreed sponsorship deals of sports event of 2020 season. The manufacturing industries of sports goods were also affected by 64

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Figure 4. Pandemic COVID-19 effects on global sports industry revenue (Image Source: ‘Statista’ data platform)

COVID-19. Every year during spring, numerous upcoming players/athletes (sportsperson) join sports academies which results in the growth of the business of the sports industry. IPL also happens to take place at this time of every year (March-May).67 Later it was informed that the Jalandhar-based sports goods industry which has mass production of 70% of all sports goods in India 68, was going through a business loss (as of Apr. 2020) of Rs. 2 to 3 cores each day. Although, the indoor games’ equipment, like, ludo, chess, carom, etc. saw a growth Indian sports industries have to depend a lot on the imports from China for raw materials like PVC and PU material for the mass production of gloves, stitching thread, footballs, cotton-polyester linings, leg guards, a feather for shuttlecocks, tetron cloth, etc (Economic Times, 2020). But due to the COVID-19 limitation like international lockdowns and a hike in the cost of raw materials due to the scarcity of supplies, it has become awfully difficult for the industries to import the raw materials. It seems like COVID-19 has thrown a heap of challenges to the sports sector. As various sports events have been canceled or suspended for a while, the technical innovations have helped in increase viewership and engagement through e-sports.

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1.4. Effect on Financial Impact of Sport Industry The worldwide sports market is projected at US$756 billion per annum, whereas the USA responsible for US$420bn; Europe around US$250bn, and China, as one of the firmest developing markets, creating up maximum variance (Smoggi, A; 2020). As per the past era’s investigation, the growth rate of the worldwide sports business appeared to be moving upwards only. Specially focused on the Europe, it is observed that how the sports industry is mutually similar to agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. Sport-linked Gross Domestic Product equivalents 2.12% of the total Gross Domestic Product in Europe, or it can be said, each 47th € is produced by the sport region. Additionally, employment and service opportunities in the European sporting area associates nearly 5.76 million individuals, which is equivalent to 2.72% of the total employment of Europe. Precisely, each 37th European service works belongs to sport-related trade (as per the European Platform for Sport Innovation, 2020). These estimations show how the sport makes

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huge monetary impact in several productive techniques. Not unpredictably, the COVID-19 pandemic has also created a huge impact on various small and medium sports businesses (Garcia, B et al., 2020). Mostly public sport, but also gyms, health clubs, sports kits, and jersey merchants, marketing organizations, event coordinators, sport apparatus manufacturers, and borders, etc. Correspondingly, minor sports and athletic clubs and organizations are the core of reasonable sports events for many European people, but several of these small organizations are now fronting liquidation. Many sports supporters would come to an understanding that sport´s maximum strong point is to make fans come together, helps in growing interest, make a public sense, and trigger the passions (Collins, B et al., 2020). Thus, a game with sealed entries, the abandon of main international sport events, and several timetable changes all interprets to performers having limited to not a single matches to perform, audiences having no any sports to watch, and economic losses totaling up and around. In the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, when the different sports event reopens, the main aim is to look after maximizing the profits related to sports and as well as physical and mental activity. Different clubs and sports organizations are interlinked with societies and the public from several backgrounds, and which can play an important role in assembling the community to confront the medical risks, and thereafter, reopen the public and financial movement if it can rule over the COVID-19 (Seetharaman P, 2020). Moreover, the influence of sport to protective health fitness is becoming progressively essential and is creating its manner into numerous new strategies. Even though social distancing fetching the different nom, game and sport can be an excessive way of getting the public to assemble together in the upcoming days (Hongwei et al., 2020). Additionally, at the moment, the sports industries are searching for new techniques to involve users, for example Fox Sports and ESPN displaying old archive games and some specific archive sports documentaries and biopics of a famous sportsperson or player, etc. Evolving emergency strategies for sports and games without spectators, and discovering different ways for virtual technologies to develop, for instance facilitating fans or supporters to involve live sports’ event without being physically attend. Similarly, due to the limitations of lock down, online home-based exercise is trending nowadays, promoting new schedules of fitness that will remain in post-COVID-19 era (Mazzoleni et al., 2020).

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1.5. Effect on Physical and Mental Health All over the world, peoples are being updated about the effects of COVID-19 infection and decisions to take to avoid contact with the COVID-19 and accomplish symptoms of the infection if they arise (Huang et al., 2020). Though, the COVID-19 pandemic not only impacts the physical conditions but also affects mental health (Javed et al., 2020). So, it should be needed to focus on studying the COVID-19 epidemiology, transmission patterns, clinical features, and managing of the pandemic outbreak. A little distress stated over the impacts on mental health and on plans to avoid stigmatization (Yao et al., 2020). Human performance may critically upset the COVID-19 pandemic by fluctuating the strictness, disease flow, transmission, and consequences. The current situation needs to raise consciousness in people, which can be useful to deal with this disaster (Son et al., 2020) (Verma et al., 2020). The mental health conditions during this pandemic situation are very much affected by different kinds of distortion, fear, anxiety, stigma, stress, etc. (Armitage et al., 2020). The individual behaviors of society have noticeable impacts on the effects of a pandemic that contains the degree of flow, level of severity, and consequences (Yao et al., 2020). Due to the rapid transmission of coronavirus, a regional lockdown was needed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease. Quarantine, work from home, e-education process, social distancing helps people to stay at their home and break the community spread or transmission chain (Huang et al., 66

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2020). Though, the preventive methods obviously have an impact on the mental and physical health of a person worldwide. As suggested by the professionals, governments should imply preventive methods to support mental health as many people are bound to stay at home in quarantine to protect against the spreading of pathogens at the communal level (Yao et al., 2020). The negative impact on individuals’ mental health can be caused due to quarantine period. It is discussed in The Lancet states that the away from the nearest ones, boredom, a decrease of freedom, and insecurity can cause a worsening in one’s mental health emotion. Some methods are required at the communal and individual levels to overcome this. Both the generation (adults and children) are going through a tide of emotions in this current pandemic situation. They can be positioned in a state or an atmosphere that may be different and can be possibly a threat to their health conditions (Correia et al., 2020). Although most of the sports organizations and sports clubs tried their best to be with their supporters and players and also aware of the pandemic situation. This year one of the legendary Indian sports clubs named East Bengal Club completed its centenary years, keeping in mind the seriousness of the pandemic situation they distributed hand sanitizes (Fig. 5) and face masks for the safety of the citizen (TOI, 2020). Figure 5. Awareness steps taken by Indian legendary sports club East Bengal Club

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2. CONCLUSION Generally, the pandemic has a big effect on the sports industry upsetting the balance between companies, markets, and auxiliary feasibility to an excessive range. Thus, it becomes significant that a strategy is prepared and a joined approach is required with accountabilities resting on all apprehensive to stand the manufacturing industry from adverse involvement if not being advanced primarily. The association of sportsperson, efficient trainers or coaches, eminence manufacturers of apparatus or playing things, the field or facility administration, and the government agents all should have come under one umbrella for development and effects. The ultimate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports and physical exercise cannot be defined at this period, though, the statistics which are collected may deliver valuable direction to sportsperson and governing agencies to move onward carefully. COVID-19 is extremely transmittable in sporting environs due to its feasibility, long incubation period, and slighter indications; mainly in contact sports. The important protective actions include reducing human-to-human interaction and practicing appropriate individual hygiene. Sportsperson’s on-ground risky performances should be avoided to reduce avoidable infection as close interaction with others is inescapable during interaction sports.

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The sports business has suffered a serious impact from COVID-19 which also seems too long to last after the pandemic situation, which led to a financial crisis of sports business. Therefore, the authorities believe that as the forecasting about the aftereffect of the pandemic situation in sports is not so stressfree, so the structure of the upcoming sports industry will change accordingly. In the forthcoming time, the officials who are related to sport business, are planning to be more considerate towards the material of personnel contracts and the premiums of the insurance, due to the effect of the pandemic situation, to stand beside and backing the actions/doings of sports centers, sports person and others.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to thank IIEST-Shibpur, CHST lab, and East Bengal Club officials and authorities for their help and advice.

REFERENCES Armitage, R., & Nellums, L. B. (2020). COVID‐19 and the consequences of isolating the elderly. The Lancet. Public Health, 2667(20), 30061. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30061-X PMID:32199471 BBC. (2020). Players can be red-carded for deliberately coughing, say IFAB & FA. https://www.bbc. com/sport/football/53643017 Collins, B., Garin, A., Jackson, E., Koustas, D., & Payne, M. (n.d.). Has the gig economy replaced traditional jobs over the last two decades? Evidence from tax returns. https://www. irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/19 rpgigworkreplacingtraditionalemployment.pdf Correia, T. (2020). SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemics: The lack of critical reflection addressing short‐ and long‐term challenges. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 35(3), 1–4. doi:10.1002/ hpm.2977 PMID:32237159 Culbertson, A. (2020). Coronavirus: Tokyo Olympics to Be Cancelled Altogether if COVID-19 Vaccine Not Found Soon. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-tokyo-olympics-to-be-cancelled-if-covid-19vaccine-not-found-soon-japans-chief-medic-11979946

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East Bengal to launch special sanitizers and masks. (2020). Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes. com/sports/football/i-league/east-bengal-to-launch-special-sanitizers-and-masks/articleshow/76351188. cms Economic Times. (2020). IPL 2020 postponed indefinitely due to coronavirus: BCCI. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/ipl-2020-postponed indefinitely-due-to-coronavirus-bcci/ articleshow/75166789.cms Garcia-Garcia, B., James, M., Koller, D., Lindholm, J., Mavromati, D., Parrish, R., & Rodenberg, R. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 on sports: A mid-way assessment. Int Sports Law J, 20(3-4), 115–119. doi:10.100740318-020-00174-8

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Han, Y., & Yang, H. (2020). The transmission and diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus infection disease (COVID-19): A Chinese perspective. Journal of Medical Virology, 92(6), 639–644. doi:10.1002/ jmv.25749 PMID:32141619 He, H., & Harris, L. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on corporate social responsibility and marketing philosophy. Journal of Business Research, 116, 176–182. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.030 PMID:32457556 Huang, C., Wang, Y., Li, X., Ren, L., Zhao, J., Hu, Y., Zhang, L., Fan, G., Xu, J., Gu, X., Cheng, Z., Yu, T., Xia, J., Wei, Y., Wu, W., Xie, X., Yin, W., Li, H., Liu, M., ... Cao, B. (2020). Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet, 395(10223), 497–506. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5 PMID:31986264 Javed, B., Sarwer, A., Soto, E. B., & Mashwani, Z. U. (2020). The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic’s impact on mental health. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 35(5), 993–996. doi:10.1002/hpm.3008 PMID:32567725 Jiang, S., Du, L., & Shi, Z. (2020). An emerging coronavirus causing pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China: Calling for developing therapeutic and prophylactic strategies. Emerging Microbes & Infections, 9(1), 275–277. doi:10.1080/22221751.2020.1723441 PMID:32005086 Jin, Y.-H., Cai, L., Cheng, Z.-S., Cheng, H., Deng, T., Fan, Y.-P., Fang, C., Huang, D., Huang, L.-Q., Huang, Q., Han, Y., Hu, B., Hu, F., Li, B.-H., Li, Y.-R., Liang, K., Lin, L.-K., Luo, L.-S., Ma, J., ... Wang, X.-H. (2020). A rapid advice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019nCoV) infected pneumonia (standard version). Military Medical Research, 7(1), 4. doi:10.118640779020-0233-6 PMID:32029004 Madan, V. (2020). Resumption of laser/IPL skin services post COVID-19 lockdown-British Medical Laser Association (BMLA) guidance document. Lasers in Medical Science, 35(9), 2069–2073. doi:10.100710103-020-03086-z PMID:32592132 Mann, R. H. (2020). Athletes as community; athletes in community: COVID-19, sporting mega-events and athlete health protection. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine. Mo, Xing, & Xia. (2020). Clinical characteristics of refractory COVID-19 pneumonia in Wuhan, China. Clinical Infectious Diseases.

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New York Times. (2020). A Danish Soccer Team Invited 10,000 Fans to a Zoom Watch Party. https:// www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/sports/soccer/soccer-zoom-denmark.html Nishiura, H., Jung, S.-M., Linton, N. M., Kinoshita, R., Yang, Y., Hayashi, K., Kobayashi, T., Yuan, B., & Akhmetzhanov, A. R. (2020). The extent of transmission of novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, 2020. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(2), 330. doi:10.3390/jcm9020330 PMID:31991628 Parnell, D., Widdop, P., Bond, A., & Wilson, R. (2020). COVID-19, networks and sport. Managing Sport and Leisure, 1–7. doi:10.1080/23750472.2020.1750100

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Rothan, H. A., & Byrareddy, S. N. (2020). The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Journal of Autoimmunity, 109, 102433. doi:10.1016/j.jaut.2020.102433 PMID:32113704 Sahin, A. R., Erdogan, A., & Agaoglu, P. M. (2020). 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak: A review of the current literature. Eurasian Journal of Medicine and Oncology, 4(1), 1–7. doi:10.14744/ ejmo.2020.12220 Seetharaman, P. (2020). Business models shifts: Impact of Covid-19. International Journal of Information Management, 54, 102173. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102173 PMID:32834338 Somoggi, A. (2020). Value, founder of S. and industry, analyses the expected economic impact of the C. The sports Coronavirus’ economic impact on the Sports Industry. Sports Venue Business (SVB). Available at: https://sportsvenuebusiness.com/index.php/2020/03/19/coronavirus-economic impact-onthe-sports-industry/ Son, C., Hegde, S., Smith, A., Wang, X., & Sasangohar, F. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 on College Students’ Mental Health in the United States: Interview Survey Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9), e21279. doi:10.2196/21279 PMID:32805704 Statista. (n.d.). https://www.statista.com/study/71572/the-sports-industry-impact-of-the-covid-19pandemic-2020/ Stefano, M., Giuseppe, T., & Nicolino, A. (2020). The COVID-19 outbreak: From “black swan” to global challenges and opportunities. Pulmonology, 26(3), 117–118. doi:10.1016/j.pulmoe.2020.03.002 PMID:32291202 The European Platform for Sport Innovation (EPSI). (2020). Position paper on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the sport sector. Available at: https://epsi.eu/news/position-paper-on-the-impact-ofthe-covid-19crisis-on-the-sport sector/ The Guardian. (2020). ICC says it is all right to use sweat to polish cricket ball but not saliva. https:// www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/may/18/icc-says-it-is-all-right-to-use-sweat-to-polish-cricket-ballbut-not saliva#:~:text=The%20message%20from%20the%20International,prohibited%20for%20the%20 foreseeable%20future

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UN. (n.d.). Sport and the Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.un.org/sport/sites/www.un.org. sport/files/ckfiles/files/Sport_for_SDGs_finalversion9.pdf Vaishya, R., Kambhampati, S. B. S., & Vaish, A. (2020). Meniscal injuries in the olympic and elite athletes. Indian Journal of Orthopaedics, 54(3), 281–293. doi:10.100743465-020-00049-y PMID:32399147 Velavan, T. P., & Meyer, C. G. (2020). The COVID-19 epidemic. Tropical Medicine & International Health, 25(3), 278–280. doi:10.1111/tmi.13383 PMID:32052514 Verma, K. (2020). The mental health impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in India. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 53, 102398. doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102398 PMID:32956994

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WHO. (n.d.). Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. https://covid19.who.int/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA wMP9BRCzARIsAPWTJ_EULbRe2Yay93XZnp-I3itqhazzZFkbR7vGIs0rhmhMEm32mIy4ojkaAqgkEALw_wcB Wu, F., Zhao, S., Yu, B., Chen, Y.-M., Wang, W., Song, Z.-G., Hu, Y., Tao, Z.-W., Tian, J.-H., Pei, Y.Y., Yuan, M.-L., Zhang, Y.-L., Dai, F.-H., Liu, Y., Wang, Q.-M., Zheng, J.-J., Xu, L., Holmes, E. C., & Zhang, Y.-Z. (2020). A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China. Nature, 579(7798), 265–269. doi:10.103841586-020-2008-3 PMID:32015508 Yao, H., Chen, J.-H., & Xu, Y.-F. (2020). Patients with mental health disorders in the COVID‐19 epidemic. The Lancet. Psychiatry, 7(4), e21. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30090-0 PMID:32199510 Zhang, L., & Liu, Y. (2020). Potential interventions for novel coronavirus in China: A systematic review. Journal of Medical Virology, 92(5), 479–490. doi:10.1002/jmv.25707 PMID:32052466

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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COVID-19: A respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), first identified at Wuhan City, China in December 2019. The situation of worldwide SARS-CoV-2 was known by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic: An epidemic happening globally, going through the international borders and generally disturbing a huge number of public health. Public Health: A study of defensive and educating the health of persons and their societies. Sports Industry: An industry that basically deals with various kinds of sports and games. WHO: The World Health Organization acts as an important role in the worldwide governance of public health and disease.

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APPENDIX

Additional Information The COVID-19 pandemic will remain disturbing the worldwide sporting environment and the total amount of the influence is however to explain. The unexpected and surprising epidemic of COVID-19 worldwide affected a severe catastrophe in the sporting events and impact on the associate sports industry. Sport is run into problems that have not ever before been faced. Initially in the outbreak of the coronavirus worldwide, international sports events almost stopped and different sports events were introduced at home-based online mode (e-networks) like the virtual and internet systems. Different outdoor competitions were suspended and various sports clubs resumed their outdoor practice for a long period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Automatically the production of different sports kits was in severe problem both manufacturing and economically. In the intervening time, different sports media plans were in a state of dilemma. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming sports events were facing a huge financial loss which led to monetary sufferings for those who are associated with sports-related events for instance coaches, players, athletes, umpires and referees, producers of different media, etc. Progressively, though, with the growing alertness of authorities and experts about the COVID-19 and how its efforts, the sports industry initiated its events in a different manner and with exceptional limitations, and the usage of these events was diverse in nations all over the world. Novel coronavirus has triggered profound fluctuations in the merchandises and products, the procedure of running game and sports and also relaxation, as well as the financial, societal, and traditional condition of the sports business, and it looks like that the influence of these alterations will have an aftereffect of COVID-19 pandemic. Expectation and estimation of the sports industry after the pandemic situation will have a major impact on the post-planning of sports events and the future growth of the sports industry.

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East Bengal Club One of the oldest sporting club in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, founded in August 1920; this year (2020) club celebrated its centenary year. This club won several trophies in football both national and international level; other than this, this club also has its own cricket and hockey team. In the entire history of Indian Football, this club carries a rich heritage as many famous coaches and players have been associated with it. In 2003, this club won the “LG ASEAN Football Club Championship” (International trophy). The club is also associated with several social works. https://eastbengalclub.com

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Chapter 5

Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products During the COVID-19 Pandemic Tina Vukasović International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia Gregor Jagodič International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Slovenia

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our daily lives. We have all had to adapt to the so-called “new normality.” In the research, the authors focused on checking recent changes in buying habits of consumers purchasing sports and leisure products. They found that the purchasing frequency decreased during the pandemic. An important increase is observed in the use of online stores, and the share of those purchasing sports and leisure products spontaneously has decreased. Consumer buying habits were most negatively afected by government restrictive decrees. As evident from the research, the epidemic has caused signifcant changes in consumer buying habits, and its impact and changes will become even more visible in the coming period of uncertainty for all, with almost no possibility to infuence the changing conditions, only trying to adapt, at least partially, to “the new reality.”

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INTRODUCTION On March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) declared the pandemic of highly transmissible coronavirus disease COVID-19, signalling its global spread. Since then, the rapid worldwide outbreak of the new coronavirus has triggered an alarming global health crisis. Governments of several countries have taken measures that dramatically affect the daily life of the society. To slow down the transmission and spread of the coronavirus, the public health tactics of “social distancing” DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch005

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

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has been widely applied. Regions and even countries have been entirely locked down (ranging from contact limitations to full curfews); schools, universities, sports and public facilities are shut down; and public events (including sports matches, concerts and even marriages) are currently prohibited in most countries. These measures not only affect the daily life of the population, but have also led to significant economic consequences in economies around the world (Kraus et al., 2020). Governments have set severe restrictions on companies in various industries, mandated social distancing and health protection policies (del Rio-Chanona et al., 2020). Whereas demand in industries such as healthcare has skyrocketed, demand in industries such as hospitality industry, air transportation and tourism has evaporated (Kraus et al., 2020). At the same time, many industries face supply-side issues, as governments curtail the activities of non-essential industries and workers are confined to their homes. Businesses therefore need to contend with a number of challenges, including the implementation of required health protection measures, reduced production and demand, supply chain disruptions. This situation calls for academic research providing companies with valid strategies on how to cope with the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis (Kraus et al., 2020). Sport is a major contributor to economic and social development. Its role is well recognised by Governments, including in the Political Declaration of the 2030 Agenda, which reflects on “the contribution sports make to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities, as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives.” (United Nations, 2020). COVID-19 has been significantly related to sport and exercise: sports events have contributed to the virus spread; control measures such as lockdowns and closures of gyms, stadiums, pools, dance and fitness studios and other sport facilities have altered our exercise behaviours. Many individuals are therefore not able to actively participate in their regular individual or group sporting or physical activities outside their homes. Under such conditions, interest in purchasing sports and leisure products for home use has increased. Major sporting events, including the Tokyo Olympics, have been cancelled or postponed. Athletes are particularly affected by COVID-19. Team training is impossible, outdoor training has been prohibited by some countries, and consequently certain athletes such as swimmers, cyclists and team athletes may suffer large detraining effects. This shall cause inequalities between athletes in different countries depending on whether or not the outdoor training is allowed and is having a greater impact on human health and the global economy than any other health crisis in the last 100 years. The aim of this paper is to present trends in consumer behaviour when buying sports and leisure products, regardless of the fluctuations during COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the world as we know it. People are living differently, buying differently and in many ways, thinking differently. Consumers across the globe are looking at products and brands through a new lens.

Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour in the Process of Purchase Decision-Making The purchase decision-making process is dynamic and complex. Consumers are becoming more and more demanding in terms of quality, and competition in each industry is growing. The overall perception of the product is the result of combining the price information, evaluation of the internal characteristics of the product and other external stimuli (Vukasović & Jagodič, 2017).

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 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

Before a company can develop a marketing strategy to meet the needs of consumers, it has to be clear how consumers make their own purchasing decisions, understand the purchase process and purchase habits. Successful companies usually research the process of purchase decisions for their products. They ask consumers when have they met the product and the brand, what is their belief in the product and/or the brand, how high is their commitment to the purchase, how to choose products and whether they are satisfied with the purchased product. They monitor their consumers at every step, while they pay attention to the changes that shall occur in the future shopping behaviour of their consumers. Consumer behaviour in the event of a pandemic is determined by two factors, which may even be contradictory or at least unequal. On the one hand, there is personal and social responsibility for one’s own health, the health of one’s relatives and the health of the society as a whole, and on the other hand there are habits or customs. Depending on diversity of consumers, their patterns of behaviour are very different, so it is interesting to know their actual opinions and identify the variety of factors influencing their behaviour during a pandemic. The understanding of consumer behaviour extends to various arms of science and is a key to successful marketing. Consumer behaviour is defined as a behaviour consumers demonstrate while searching for, buying, using, disposing of and evaluating products, services, ideas that are expected to satisfy their needs (Schiffman & Kanuk 2015). The process of buying decision making is defined as a comprehensive process of consumer decision making that occurs mostly in five, and occasionally, in seven consecutive levels (Peter & Olson, 2005; Solomon, 2018). The process includes all parameters a consumer may encounter while buying products for the first time experiencing a high level of buying commitment. We talk about an expanded process of buying decision making that consists of five or seven levels: problem/need identification, data and information collecting, alternatives evaluation, consumer choice and post buying behaviour/result; as for the seven-level model, the use of buying alternative (satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the product bought) and disposal of unused products and their parts are added. Although the models are not exactly the same, they all have in common that, due to the complexity of the phenomenon under consideration, they include a large number of steps that try to present consumer behaviour in the most vivid way possible. Consumerism is an active movement of today’s society. Trends, such as globalisation, specialisation and increasing competition change together with the consumers’ role. A consumer is no longer a mere classical buyer and product consumer, but is turning into an active participant in product designing, their development and supply (Wang, Lo & Yang, 2004). Companies should, therefore, have better knowledge of consumers nowadays. They should be familiar with the factors influencing their buying decision making. During the process of buying decision making, consumer behaviour is affected by various factors. These can be divided into several factor (influence) groups: psychological (motivation, attitude, learning and memory), social (reference groups, family, individual’s role and position, status), personal (age and level of a family life cycle, occupation and financial situation, lifestyle, personality and self-image, values and beliefs), cultural (culture, social class), economic (price-monetary in non-monetary aspect, income, quality), individual differences and environmental impacts (Blackwell et al., 2006; Bennett, 2011; Schiffman & Kanuk, 2015; Kotler & Armstrong, 2018; Vukasović, 2020).

Conditions and Consumer Behaviour in the Time of the Covid-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to affect almost all parts of both society and economy. Changed economic conditions have a major impact on changes in the consumer environment. One 75

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

adapts to changes and novelties gradually. We talk about a consumer crisis situation if there is a sudden change and several influential factors appear at once. One such factor is the purchasing power of consumers, which has, due to the pandemic, fallen sharply for some. Consumers with lower purchasing power adjust the rates and forms of consumption, saving, borrowing and income generating, depending on the situation in which each individual finds himself. Low purchasing power forces the consumer to think carefully about each purchase, to study the offer thoroughly, and above all to plan the purchase carefully. The consumer crisis is expressed by distrust of the current situation and an uncertain view of the future, which increases the level of fear among consumers. Fear may turn into panic and consumer behaviour can manifest itself in excessive and unreasonable buying. Duration of the crisis depends on the individual, namely one’s ability to adapt to the crisis. Due to the state of emergency in the country, the terms and conditions of purchase have changed almost overnight. Shopping in shops has become very unusual. Some consumers were able to change their shopping habits as soon as the measures were taken, and coped well with further tightening, while others had to adapt to individual changes. Sellers have also been faced with a variety of urgent measures in order to ensure the highest possible level of safety for consumers at the time of purchase. Queues of people keeping safety distance were waiting in front of the stores, operating hours were shortened, some stores with non-essential goods had to close their doors and certain retailers faced problems with stocks and distribution. Consumer behaviour in the event of a pandemic is determined by two factors, which may even be contradictory or at least unequal. On the one hand, there is personal and social responsibility for one’s own health, health of the loved ones and health of the society as a whole, and on the other hand, there are the needs, habits or even bad habits of consumers. In addition to these two factors, fear that stems from consumers’ need for safety is present as well. Behavioural patterns are various, depending on the consumer diversity, it is therefore interesting to have their actual opinions and to identify the diversity of factors that influence their behaviour during a pandemic. With the declaration of the epidemic in Slovenia, shops across the country were overcrowded as some people wanted to stock up for fear of possible shortage of goods. Shelves with some food products were completely looted. Fear of food shortages triggered a real shopping frenzy. Most empty were shelves with fruits and vegetables, dairy and meat products. There was an extraordinary increase in purchases of products with a longer shelf life or dry assortment, such as rice, pasta, flour, sugar, oils, flakes, durable bread, milk, canned food and toilet paper. Food supplies in Slovenia were sufficient, so there was no need to panic, but given the situation, it was still necessary to stock up in order to avoid everyday purchases or to have to make purchases in stores less frequently (Siol.net, b.l.a). There have been problems with the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables from imports and with exports of milk to Italy, as well as disruptions in the transport of live animals. This increased the commodity reserves of meat and milk, which was processed into milk powder. Consequently, it was necessary to provide greater storage capacity for excessive food supplies. Not only from the food safety point of view, but also from the point of view of support for Slovenian products, consumers were urged to buy them. Such a measure, although deviating from the principles of free movement of goods and services within the EU, had to be taken due to restrictions on the transnational transport of live animals, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread cereals, animal feeding and potatoes. Trading companies provided adequate quantities of supplies for the uninterrupted supply of the population, despite the growing demand. The supply of food to central warehouses was carried out smoothly, but the quantities were higher due to higher demand and the provision of sufficient quantities of stocks (Siol.net, b.l.b). 76

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

A crisis team was set up to examine the various possible scenarios, adopt emergency measures, provide sufficient quantities of goods, especially staple food, and call on people to be tolerant, prevent unnecessary panic and act towards mutual satisfaction. Goods were supplied on a daily basis from their own logistics centres, and fruit and vegetables were regularly supplied to the shelves from various sources, mainly Slovenian, so there was no reason to worry about the lack of food. All areas in the trading companies closely monitored the situation, especially supply outages, prepared strategies in case of shortages and focused on the most uninterrupted supply of food (Siol.net, b.l.a).

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The Impact of Covid-19 on Sport and Sports Events The COVID-19 pandemic has upended all areas of life - and sports is no exception. Social distancing measures, brought in to limit the spread of coronavirus, have had a significant effect on sporting fixtures. Every aspect of sport has been affected, from the athletes themselves to media coverage. Many major international events have been cancelled, the Olympic Games, many volleyball, basketball, handball, kayaking, cycling, judo, swimming, athletics, and skiing competitions were postponed, and so were the European Football Championship and many other events, all due to measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus. Sport is one of the industries that, in addition to tourism, has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. For Slovenia, the biggest loss was the cancellation of the FIS Ski World Flying Championship in Planica, and the competitions of alpine skiers in Kranjska Gora and the hockey World Championships of Division A1 in Ljubljana were, among others, also cancelled. The winter sports season ended prematurely in almost all industries (NIJZ, 2020). Athletes usually set an example for many people with their achievements, however, during the pandemic they also proved themselves in the field of charity. Some opted for charitable campaigns and others even for wage cuts in an attempt to alleviate the impact of the pandemic. Among those who agreed to pay cuts were mostly sport celebrities and bigger federations. Footballers of the first team of the Catalan giant Barcelona reduced their salaries by as much as seventy percent during the pandemic. Not only footballers but also other athletes were charitable (STA, 2020). At the time of the pandemic, when events in the actual venues were not allowed, the crisis led to the growing number of so-called virtual matches. For example, the NBA has moved into virtuality, and so have some cycling races, virtuality was not lacking even in Formula One. Both in Slovenia and elsewhere in the world, an increased volume of so-called e-sports or electronic sports was detected. The number of players in the world of e-sports has at least doubled during the pandemic, according to research (STA, 2020). Sport connects us both globally and nationally. Athletes represent their countries globally, so it is all the more unfortunate that sporting events have been cancelled or postponed. Athletes who trained in foreign clubs were forced to return home, their professional path remained uncertain for some time. Let’s just think about the sponsors of associations and clubs: the financial resources that the sponsors allocated to clubs / associations have decreased or are lacking due to a smaller number of sports events and sports activities in general. The organisers of sports events even encourage us to buy Slovenian, namely that we should buy sports equipment and accessories in Slovenia. Just wearing sponsorship shirts one gets at various runs and other similar events will not provide sponsors with enough money to support sports. Athletes who could not train as they would otherwise during this time were under a lot of pressure; for some, it was also the moment they decided to end their professional path, although they would normally have done it a little later. 77

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

Since its onset, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread to almost all countries of the world. Social and physical distancing measures, lockdowns of businesses, schools and overall social life, which have become commonplace to curtail the spread of the disease, have also disrupted many regular aspects of life, including sport and physical activity. This policy brief highlights the challenges COVID-19 has posed to both the sporting world and to physical activity and well-being, including for marginalised or vulnerable groups. It further provides recommendations for Governments and other stakeholders, as well as for the UN system, to support the safe reopening of sporting events, as well as to support physical activity during the pandemic and beyond (United Nations, 2020). Not surprisingly, COVID-19 has also upended the sporting calendar, with professional leagues everywhere suspending their activities to limit the spread of the virus. To safeguard the health of athletes and others involved, most major sporting events at international, regional and national levels have been cancelled or postponed – from marathons to football tournaments, athletics championships to basketball games, handball to ice hockey, rugby, cricket, sailing, skiing, weightlifting to wrestling and more. The Olympics and Paralympics, for the first time in the history of the modern games, have been postponed, and will be held in 2021 (United Nations, 2020). The global value of the sports industry is estimated at US$756 billion annually. In the face of COVID-19, many millions of jobs are therefore at risk globally, not only for sports professionals but also for those in related retail and sporting services industries connected with leagues and events, which include travel, tourism, infrastructure, transportation, catering and media broadcasting, among others. Professional athletes are also under pressure to reschedule their training, while trying to stay fit at home, and they risk losing professional sponsors who may not support them as initially agreed (United Nations, 2020). Figure 1. Global Revenues – Sports Industry

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Source: United Nations, 2020

Major sporting organisations have shown their solidarity with efforts to reduce the spread of the virus. For example, FIFA has teamed up with the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2020) and launched a ‘Pass the message to kick out coronavirus’ campaign led by well-known football players in 13 languages, calling on people to follow five key steps to stop the spread of the disease focused on hand washing, coughing etiquette, not touching one’s face, physical distance and staying home if feeling unwell. Other international sport for development and peace organisations have come together to support one another

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 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

in solidarity during this time, for example, through periodic online community discussions to share challenges and issues. Participants in such online dialogues have also sought to devise innovative solutions to larger social issues, for example, by identifying ways that sporting organisations can respond to problems faced by vulnerable people who normally participate in sporting programmes in low income communities but who are now unable to, given restriction to movement (United Nations, 2020). As the world begins to recover from COVID-19, there will be significant issues to be addressed to ensure the safety of sporting events at all levels and the well-being of sporting organisations. In the short term, these will include the adaptation of events to ensure the safety of athletes, fans and vendors, among others. In the medium term, in the face of an anticipated global recession, there may also be a need to take measures to support participation in sporting organisations, particularly for youth sports (United Nations, 2020).

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The Impact of Covid-19 on Physical Activity and Well-Being The global outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in closure of gyms, stadiums, pools, dance and fitness studios, physiotherapy centres, parks and playgrounds. Many individuals are therefore not able to actively participate in their regular individual or group sporting or physical activities outside of their homes. Under such conditions, many tend to be less physically active, have longer screen time, irregular sleep patterns as well as worse diets, resulting in weight gain and loss of physical fitness. Low-income families are especially vulnerable to negative effects of stay-at-home rules as they tend to have sub-standard accommodations and more confined spaces, making it difficult to engage in physical exercise (United Nations, 2020). The global community has adapted rapidly by creating online content tailored to different people; from free tutorials on social media, to stretching, meditation, yoga and dance classes in which the whole family can participate. Educational institutions are providing online learning resources for students to follow at home. Many fitness studios are offering reduced rate subscriptions to apps and online video and audio classes of varying lengths that change daily. There are countless live fitness demonstrations available on social media platforms. Many of these classes do not require special equipment and some feature everyday household objects instead of weights. Such online offerings can serve to increase access to instructors or classes that would otherwise be inaccessible. However, access to such resources is far from universal, as not everyone has access to digital technologies. For individuals in poorer communities and in many developing countries, access to broadband Internet is often problematic or non-existent. The digital divide has thus not only an impact on distance banking, learning or communication, but also on benefitting from accessing virtual sport opportunities. Radio and television programmes that activate people as well as distribution of printed material that encourages physical activity are crucial in bridging the digital divide for many households living in precarious conditions. Young people are particularly affected by social and physical distancing, considering sport is commonly used as a tool to foster cooperation and sportsmanship, promote respectful competition, and learn to manage conflict. Without sport, many young people are losing the support system that such participation provided. Currently some organisations, and schools have begun using virtual training as a method for leagues, coaches and young people to remain engaged in sport activities while remaining in their homes (United Nations, 2020).

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

RESEARCH DESIGN Materials and Method A quantitative survey was designed and conducted. The primary data were be collected through a structured questionnaire. The survey was conducted by distributing questionnaires via e-mail. The distribution of the questionnaires was initiated according to the snowball principle in all Slovenian regions. The target population of the survey was the population of Slovenian citizens between 18 and 61 years of age, who had already used sports and leisure products. We analysed the data by the corresponding statistical data processing methods in the SPSS statistical package. Common research findings were formulated. The questionnaire included 22 questions, with the questions divided into three sets. The first set - Buying behaviour, contained 13 questions (we were interested in where and how often they make purchases, where and how often they practice, what they help themselves with in exercising, how important the brand is when purchasing or using equipment for practice, how their buying habits changed during the epidemic, which media they follow and how often), the second set - Trust, Responsibility and Flexibility contained 2 questions (we were interested in how restrictive measures affected their buying habits and how quickly they adapted to the new situation) and the last, demographic set contained 7 questions (we were interested in the following data: region of residence, age of respondents, gender, employment status, level of education and monthly income). None of the questions were open-ended because we used either pre-answered questions from which respondents could choose (especially in the demographic section), or the Likert 5-point rating scale, which was used to agree with certain answers and where participants were able to choose the appropriate level of agreement.

Research Questions The aim of this paper is to present trends in consumer behaviour when buying sports and leisure products, regardless of the fluctuations during Covid-19 pandemic, and to enable better understanding of Slovenian consumers’ attitude and perception towards sports and leisure products. The research questions related to the research problem are the following: • •

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•

RQ1: Whether consumer behaviour was streamlined during the Covid-19 pandemic? RQ2: What factors infuence consumer behaviour when purchasing sports and leisure products during the Covid-19 pandemic? RQ3: How they changed the buying habits of Slovenian consumers when purchasing sports and leisure products during the Covid-19 pandemic?

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The main contribution to the research was represented by empirical analysis intended to reveal the possibility of putting theoretical and empirical findings into practice in the sports industry. The research has, in terms of its design and content, represented one of the reference works in the field of marketing research and its narrower segment consumer behaviour. The authentic scientific paper presented the

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

connections between buying factors and their effects on the consumer decision making in the purchase of sports and leisure products in the time of COVID-19 pandemic. 292 participants participated in the survey, and 202 respondents completed it. For further data processing, only fully completed questionnaires were taken into account. The survey was completed by 124 females (61.4%) and 78 males (38.6%), which is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2. Gender of respondents

The age structure of the sample included respondents between 18 and 61 years of age, with data on the division into individual age classes given in Table 1. The average age of the respondents was 30.48 years, with 115 (56.9%) respondents aged between 18 and 30 years included in the sample. Table 1. Age of respondents

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Age

N

%

18-25 years

97

48.0

26-35 years

43

21.3

36-50 years

53

26.2

over 50 years

9

4.5

Total

202

100.0

The analysis of the educational structure is given in Figure 3. According to it, the majority of respondents had completed secondary school, namely 118 (58.4%), followed by respondents with completed college or higher education, 56 (27.7%), and those with a university degree or a completed Bologna master’s degree, 22 (10.9%), which represents a total of 97% of the sample. The rest is represented by 3 (1.5%) respondents with a completed scientific master’s degree or a doctorate, 1 (0.5%) respondent with completed primary school and 2 (1%) respondents who have not even completed the primary school.

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

Figure 3. Education level of respondents (in %)

Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products The survey aimed to obtain data on the frequency sports and leisure products purchase before and during the epidemic. Before the epidemic (Table 2), respondents were mostly shopping quarterly - 84 (41.6%) and monthly - 55 (27.2%), while a significant proportion, namely 51 (25.2%) were shopping less frequently than on a quarterly basis, which together represents 94.1% of all responses received.

Table 2. Purchase frequency for sports and leisure products before the Covid-19 epidemic Purchase Frequency for Sports and Leisure Products Before the Covid-19 Epidemic

N

%

Several times a week

1

0.5

Weekly

4

2.0

Every other week

7

3.5

Monthly

55

27.2

Quarterly

84

41.6

Less frequently

51

25.2

Total

202

100.0

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Table 3. Purchase frequency for sports and leisure products during the Covid-19 epidemic Purchase Frequency for Sports and Leisure Products During the Covid-19 Epidemic

N

%

Several times a week

1

0.5

Weekly

3

1.5

Every other week

15

7.4

Monthly

46

22.8

Quarterly

50

24.8

Less frequently

87

43.1

Total

202

100

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

Figure 4. Comparison of purchase frequency for sports and leisure products before and during the epidemic

Table 3 presents the results of purchase frequency of sports and leisure products during the Covid-19 epidemic, showing a noticeable shift. At the time of the epidemic, most respondents made purchases less frequently than quarterly, namely as many as 87 (43.1%), 50 still bought products (24.8%) quarterly, and 46 (22.8%) monthly, however the number of those who made purchases every other week, 15 (7.4%), doubled. Figure 4 shows the differences in the purchase frequency for sports and leisure products in the period before the epidemic, and during the Covid-19 epidemic. Given the situation, the frequency of purchases was expected to decrease. As already mentioned, it is interesting to conclude that the number of purchases every other week increased during the epidemic. Figure 5. Buying behaviour in purchasing sports and leisure products during the period preceding adoption of measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 virus

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Figure 6. Buying behaviour in purchasing sports and leisure products during the period of validity of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 virus

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

As evident from data comparison between Figure 5 and Figure 6, respondents were more likely to buy exercise accessories in the same stores during the epidemic. During the epidemic, the number of those purchasing exercise equipment online increased, with the frequency increasing from 2.6 before the epidemic to 2.8 during the epidemic (Table 4). The frequency of following advertising leaflets and other electronic notifications of trade companies and responding to sales campaigns for sports and leisure products decreased during the epidemic, namely from 2.5 before the epidemic to 2.4 during the epidemic. Purchasing sports and leisure products did not represent a social event for respondents either before or during the epidemic. However, the number of those who buy sports and leisure products for exercise at home spontaneously and according to their needs decreased, from 3.8 before the epidemic to 3.4 during the epidemic. Table 4. Comparison of buying behaviour for sports and leisure products before and during the validity of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 Prior to the Adoption of Measures (AV)

During the Period of Validity of the Measures (AV)

I buy sports and leisure products and equipment for home exercise in several different stores

3.0

2.5

I buy sports and leisure products and equipment for home exercise online

2.6

2.8

I follow advertising leaflets and other electronic notifications of trade companies and respond to favourable sales campaigns for sports and leisure products

2.5

2.4

Shopping for sports and leisure products and equipment for home exercise represents an event of the day - socialising

1.8

1.8

I buy sports and leisure products and equipment for home exercise spontaneously, according to my needs

3.8

3.4

Buying Behaviour in Purchasing Sports and Leisure Products Before and During the Validity of Measures to Prevent the Spread of Covid-19

Table 5 shows the results of the frequency of brand purchases. Among all respondents, the Nike 78 brand is the first to be chosen (38.6%), the second most frequently chosen brand was Adidas 61 (30.2%), and the third and fourth most frequently chosen brand was Puma, 18 (8.9%) and 13 (6.4%). It is interesting to note that most respondents, namely 13 (6.4%) pointed out the Puma brand as the most rarely selected. Table 5. The most commonly purchased brands of sports and leisure products

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Frequency of Purchasing Brands of Sports and Leisure Products

The Most Frequently Mentioned Brands

N

%

The brand you buy most often

Nike

78

38.6

The brand you buy second most often

Adidas

61

30.2

The brand you buy third most often

Puma

18

8.9

The brand you buy fourth most often

Puma

13

6.4

The brand you rarely buy

Puma

13

6.4

84

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

During epidemic, some factors had a significant impact on respondents’ buying habits when buying sports and leisure products, as well as equipment for home exercise. Respondents had to decide between very unfavourable (1) and very favourable (5). As evident from Table 6, buying habits were most negatively affected by restriction of movement to municipalities (average score 2.1), and similarly in a negative direction by lower incomes of respondents (average score 2.2). Based on the answers given by respondents, a smaller negative impact was also observed with regard to health care measures (average score 2.4). Meanwhile, identification of vulnerable groups, lack of social contacts and opening hours of the stores had the most positive impact on the buying habits of the respondents (all with an average score of 2.7). The results, however, reflect a clear picture, as limiting factors had a negative impact in elements with existing restriction in movement and financial capacity, while the fact that respondents lacked social contacts, did not have to care for vulnerable groups (confinement to domestic environment) and the adjusted opening hours of shops made them to opt for sports activities more often. Table 6. Factors influencing respondents’ buying habits when buying sports and leisure products Pull Factors of Purchase

Average Score (AV)

Restriction to municipalities

2.1

Lower revenue

2.2

Health care measures

2.4

Stress while organising a purchase

2.6

Fear of infection

2.6

Opening hours

2.7

Lack of social contacts

2.7

Identification of vulnerable groups

2.7

Table 7. The most commonly followed medium related to buying sports and leisure products

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Medium

Average Score

Website of equipment providers

3.5

Social networks

3.3

Leaflets I get delivered at home

2.4

E-mail

2.3

TV

2.2

Jumbo posters

2.1

Newspapers and magazines

2.0

SMS notifications from providers

1.7

Radio

1.7

Other

2.1

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

According to data collected in Table 7, some media also significantly impacted the buying habits of the respondents. For selected media groups, respondents had to provide answers on a scale from: the media has no influence on the purchase decision (1), to: the media has a decisive influence on the purchase decision (5). The results show that the product provider’s website had the greatest impact on the purchase of sports and leisure products and equipment for home exercise. (average score 3.5), followed by social networks (average score 3.3). Impact smaller than the average was observed for leaflets that respondents receive to their home addresses (average score 2.4), e-mail (average score 2.3), and TV (average score 2.2). All other media had even less influence on the respondents’ buying decision. Among all respondents, 56 (27.7%) chose the answer other, with the impact of these reasons being slightly below the average score (2.1), with the majority citing the advice of a friend or acquaintance as the main reason.

ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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RQ1: Is consumer behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic rational? It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question. Essentially, the answer to this question stems is relative to the fact whether an individual engages in sports activities and exercise at home and organises one’s own training and activities, or whether exercise has been suspended during the epidemic. To answer this question adequately, it is therefore sensible to first focus on those who continued to practice sports during the epidemic. In fact, the number of those who exercised during the epidemic has increased, with 85 (41.1%) respondents exercising at least every other week or more frequently before the epidemic, while exercise was equally for more frequently performed by 125 (61.9%) respondents. As a result of the increase in the proportion of those who exercised during the epidemic, the need to purchase suitable exercise equipment increased as well. Respondents were quite rational in choosing equipment and buying it, as they generally reduced the purchase frequency, with 51 (25.2%) choosing the answer less than quarterly before the epidemic, while 87 (43.1%) respondents chose this answer during the epidemic. The rational approach to the purchase of sports and leisure products, as well as equipment for exercise at home, is also confirmed by the fact that 65 (32.2%) respondents never or rarely bought such products in several different stores, but during the epidemic the number increased significantly, to 110 (54.5%) respondents. We should also not forget the most important element, representing a limiting factor, namely the reduction of income, which was assessed as one of the most critical among limiting factors (average score 2.2 on a scale from 1 to 5). With lower disposable income and job insecurity in the future, respondents limited their purchases and behaved more rationally, spending money on sports and leisure equipment, and exercising at home. RQ2: What factors influence consumer behaviour when purchasing sports and leisure products during the Covid - 19 pandemic? The biggest negative impact on the buying behaviour of respondents when purchasing sports and leisure products during the Covid-19 pandemic was caused by the restriction of movement to municipalities (average score 2.1 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is very unfavourable and 5 very favourable). This limitation is particularly important for smaller municipalities with less infrastructure, parks and other 86

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Analysis of Consumer Buying Behaviour When Buying Sports and Leisure Products

important elements, enabling sports activities during leisure time, available to their inhabitants. Also, a very important negatively assessed factor was the lower income of the respondents (average score 2.2). Certainly, many respondents who had to stay at home due to the epidemic felt a decrease in their incomes as companies had temporary laid them off, with salaries reduced by 20%, which also led to longer-term uncertainty about employment stability, as respondents did not know whether they would even have a job after the end of the epidemic. As for the limiting factors, the respondents assessed some of them as positive (average score 2.7), namely the opening hours of shops, the lack of social contacts and the identification of vulnerable groups. In any case, it is true that since the respondents were at home, the opening hours were less important to them, especially due to the fact that the use of online shops increased. In most cases, families had to become closer and establish new levels of relationships because they had to be at home, and precisely because of the smaller volume of social contacts, the perceptibility of the problems of vulnerable groups also decreased.

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RQ3: How did the buying habits of Slovenian consumers in buying sports and leisure products change during the Covid - 19 pandemic? During the state of emergency, Slovenian consumers rarely purchased sports and leisure products. The results show that the number of those buying sports and leisure products less than quarterly has increased significantly, from 15 (25.2%) before the epidemic to 87 (43.1%) during the epidemic, while the number of those who buy products on a quarterly basis decreased from 84 (41.6%) before the epidemic to 50 (24.8%) during the epidemic. During the validity of the measures to curb the Covid-19 epidemic, respondents also changed their buying habits regarding their choice of the store, as they reduced the number of stores where they bought sports and leisure products, namely 67 (33.2%) choosing the answer often and always shopping in several different stores before the epidemic, while only 44 (21.8%) chose these two options during the epidemic, and the share of those who buy most products in the same store increased, as before the epidemic 65 (32.2%) respondents submitted the answer related to selecting several stores (never and rarely), compared to 110 (54.5%) respondents during the epidemic. The change in buying habits is also reflected in an increase in online shopping. The analysis of the results shows that before the epidemic, the respondents bought sports and leisure products (possible answers sometimes, often and always) online in a smaller proportion (100 or 49.5%), compared to the time during the epidemic (119 or 58.9%). Interestingly, the following of advertising leaflets and other electronic notifications from commercial companies has not changed significantly. For the respondents, the purchase of sports and leisure products before the epidemic was rarely a socialising event, and even during the epidemic this did not change significantly (before the epidemic, the answer never and rarely was chosen by 152 or 75.2% of respondents, and during the epidemic by 157 or 77.7% of respondents). However, the reason to buy sports and leisure products and equipment for home exercise has changed. Before the epidemic, 129 (63.9%) respondents always or frequently made a purchase spontaneously, according to their needs, while only 108 (53.5%) respondents made a spontaneous purchase during a pandemic. In general, the respondents pointed out the restriction of movement to municipalities as the element being most unfavourable for their shopping habits, achieving the lowest average score of 2.1 (on a scale from 1 - extremely large impact, to 5 - very small impact), and lower revenues, the average score of all respondents being 2.2. Both limiting criteria are completely logical, as restricting movement to a mu87

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nicipality makes it impossible to meet friends and relatives. A particularly important limiting element is the reduction of income, which, given the situation, also brings an uncertain future due to employment, thus further reducing the tendency to buy sports equipment and leading respondents to save until they have more information and assurance that they will still have a job in the future.

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CONCLUSION The coronavirus has significantly changed our lives this year. In many elements, the epidemic has left negative consequences and caused many changes in consumer behaviour. These changes are not only related to buying sports equipment, leisure products and accessories for home exercise, but have generally affected the buying habits. Of course, restrictive measures related to the possibility of movement, leisure and even the organisation of holidays, which are often a generator for purchasing various sports equipment, leisure products and exercise equipment, have also led to many changes. Reduction of incomes, an uncertain future in terms of employment, restrictions on movement and socialising, and, of course, the closure of many activities have certainly led to many changes in consumer buying behaviour, to which it is impossible to fully adapt in a short period of time, will have far-reaching consequences for providers, consumers and society as a whole. During the epidemic, online sales increased significantly, being the way to provide suitable conditions for contactless business and access to desired consumer products. Its development will therefore be even more urgent in the future and will coincide with the changed living environment and limiting factors. In the research, we found that buying habits of the respondents changed significantly. The number of respondents who rarely bought sports and leisure products and equipment for exercise at home has increased significantly during the epidemic (from 51 or 25.2% before the epidemic to 87 or 43.1% during the epidemic). The number of those who made purchases in a single store during the epidemic also increased, from 15 (7.4%) before the epidemic to 41 (20.3%) during the epidemic. The same applies to the shift in the purchase of products online, as before the epidemic the answer always was chosen by only 3 (1.5%) respondents, while during the epidemic the same answer was chosen by 19 (9.4%) respondents. The research also provided interesting information that the spontaneity of purchases for these products decreased during the epidemic - before the epidemic, 34 (16.8%) respondents chose the answer never or rarely, while during the epidemic these two answers were chosen by 53 (26.2%) respondents. When checking the results of the survey, we also came across an interesting fact that 78 (38.6%) respondents identified the Nike brand as their first brand choice, and 61 (30%) respondents identified the Adidas brand as the second most frequently chosen brand, while 18 (8.9%) respondents in the third and 13 (6.4%) respondents in the fourth place chose the Puma brand. As the rarest selected brand, 13 (6.4%) respondents also chose the Puma brand. Among the most important limiting factors, the respondents pointed out the restriction of movement to municipalities (average score 2.1) and lower revenues (average score 2.2). The main contribution to the research will be represented by empirical analysis intended to reveal the possibility of theoretical and empirical findings to be put into practice, namely in the sports industry. The research will, in terms of its design and content, represent one of the reference works in the field of marketing research and its narrower segment, consumer behaviour. The authentic scientific paper presents the connections between buying factors and their effects on the consumer decision-making in the purchase of sports and leisure products in the time of Covid-19 pandemic.

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The research results will help the developers of marketing strategies working in sports industry to implement the new findings. The current situation in the country is uncertain and the consequences of exceptional circumstances will most likely be felt in all economic segments. Consumer behaviour and opinions are never a sufficiently researched area. Knowing the opinion of consumers in Slovenia during a pandemic that may turn into a global economic crisis is essential for the adoption of further measures that will help speed up the resolution of the crisis. By perceiving consumer behaviour and identifying the factors that influence it, companies can adjust their offer only partially. In order to fully control sales and related purchases, trading companies have to seek their opinions constantly.

REFERENCES Bennett, J. (2011). The international handbook on Non-market Environmental Valuation. Edward Elgar Publishing. doi:10.4337/9780857931191 Blackwell, R. D., Miniard, P. W., & Engel, J. F. (2006). Consumer Behavior. Harourt College Publishers. del Rio-Chanona, R. M., Mealy, P., Pichler, A., Lafond, F., & Farmer, D. (2020). Supply and demand shocks in the COVID-19 pandemic: an industry and occupation perspective. arXiv preprint, arXiv:2004.06759. Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2018). Principles of Marketing. Pearson Education Limited. Kraus, S., Caluss, T., Breier, M., Gast, J., Zardini, A., & Tiberius, V. (2020). The economics of COVID-19: initial empirical evidence on how family firms in five European countries cope with the corona crisis. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. https://www.emerald.com/insight/ content/doi/10.1108/IJEBR-04-2020-0214/full/pdf?title=the-economics-of-covid-19-initial-empiricalevidence-on-how-family-firms-in-five-european-countries-cope-with-the-corona-crisis NIJZ. (2020). Delo: Vse kar morate vedeti o koronavirusu. https://www.delo.si/novice/svet/vse-karmorate-vedeti-o-novem-koronavirusu-284059.html Peter, P. J., & Olson, J. C. (2005). Consumer behavior and marketing strategy. McGraw-Hill. Schiffman, L. G., & Kanuk, L. L. (2015). Consumer behavior. Pearson Education Limited. Siol.net. (n.d.a). Nepopisna gneča v trgovinah – ljudje kopičijo zaloge hrane. https://siol.net/novice/ slovenija/nepopisna-gneca-v-trgovinah-ljudje-kopicijo-zaloge-hrane-520736

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Siol.net. (n.d.b). Prihaja do težav pri preskrbi s sadjem in zelenjavo iz tujine – živil dovolj. https://siol. net/novice/slovenija/prihaja-do-tezav-pri-preskrbi-s-sadjem-in-zelenjavo-iz-tujine-zivil-dovolj-520697 Slovenska tiskovna agencija (STA). (2020). Vpliv pandemije novega koronavirusa na šport. https://www. sta.si/v-srediscu/covid-19-sport Solomon, M. (2018). Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being. Pearson. United Nations. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on sport, physical activity and well-being and its effects on social development. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://www.un.org/development/ desa/publications/

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Vukasović, T. (2020). Koncepti sodobnega trženja. Pearson Education Limited. Vukasović, T., & Jagodič, G. (2017). Osnove trženja in strateškega načrtovanja. Pearson Education Limited. Wang, Y., Lo, H. P., & Yang, Y. (2004). An integrated framework for service quality, customer value, satisfaction: Evidence from China’s telecommunication industry. Information Systems Frontiers, 6(4), 325–340. doi:10.1023/B:ISFI.0000046375.72726.67

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WHO. (2020). “Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Report – 1”, Nover Coronavirus. World Health Organization.

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Chapter 6

The Promotion of an Active Lifestyle After Loosening COVID-19 Measures: Recreation Load Distribution in a Tourism Destination Matej Plevnik Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Slovenia Daša Fabjan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7417-114X Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia Marijana Sikošek Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia Miha Lesjak Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Primorska, Slovenia

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ABSTRACT This chapter focuses on the association between the proximity of a physical environment suitable for recreation and physical activity, which is a public health priority in communities. After the COVID-19 lockdown, tourism destinations experienced an increased number of visitors who showed the need for physical activity. To ensure the health of visitors and promote physical activity, destinations try to provide safe infrastructure and distribute recreation load in time and space by managing visitor fow. With the newly imposed health standards, it is essential to identify overcrowding for eventual visitor management interventions by spatial planning or other regulation; thus, a pilot measurement of recreation load was carried out to compare the diferences between weekday and weekend physical activity on a chosen location in tourism destination. The fndings represent a basis for actions of visitor management with the aim to accommodate the recreation needs of locals and other visitors. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch006

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 The Promotion of an Active Lifestyle After Loosening COVID-19 Measures

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INTRODUCTION An extensive documentation of many important health benefits of physical activity has created the need to understand the factors that influence physical activity habits (Sallis et al., 1997). Physical environments especially in the coastal tourism destinations are the least studied potentials in the area of physical activity; however, it is important to understand their possible impacts as environmental characteristics can affect large populations. Physical environments have the capacity to facilitate or impede physical activity. Environments that are rich in resources relevant to physical activity, such as sidewalks, parks and other green spaces, exercise classes and health clubs, may make it easier for people to be physically active. Identifying the environmental factors that can influence physical activity in a given environment should be a public health priority in every local community. Additionally, the studies to assess factors that influence the level of physical activity in the population are needed to influence interventions for visitor management and health policy (Humpel et al., 2004; Sallis et al., 1997; Albrecht, 2017). Understanding the environmental factors of a selected location can lead to defining new opportunities. As cities and suburban areas increase in population, there is a growing need for research and development of ways to support and promote physical activity in relation to the natural and urban environment. Giles-Corti and Donovan (2002) emphasized the importance of the spatial access to recreational facilities, where informal ones i.e. streets, public open spaces and the beach turned out to be most frequently used. Additionally, places that attract many visitors and tourists have to accommodate their needs for physical activity also by providing the infrastructure and the diversity of facilities, which in turn can be exploited to promote the recreation and transport-related physical activity of locals (McCormack et al., 2008). This chapter aims to compare the differences between weekly and weekend physical activity in a chosen location between the towns of Piran and Portorož, both in the municipality of Piran. The research was carried out during the first week of summer at the end of the school year, which was two months after loosened Coronavirus disease [COVID-19] measures at the end of the first wave lockdown, during which people were limited to the small area of their own municipalities. Municipality of Piran represents a destination with the highest level of tourism activity in Slovenia. Beside local residents there are many domestic and foreign tourists, daily visitors, and owners of a second home, mostly from other parts of Slovenia or abroad. Its surroundings offer a starting point for many different walks with beautiful views of the coastline. Along others, the path by the sea from Portorož to Piran is the most popular one offering enjoyable and relaxing walks (Batagelj and Oseli, 2015). The path offers a very attractive physical environment with many bars and restaurants alongside, therefore the flow of visitors is different during a weekday compared to weekends. The findings about differences between weekly and weekend physical activity will represent a basis for the implication of visitor management of the chosen location and its surrounding area. Local authorities in a tourism destination have to take a strategic approach to coordinate the needs of locals and promoting the recreation aspect of the destination to other visitors, even much more so when newly imposed standards due to the COVID-19 epidemic have to be taken into consideration. Thus it is crucial to measure visitor flows to understand the carrying capacity of the physical environment and identify the eventual bottlenecks for further regulative interventions.

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BACKGROUND According to World Travel Tourism Council [WTTC] tourism represents one of the largest and globally most important industry, contributing more than 10% to the world’s gross domestic product (WTTC, 2019). After the Second World War, tourist trips recorded a constant, almost exponential growth. Since 1950, when 25 million people traveled, this number has grown to 1,5 billion tourists by the end of 2019 (World Tourism Organization [UNWTO], 2020). In year 2001, the UNWTO (2014) announced that tourist trips would increase by 4.3% each year, reaching an enviable number of 1.6 billion tourists by 2020. Statistics on the constant growth of tourist travel means additional concern for those responsible for development of tourism in local environments. Therefore, many of the impacts that tourism brings (both positive and negative) need proper strategic planning. Sport activity not only represents physical activity and a positive impact on health of the individual, but also plays an important role for the local, national and global economy. Tourism and travel, in fact, are linked to many forms of sports (Higham and Hinch, 2018). According to Bartoluci (2007), sport is an important factor in the development of modern tourism and a key generator of additional economic values in tourism. The desire of people to travel in order to spend their free time actively and participate in sports is a signal for development of products for active tourists. Lately, the demand for sports tourism is mainly connected to increased sports activity of the population, promotion of a healthier lifestyle, involvement in sports activities of the elderly (active aging), increased involvement of women in sports activities and demand for alternative and adrenaline sports (Coakley, 2004). Sport tourism as a form of tourism nowadays provides many development opportunities and is becoming an increasingly important factor in shaping the tourism offer of many tourism destinations. Changes and trends in spending leisure time enable tourism destinations to develop innovative approaches of tourism products that contain various sports activities (Higham and Hinch, 2018). Carneiro et al. (2016) exposed the potential of sports tourism companies in adopting the sustainable managerial practices within coastal areas that simultaneously represent sports tourism destinations. In fact, Anderson et al. (2015) suggested that coastal areas can attain a more attractive image by the promotion induced by sports tourism companies. When talking about sustainable practices, walking is the simplest and healthiest way to move and explore a tourism destination. Walking occurs primarily in destination streets and public facilities whose character influences the degree to which they are safe, comfortable, and attractive for this type of activity (Lee and Moudon, 2004). Exploring urban areas on foot have multiple benefits. These benefits are connected with experiences, education, economic, ecologic and social impacts. Additionally, walking has also many health-related positive effects (Farkić et al., 2015). According to Southworth (2005) and Forsyth et al. (2008) walking is a very important component for a sustainable destination and local community that promotes both physical and mental health. Walking is also considered to be a “green” mode of transport, which has low environmental impacts, reduces congestion, but also conserves energy without air and noise pollution (Forsyth et al., 2008). Tourism is an exceptionally complex social, spatial and economic phenomenon that can only be managed through an interdisciplinary approach with the sustainable practices. In addition to sustainable development, tourism has a positive impact on the natural, economic and social environment, but it can also have a number of negative effects due to poor planning and strategic mistakes. With proper management, tourism industry offers many positive effects. In order to achieve positive effects, it is necessary to monitor visitor flows in a wider destination with focus on micro-locations where the concentration of 93

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visitors is higher. Monitoring visitor flows plays an important role in an environment where tourism can represent important economic opportunity for local communities. Upon it the movement and behavior of visitors in a destination can be regulated by interventions and similar tools, which is a main focus of visitor management in order to ensure visitor a nice experience, thus appreciation (Albrecht, 2016). This way it is also possible to ensure a sustainable development and long-term success of the tourism sector and prosperity of local community. Zelenka and Kacetl (2013) describe the objectives of visitor management as looking for a balance between benefits and negative impacts of tourism imposed on locals, visitors and other stakeholders. An effective visitor management is able to convert the economic benefits into reducing the negative impacts on local community and environment. Visitor management is also successful when visitor loads are redistributed geographically or between seasons or other peak and off-peak periods. As far back as forty years ago, Manning and Powers (1984) studied the problem of uneven distribution of use over time that has been haunting tourism professionals since the beginnings of modern tourism. Specially in outdoor recreation and tourism, which is subject to weather conditions and many other factors, seasonality affects the inefficient use of resources and makes it difficult to organize staff and working process, lessens the economic opportunities, imposes pressure on environment and can exceed its carrying capacity. They found out that it is possible to redistribute the load of visitors by differential fees/prices, altering the season beginning or end dates, and a better allocation of facilities. Depending on climate destinations manage to move the visitor load to summer weekday or to fall and spring. It is useful to consider target groups based on different characteristics, which has not changed to date (Manning and Powers, 1984). The published report by UK Ministry of Environment, Department of Employment and English Tourist Board (ETB) in 1991 discusses three main ways of managing visitors in tourism destinations. The first one is to “limit numbers to match capacity, or spreading the number throughout the year, rather than having visitors concentrated in time in a focused tourist season”. The second one refers to “the adaption of the the resource in ways to enable it to cope with the volume of visitors, and hence become less damaged” and the third one is connected to the modification of tourist behavior (ETB, 1991; Mason, 2005, p. 184). Visitor management provides the guidelines for visitors visiting tourism destination. The concept is based on development and implementations of rules and regulations with respect to visitor activity, especially inside the protected areas and other micro-locations attractive to visitors (Kuo, 2002). Kuo (2002) applied two major categories of visitor management and termed them as “soft” and “hard” approaches. The “hard” visitor management approach is more regulatory and involves different forms of management, economy and physical environment. On the other hand, the “soft” visitor management approaches make more reference to interpretation involving educational processes (Mason, 2005). Visitor management therefore tries to enhance visitor experience while sustaining the quality of tourism resources and eliminate inappropriate visitor activities (Kuo, 2002). Tourism destinations have unique set of characteristic but mostly different set of threshold to external pressure in line with their development stage (Butler, 1980). Therefore, visitor management needs to be adopted and implemented in line with the development stage of the specific tourism destination (Hughes et al., 2013; Kebete & Wondirad, 2019). The dependence on the natural environment and issues of over tourism are the key challenges of the contemporary tourism (Gössling, 2002). The World Tourism Organization defines the term carrying capacity as ‘‘the maximum number of people that may visit a tourism destination at the same time without causing destruction of the physical, economic or socio-cultural environment and an unacceptable decrease in the quality of the tourist satisfaction’’ (UNWTO, 2018). 94

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Many coastal destinations, which offer classic tourist products of 3S (sea, sand, sun), face the problem of over tourism and at the same time call for new strategic directions of tourism management that would spread visitor flows over the year. Coastal destinations with standardized 3S (sea, sand, sun) offer in summer months usually far exceed the allowable carrying capacity of visitors, while their off-season image is completely different. Especially Mediterranean coastal tourism destinations for example face severe seasonality challenges, with a high demand pressure for tourism resources in summer times, but a significant surplus of tourism resources in off-season time. The imbalance of tourist arrivals and one-day visitors during the week (less tourists) in comparison to weekend (mass tourism) is another issue that needs important strategic and managerial decisions for coastal tourism destinations to protect negative issues of carrying capacity of the space. Beedasy and Whyatt (1999) pointed out a greater pressure on the environment and infrastructure in smaller countries but also in specific zones along coastal areas as opposed to other territories, where tourist activities are concentrated, and the necessity to plan and maintain tourism carefully. In their view, spatial planning is essential for selecting and allocating land to tourism related activities, which can be done through zoning or other visitor management tools when the carrying capacity is at its limit or exceeded as discussed by Kebete and Wondirad (2019). As McCarthy (2003) warns about the tensions between economic development and environmental aims in coastal areas that can be very successfully ameliorated by the application of spatial planning principles based on design and sustainable land use. However, to follow the principles of sustainability it is important not to use spatial planning solely to support tourism development, as the lack of inclusion of the natural values in planning can lead to conflicts and consequently misunderstandings between stakeholders which in turn demands for a conflict management strategy (Almeida et al., 2017). Risteski et al. (2012) alerted of the need to proceed with tourism development in a sustainable way by distributing facilities and resources with the aim of avoiding overcrowding and unsustainability. Such distribution is possible with an adequate spatial planning which can take into consideration all three pillars of sustainable development (economic, socio-cultural and environmental). Authors also emphasize that it is necessary to consider the destination as a complex set of stakeholders and activities which are tightly connected between each other. These have to be managed and coordinated through effective strategies that ensure a sustainable development (Risteski et al., 2012). More and more tourism destinations that experience peak periods of visitor load are forced to intervene with the aim of optimizing the visitor flow by reducing the pressure of visitors in time and space. In this regards the visitor flows are monitored and analysed (Zelenka and Kacetl, 2013). The redistribution of visitor load ensures the quality of the visitor’s experience, mitigates environmental impacts, improves the locals’ perception of visitors, and according to Zelenka and Kacetl (2013) can increase the carrying capacity at the destination. It is important to understand how tourism activities interrelate with the environment, this way it is possible to identify the conflicts that can arise, and in such a way effectively plan visitor management. In order to reduce the conflicts visitors flow needs to be established. And this cannot be planned without a measurement of visitor numbers and awareness of the activities, motivations and expectations of visitors (Candrea and Ispas, 2009). Despite a large number of existing techniques and methods for visitor monitoring, Muhar et al. (2002) argued that there were still a lot of issues to be solved, pointing out that the need of visitor monitoring and management still lacks awareness. After almost 20 years it is possible to notice many good practices showing that the importance of physical activity had influenced the investments in recreational infrastructure over the years (Muhar et al., 2002).

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Lew and McKercher (2006) emphasize the essentiality of having the information on time and space of the routes used by visitors, as well as of the locations that they mostly visit. This way it is possible to notice time periods and locations that experience overcrowding, but it is also possible to identify locations that are not used during a certain period of time, thus being underutilized. Besides being the most developed tourism destination in Slovenia, the municipality of Piran represents traditionally one of the most important centers of tourism in the northern Mediterranean. Its territory amounts to 45 km2 with about 17,610 inhabitants (Statistical office of the Republic of Slovenia [SURS], 2018). The monthly dynamics of arrivals and overnight stays shows an increase in tourist number during summer months with the peak in August. On the other hand, the number of arrivals in the period from November to April is lower and reaches the lowest point in January and February. Based on data provided by the SURS one can notice that the demand in tourism destination Portorož & Piran is extremely seasonal, which could be seen also in a 58% of annual overnight stays recorded from June to September in years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the share of each month, as well, did not change significantly over the years (SURS, 2018). Thus, reducing seasonality and ensuring year-round tourist demand by the year 2025 is still one of the main goals of the current municipality’s tourism development strategy. The occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic has, of course, changed the picture of tourism greatly. From almost 192,000 domestic arrivals and almost 429,000 foreign arrivals in 2019 the destination Portorož & Piran recorded over 244,000 domestic arrivals and almost 124,000 foreign arrivals in 2020, representing a 27.4% increase of domestic and a 71.1% decrease of foreign tourist arrivals. Figure 1 includes monthly data on tourist arrivals to Portorož & Piran for years 2018, 2019 and 2020. Figure 1. Domestic (darker) and foreign (brighter) tourist arrivals to Portorož & Piran from January 2018 to February 2021

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Source: SURS, 2021

It is very clear that in the last two years in pre-COVID-19 period the destination recorded an increasing number of arrivals of foreign tourists, and a slight decrease in domestic tourist arrivals. In January and February 2020 the numbers were more or less very similar to those from year before, except for a

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decrease of domestic arrivals in February compared to one year before. In April 2020 no arrivals were recorded due to a complete lockdown, while in May there were very few domestic arrivals. In Figure 1 it is possible to notice around 55% decrease of foreign tourist arrivals in July and August compared to one year before, while the number of domestic tourist arrivals is the highest ever. This fact can be attributed to the Slovenian government aid in form of tourist vouchers to all Slovenian nationals to address the economic downturn. The growing number of tourist arrivals in years before pandemic exceeded the carrying capacity of several locations in the destination many times during summer, and imposed negative impacts not only on locals but also on tourists, rendering their experience at the destination less satisfying. Consequently, the local authorities had to introduce measures, but in many cases these were impossible to implement due to lack of proper monitoring of visitor flow. While studying the intradestination vehicle and pedestrian movements, Lew and McKercher (2006) came up with models of spatial movement patterns of tourists within a destination. They highlighted the importance of understanding the movement, and knowing the characteristics of visitors and their preferred paths, which is crucial not only for destination management, but also for development and marketing of existing and new products and attractions, which can improve the destination image. In 2015 the destination management organization (DMO) of Portorož & Piran ordered a study on summer tourist profile based on the strategic visitor flow methodology using GPS analysis to identify the so called hotspots that attract most people (Batagelj and Oseli, 2015). The study also measured different visitor characteristics upon which the DMO established several thematic walking paths in order to distribute the recreation load of the busiest locations to other less known, but still very appealing. From the public health perspective, research about the influence of the natural and the urban environment, which is defined as “all of the physical parts of where people live and work (e.g., homes, buildings, streets, open spaces, and other infrastructure)”, on physical activity appears promising. Indeed, environment-changing interventions have the potential to reach a large proportion of the population as well as to achieve sustainable effects (Spittaels et al., 2009; World Health Organization, 2018). Compared to indoor environment exercise, exercising in natural environments is associated with greater feelings of revitalization and positive engagement, a decrease in tension and an increase in energy (Thompson Coon et al., 2011). Modern development urges local communities to constantly adapt and find better and more effective methods of action. Investing in public infrastructure is a major challenge; therefore, new financing methods should be introduced to finance the renovation and construction of new sports facilities. Communities have the role of encouraging moderate physical activity that is associated with people’s daily movement and recreational patterns. Physical activity promotion involves understanding people’s basic need to feel safe, their desire to move from a location to a location quickly and easily, and the way in which their behavior is affected by the quality of the urban environment (World Health Organization, 2018). Regular physical activity is one of the key factors of promoting and protecting health, contributing to better health, better quality of life, as well as to the sustainability of the health system (Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia, 2015). It is therefore not surprising that the promotion of physical activities of a population is a high priority on a global level (World Health Organization, 2018). Studies often conclude that regular physical activity is one of the key contributors to a higher quality of life. Improving the quality of life is one of the most important motivating factors for starting and maintaining regular physical activity for most people (Gill et al., 2013). Nowadays, physical activity is central to population strategies against chronic diseases (Humpel et al., 2004; National Institute of Public Health, 2019). Insights into the state of physical activity patterns can contribute to 97

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the process of planning and designing an environment which will support the programs of promoting physical activity in a local community. The link between physical activity patterns and the environment presents an important part of a healthy and active lifestyle promotion. It has been suggested that the characteristics of the natural and the built environment are associated with the level of physical activity and health characteristics of the population in a community. The physical activity infrastructure in the local community does not only cover the statutory powers (Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia, 2017) but also the initiative of the local community for the maintenance of natural environment and built (sports) infrastructure, which is linked to the physical activity habits of inhabitants. The local community plays an important role in the maintenance of recreational areas and infrastructure in the local environment that promote physical activity for a healthy lifestyle (Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia, 2015). According to Rice et al. (2020) the lockdown after the declared COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an immediate reaction of outdoor enthusiasts with a noticeable downfall in recreation activities. It was estimated that in the USA from March to April 2020 the approximate distance traveled for recreation dropped to almost half distance, recreation group size from an average of 5.61 to 1.85 persons, however the days per week for recreation from average 5.07 to 4.76 (with a higher variance) (Rice et al., 2020). Also Derks et al. (2020) discovered a double increase in visitor numbers to the forest area near Bonn, Germany since the imposition of COVID-19 measures in March 2020. It is obvious that people have adjusted their recreational habits to the new reality, namely not only the existing outdoor enthusiasts but also a new group as found by Derks et al. (2020). This include young people, families with children and non-locals, and the visitor distribution in time also changed to a rather large recreation load in the late afternoon.

MAIN FOCUS OF THE CHAPTER (RECREATION LOAD MEASUREMENT) Based on the obvious additional pressure of new local recreationists and pressure of non-locals on the locations, such as the most attractive coastal path from Portorož to Piran, authors decided to conduct a pilot measurement of recreation load. This was done by observing the number and characteristics of visitors in order to gain data, representing equivalent to those from more traditional tools for visitor flows monitoring. Upon such data it would be possible for decision-makers to establish regulative interventions to alleviate the negative impact of visitor load.

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Research Plan The general aim of the study was to compare the characteristics of the location recreation load between a weekday (Wednesday) and weekend (Saturday) from the view of characteristics of physically active people, who passed by the chosen location. The location with the GPS coordinates 45°30’58.6”N and 13°34’39.5”E is one of the busiest locations in the Municipality of Piran and it is located near the Faculty of Tourism Studies – Turistica. The location is situated in a narrow passage on the way from Piran to Portorož, which represents a tourist area with many different possibilities for performing physical, as well as other activities. The weather forecast was considered when selecting the day for conducting the measurments. The study was carried out during the last week of June 2020 (24th and 27th of June). Each day the observation was performed between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.. 98

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Research Methods The cross-sectional study design was used. The data was collected using the observational (descriptive) method. The observation was based on recording the number of people, passing by the chosen location. The key variables were the number of visitors per hour through the day, gender, age group, pattern of physical and sports activity.

Analyzing Process The empirical data was analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 using methods for descriptive statistics (frequencies, arithmetic mean and standard deviation). Considering the assumptions, the Chi-square (χ2) test was used for the analysis of differences between week to weekend characteristics. The effect size was calculated using the Cramér`s V correlation (Akoglu, 2018), defining the correlation as very strong (>0.25), strong (>0.15), moderate (>0.10), weak (>0.05) and no correlation/very weak (>0). The statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results Over the past decade, the research on physical activity promotion has expanded from focusing on primarily individual determinants to understanding a broader range of factors that influence physical activity participation. A total of 3960 people was recorded, 540 during the week (13.7%) and 3420 during the weekend (86.3%) (Figure 2). Figure 2. Number and gender of visitors passing by location on week and weekend days

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Source: Authors

Comparing the difference at the time, there were no statistically significant difference in gender (Figure 2) and between the age groups. Most passers-by (85.7% during week and 84.1% during weekend) classified into adult group aged between 18 and 65 years of age. There were statistically significant differences in the number of visitors through the day, per hour (χ2(13) = 116.393, p < 0.001, Cramér’s V = 0.171) (Figure 3). There were statistically significant differences in the type of activities, which was performed by the people passing by χ2(7) = 71.730, p < 0.001, Cramér’s V = 0.135. Walking was the most common

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Figure 3. Percentage of visitors through day per hour as a % of total sample on selected days Source: Authors

recorded physical activity at both times, also cycling was a noticeable activity during week and also weekend (Figure 4). Figure 4. Type of activities, performed by the visitors passing by location Source: Authors

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There were statistically significant differences in the type of group (χ2(3) = 22.770, p < 0.001, Cramér’s V = 0.076). Mostly people were passing by as a couple (week 40.9%, weekend 45.9%), followed by passing by alone (week 27.6%, weekend 25.0%), as the member of a family group (week 15.6%, weekend 19.2%), and the smallest percentage as the member of a group of people (week 15.9%, weekend 9.9%) (Figure 5).

SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A few limitations of the study exist, namely a one-off measurement (observation) on the selected day, based on which authors made the conclusions about the characteristics of the location. It would be useful and much more reliable if the measurements were performed several times and the data generalized over a longer period for a more credible analysis. Due to time and financial limitations in our study, this approach was not possible.

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Figure 5. Type of group, in which the visitor was a member Source: Authors

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Future research effort should include complementary research on recreation load of chosen locations in tourism destinations that can represent bottlenecks in visitor flow. Visitor monitoring is even more essential in times with changed conditions due to COVID-19. Only with effective data collection and quality of data the local authorities can ensure the visitors with a high quality experience and healthy and safe physical environment. Research has to focus on recognition of visitors’ characteristics and further investigate how these influence the physical environment choice for recreation. It would serve to transform the practice of research from primarily individual determinants to understanding a broader range of factors that influence physical activity participation. This line of reasoning can then be extended to the institutional interventions to promote physical activity along with promoting the destination as a safe environment for sports and recreation purposes.

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CONCLUSION After March 11, 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, each country followed its own response procedures in case of force majeure. Most were very quick in shutting down the public life and implemented measures of lockdown, which restricted the freedom of movement and anticipated social distancing. Consequently, our daily life was altered and we had to adjust to a new way of spending our time outside. Existing recreationalists adapted their habits (i.e. smaller group size, shorter travel distances), the inactive were awakened by the pandemic and so a new group emerged outdoor. In the first period of the pandemic Slovenia adapted a restriction of movement to municipalities which represent a rather small geographical unit. Many outdoor enthusiasts had very limited opportunities and just a few facilities to continue with current recreation. Before the pandemic they were used to go to different natural sites for recreation, such as mountains or coastal area. Following Giles-Corti and Donovan (2002) who pointed out most frequently used facilities (streets, public open spaces, and the beach) and suggested that the presence of supportive physical environment is important, however may not be enough to promote physical activity. It could be noticed that after the pandemic was declared locals started to appreciate the physical environment much more than before.

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Thus, we can deduce that the measures against the spread of COVID-19 had the impact on individual and social environment. After the restriction to municipalities was lifted the recreation load at tourism destination Portorož & Piran, Slovenia was expected to be significant. Beside the locals, visitors and tourists, as well as second home owners invaded the streets and paths along the beach. From the point of view of visitor management, the monitoring of visitor flows is turning out to be essential, not only for the aim of balancing the economic, social and environmental impacts, but in times of COVID-19 presence for considering also the health and safety issues. This new reality poses challenges for destination management interventions and local authorities to place greater emphasis on identifying locations with exceeded carrying capacity by monitoring visitor flows and redistributing visitor loads in time and space in a sustainable manner by the help of adequate spatial planning. Deducing from Lew and McKercher (2006), useful information about visitors’ characteristics are key to establish a management plan to redistribute the pressure of visitor load in one location and time to alternative times, paths, and places. In this regard, we conducted an observation research of a chosen location recreation load, comparing the physical activity and characteristics of recreationists on a weekday and weekend. The findings about differences between weekly and weekend physical activity represent a starting point for visitor management of the chosen location and its surrounding area. Local authorities in a tourism destination have to take a strategic approach to coordinate the needs of locals and promoting the recreation aspect of the destination to other visitors, even much more so when newly imposed standards due to the COVID-19 pandemic have to be taken into consideration. Thus it is crucial to measure visitor flows to understand the carrying capacity of the physical environment and identify the eventual bottlenecks for further regulative interventions. In addition, the results of this study could contribute to public concern about the importance of regular physical activity and active lifestyle in COVID-19 and similar situations. The research showed a lower locational load of physically active people during week and a much bigger locational load during weekend. The results clearly proved the need to adapt and plan the load of public spaces, having in mind the tourism activities’ influence. The spatial planning policy might allocate more space for a better flow of existing activities or promote a greater dispersion of locations within municipality for physical activities, and this way creating spaces that enhance walking for recreation and transport. With an appropriate planning of public spaces and loads, the COVID-19 health recommendations, such as restriction of movement between municipalities, can be more easily implemented and considered, with no negative effect on the population physical activity.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT The results were obtained in the framework of the project “Importance and potentials of active leisure time, IMTUR”, which was carried out by the Faculty of Tourism Studies - Turistica and Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Primorska in cooperation with the Istrski maraton – Društvo za razvoj in promocijo športa in turizma. The project was part of the call “Student Innovation Projects for Social Benefits - ŠIPK” and lasted from March to June 2020. The project was co-funded by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European Social Fund.

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McCarthy, J. (2003). Spatial Planning, Tourism and Regeneration in Historic Port Cities. disP - The Planning Review, 39(154), 19-25. doi:10.1080/02513625.2003.10556852 McCormack, G. R., Giles-Corti, B., & Bulsara, M. (2008). The relationship between destination proximity, destination mix and physical activity behaviors. Preventive Medicine, 46(1), 33–40. doi:10.1016/j. ypmed.2007.01.013 PMID:17481721 Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia (2017). Zakon o športu (ZŠpo1) [Sports Act], Uradni list RS, št. 29/17, 21/18 – ZNOrg in 82/20. http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/ pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO6853

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Ministry of Health of the Republic of Slovenia. (2015). Resolucija o nacionalnem programu o prehrani in telesni dejavnosti za zdravje 2015–2025 (ReNPPTDZ) [Resolution on the National Program on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Health 2015-2025]. http://pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=RESO101 Muhar, A., Arnberger, A., & Brandenburg, C. (2002). Methods for Visitor Monitoring in Recreational and Protected Areas: An Overview. In Monitoring and Management of Visitor Flows in Recreational and Protected Areas, Conference Proceedings (pp. 1-6). Institute for Landscape Architecture and Landscape Management, Bodenkultur University. National Institute of Public Health. (2019). Pomen zelenih površin v urbanih območjih za javno zdravje [The importance of green spaces in urban areas for public health]. National Institute of Public Health. https://www.nijz.si/sites/www.nijz.si/files/uploaded/pomen_zelenih_povrsin_v_urbanih_obmocjih_za_javno_zdravje_koncna_poslano_v_pr_db.pdf Rice, W. L., Meyer, C., Lawhon, B., Taff, B. D., Mateer, T., Reigner, N., & Newman, P. (2020, April 18). The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way people recreate outdoors: Preliminary report on a national survey of outdoor enthusiasts amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 10.31235/osf.io/prnz9 Risteski, M., Kocevski, J., & Arnaudov, K. (2012). Spatial Planning and Sustainable Tourism as Basis for Developing Competitive Tourist Destinations. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 44, 375–386. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.042 Sallis, J. F., Johnson, M. F., Calfas, K. J., Caparosa, S., & Nichols, J. F. (1997). Assessing Perceived Physical Environmental Variables that May Influence Physical Activity. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 68(4), 345–351. doi:10.1080/02701367.1997.10608015 PMID:9421846 Southworth, M. (2005). Designing the walkable city. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 131(4), 246–257. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9488(2005)131:4(246) Spittaels, H., Foster, C., Oppert, J. M., Rutter, H., Oja, P., Sjöström, M., & De Bourdeaudhuij, I. (2009). Assessment of environmental correlates of physical activity: Development of a European questionnaire. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 6(1), 1–11. doi:10.1186/14795868-6-39 PMID:19580645 SURS. (2018). SISTAT Database. https://pxweb.stat.si/SiStat/en

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SURS. (2021). SISTAT Database. https://pxweb.stat.si/SiStat/en Thompson Coon, J., Boddy, K., Stein, K., Whear, R., Barton, J., & Depledge, M. H. (2011). Does participating in physical activity in outdoor natural environments have a greater effect on physical and mental wellbeing than physical activity indoors? A systematic review. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(5), 1761–1772. doi:10.1021/es102947t PMID:21291246 UNWTO. (2014). International Tourism Generates Us$ 1.4 Trillion in Export Earnings. World Tourism Organization. https://www.unwto.org/archive/global/press-release/2014-05-13/international-tourismgenerates-us-14-trillion-export-earnings

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UNWTO. (2018). ‘Overtourism’? – Understanding and Managing Urban Tourism Growth beyond Perceptions, Executive Summary. World Tourism Organization. https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/ pdf/10.18111/9789284420070 UNWTO. (2020). UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. World Tourism Organization., doi:10.18111/ wtobarometereng World Health Organization. (2018). Global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030: More active people for healthier world. World Health Organization. WTTC. (2019). Travel & Tourism Economic Impact World: 2019 Edition. World Travel & Tourism Council. https://www.slovenia.info/uploads/dokumenti/raziskave/raziskave/world2019.pdf

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Chapter 7

The Contribution of Tourist Events to Local Development: A Case Study With a Sport Perspective in the Post-COVID-19 Era Ana Rita Dias Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, Portugal Bruno Barbosa Sousa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8588-2422 CiTUR, UNIAG, Polytechinc Institude of Cávado and Ave, Portugal Adrian Lubowiecki-Vikuk https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9672-9514 SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland

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ABSTRACT Territorial marketing is a fundamental tool for destination management and strategic planning in order to promote and highlight a territory, place, or city. In order to understand and comprehend the importance of territorial marketing in promoting this event, an analysis of the results obtained through a qualitative approach is made. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted in a focus group of nine participants. The recent pandemic of the new coronavirus has signifcantly changed the lifestyle of the population, with a strong impact on the tourism, events, and sports sector. Consequently, the Braga Romana (Portugal) tourist, cultural, and sporting event was canceled in the year 2020 due to COVID-19. This chapter is intended to present a retrospective of this event and the growing importance of the safety and hygiene seal as a response (and anticipation) to the 2021 edition.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch007

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1. INTRODUCTION Given the nature of event services, event planners must be adept at strategic planning (Ruyi & Pegg, 2007). Event tourism is a complex process that entails planning leisure, business, or civic events to attract tourists, forecast future demand, promote a city brand image, and maximize revenue for the event hosting community (Rosenbaum & Wong, 2010). Increasingly, cities are known for what they can develop and provide or more accurately for the virtual capabilities that are ensured through the marketing decisions or representations that come out (Rola et al., 2018). Territorial marketing becomes an important solution, allowing the development of several factors, of a specific place, obtaining more investments, and attract more individuals to this same region. The assumption that triggered this manuscript was built from concern and analysis of the various factors of strategic development, in the case study of the Braga Romana event, to ascertain all the strategic planning applied to date. Therefore, considering Braga as a city with a high tourist potential (Braga was considered the second-best European tourist destination in 2019), but in which, however, it is still necessary to implement strategic plans to involve all residents, traders, possible stakeholders for better reception of tourists, we formulate the following question: What is the impact of territorial marketing regarding the Braga Romana event? The scrutiny of this question has as its general objective the understanding of territorial marketing’s value in promoting the Braga Romana event. According to Ferreira and Sousa (2020), social and cultural innovation has also increased through the actions of sports stars and sports organizations. So, first, we present the main theoretical foundations, which are the crucial point of this investigation, to understand the studied content for a better analysis of results. Here, topics focused on tourism, events and event management, and territorial marketing is introduced as a form of strategic development for the city. The second part deals with the case study, where we present a brief characterization of the Braga Romana. Afterward, we explain the methodology applied to the investigation of this case study (with a sporting perspective). Subsequently, we approached the analysis and discussion of the results obtained through the questions implemented to three respondents and the questions asked to a focus group addressed to nine participants. The last chapter aims at the closure of this article, where the main conclusions drawn from the case study are addressed and where we refer to possible future implications and limitations.

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2. EVENTS IN TOURISM AND MARKETING MANAGEMENT Tourism is one of the most relevant mechanisms and has the most significant impact on the development and growth of many economies worldwide (Sousa et al., 2017). Is a concept in constant evolution and, as such, within the restricted scope and adapted to the theme of this study, we consider the most appropriate definition of “tourism” the one established by the World Tourism Organization, which considers that tourism “comprises the activities developed by people when traveling and staying in places outside their usual framework, for a consecutive time (not exceeding one year) for leisure, business, and other purposes” (Recommendations on Tourism Statistics, 1994, p. 5). This definition characterizes tourism, in a general way, and serves as the basic concept of the term tourism. However, there are various types of tourism, namely business, leisure, health, sports, events, the latter being the concept that will be approached (Lubowiecki-Vikuk, Đerčan, & de Sousa, 2021). Event tourism is defined as a set of activities performed by people, whose purpose is to participate in an event, which can be professional, sporting,

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religious-related, among others. We can say that an event is a special happening, planned and organized for a certain target audience, with a defined goal, at a particular time and location (Zitta, 2011). According to Ratten et al. (2010), event management is a fast-growing professional field that incorporates such fields as tourism, leisure, hospitality, marketing, and sport (Getz, 2008). Graham et al. (2001, p. 3) defined sport event management as “the organization, marketing, implementation, and evaluation of any type of event related to sport”. Events can increase media attention and create positive outcomes among community residents (Chalip et al., 2003; Kim & Petrick, 2005). In specific, previous studies indicate that there has been acknowledgment of the social and economic benefits that events can create to the host city, region, and/or country (Ratter, 2016). According to Ribeiro and Sousa (2016), events can be classified into different categories and there is a wide range of ways to define the different existing types. These can be distinguished either by their complexity, size, or range according to the concept or goal. Events hold great importance in the life of cities and therefore also a wide range of impacts on the cities hosting them (Miragaia et al., 2018). It becomes crucial to understand the concept of perception so that we can classify an event as beneficial or not to the community that receives it since it is through the perceptions that residents have and how exposed the influence of impacts on their lives (Getz, 2007). In this context, tourism is a phenomenon that moves millions of people around the world, taking as a major driver of the global economy. Every year, much due to the frequent changes in the tourism environment, fosters competition between and within tourist destinations (Sousa & Simões, 2010; Peixoto & Sousa, 2021). The literature review conducted for this study allowed us to identify a set of factors that will influence more markedly the support of residents concerning the Braga Romana event (from a sporting perspective). Sport-related holiday travel is a growing segment of tourism and has also been a relevant field of research (Barros, Butler & Correia, 2010). According to Ratten (2011), in the rapidly changing global business environment, innovation and change is a fundamental focus of the sport. The complementary nature of the innovation and sport management disciplines (e.g., cultural events) has not been frequently discussed in previous research. According to Isidoro (2013), the event aims to innovate, create, and introduce new trends in the market. To ensure the success of an event it is necessary to ally originality and creativity to many aspects related to the planning of the event, innovating, creating, and making a difference to achieve a better market position. On a narrower level, every event to be held must follow a well-defined strategy to be successful. For this, regardless of their typology, it is necessary to overcome three important phases: pre-event, event, and post-event, defined by Pedro et al. (2012). The first phase translates into the idealization and planning of the event to be held; the second phase is defined as the phase of realization and monitoring of all previously established planning; the third, and final phase, concerns the evaluation and analysis of event results. As the focus of this research, we orientate this manuscript around the concept of city marketing that reflects not only in terms of advertising and sales but also in the ability to develop possible strategies that meet, in this way, the needs of consumers. Thus, companies or cities that want to create development strategies must target creating value for consumers and building a relationship with them, acquiring value in return. For a more complex perspective of this concept, based on the ideas of Kotler and Armstrong (2011), the authors present a five-step model: (1) understand the markets and the needs and wants of consumers, (2) define a consumer-based marketing strategy, (3) create an integrated marketing program with the value offered, (4) build profitable relationships and generate customer satisfaction, and (5) make profits through customer value.

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In a more restricted analysis of the concept of marketing, it includes several categories and types, during this study, we turn to “city marketing”. This term is still an underdeveloped subject, and, through the analysis of several authors, we can say that it is a relatively recent and contradictory concept. City marketing is characterized as one of the most prominent and leading areas of marketing in terms of the development of cities (Sousa, 2017). Hence, the city needs the support of residents, leaders, and institutions to become welcoming and receptive to new challenges and, thus, attract new companies and investments (Kavaratzis, 2009). In this sense, and to avoid the homogeneity and standardization of marketing used in promotional campaigns, defined by various companies, it is important to implement a marketing strategy related to the cultural identity of the place and increase creative strategies according to nowadays (Martinez, 2011). Thus, we believe that the main challenge of the regions is to define a strategy of identifying and project their image, developing modern points of attraction based on past culture, and implementing enriched intellectual and spiritual strategies open to new concepts (such as music, sport, and cooking). The term city marketing includes several other terms, namely marketing of place, destination marketing, territorial marketing, geographic marketing, public, urban, and local marketing, and place branding (e.g., Anholt, 2007; Avraham & Ketter, 2008; Hospers, 2004; Kavaratzis, 2004; Kotler et al., 1993). The meaning of this concept is related to the exchange process applied and established in a particular region, city, country, or even local, between the residents, visitors, organizations, and investors associated with it (Figure 1). Thus, territorial marketing covers several different points and can be directed according to many activities, which are created for greater attractiveness and competitiveness of the place in foreign market level. The competitive advantage of cities becomes problematic and, based on Kanter (1995), proves to be centers of excellence and three C’s: concept, competencies, and connections. Being the first characterized as advanced ideas and projections for new products and services, to create value for consumers. The second is distinguished as the ability to translate innovative ideas and apply them to the market. Finally, the third translates into business alliances to promote core competencies, more value, and enable access to new horizons through the globalization of economies (Sousa & Silva, 2019). In a more restricted way, it is possible to verify a multiplicity of concepts related to city marketing, which is analyzed according to different approaches due to its multidisciplinary nature. Referring to Kanter (1996), we consider it important to mention that the source of competitive advantage of cities, and regions, is characterized by three scenarios: Can become venues for promoting new strategies by getting in touch with new ways of thinking and finding support to turn ideas into viable business; Differentiate themselves when enhancing productive competence while maintaining manufacturing standards and highly skilled labor; These could be regions that build connections in global networks to find resources and partners that can bridge other markets. These are referred to as forms of a global link to the local, with someone always thinking, someone implementing and someone playing the middle part. When applied to territorial marketing, the concept of brand and brand image is shown to be relevant to the theme. The first translates the differentiation of the location and the second conveys the identity of the destination (Morgan, Pritchard & Pride, 2011; Pike, 2015; Tasci & Kozak, 2006). As Keller (1993) indicates, the brand image is classified with the set of associations (present in the consumer’s memory regarding the brand), the level of the attributes (the personal value that the consumer attaches to the product and services), and finally on the attitudes (the consequence of the consumer’s evaluation of the brand). It is confirmed in one of research by Chen and Phou (2013) in which the authors support brand relationship theory, indicating that tourists form emotional relationships with destinations. Thus, the brand provides differentiation and imposes value on the product/service. From the perspective of 110

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Figure 1. Entities involved in the process of building territorial marketing. Source: Lubowiecki-Vikuk & Basińska-Zych (2011, p. 37).

territorial marketing, the brand must be built in such a way that the tourism product is identified by a sustainable advantage that makes a difference and stands from the competition.

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2.1. (Post)-Covid-19 Era The COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a huge public health problem with an impact on companies and consumers at the national and international levels. Measures were implemented in Portugal in response to COVID-19: limitations on travel rights, closure of commercial establishments, and a prohibition on holding events. Teleworking was also encouraged, and distance learning was promoted. Consumers and companies had to adjust their behavior, the mode of purchase, and the place of the purchase was changed. The companies took steps to continue the business because there is no knowledge of the end of the pandemic by Covid-19. Turismo de Portugal (Tourism in Portugal) will recognize companies in the tourism sector that comply with the recommendations of the directorate-general for health to avoid contamination of spaces with SARS-CoV-2 (new coronavirus). Tourist enterprises, tourist animation companies, and travel and tourism agencies wishing to obtain the “Clean & Safe Establishment” seal must comply with the set of

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Figure 2. Establishment Clean and Safe. Source: Turismo de Portugal (2020).

provisions contained in the ‘Declaration of Commitment’ that will be available on the digital platforms of Turismo de Portugal concerning the registration of tourist companies: national register of tourist enterprises, national register of tourist entertainment or national register of travel and tourism agencies. Only after companies have submitted the declaration of commitment on the platforms, do they have the possibility to use the seal in question, either in their physical facilities or in the channels and platforms for disclosure and sale. This measure, articulated with the Confederation of Tourism of Portugal and with contributions from other associations in the sector, seeks to sensitize enterprises to the minimum procedures to be adopted and encourage the recovery of the tourism sector at a national and international level, reinforcing confidence of everyone in the destination Portugal and its tourist resources. The search for sustainability is thus operationalized through this Portuguese measure.

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3. METHODOLOGY AND EVENTS CONTEXTS To answer the research question: What is the impact of territorial marketing regarding Braga Romana? we consider the qualitative paradigm to be the best research strategy. Throughout this method, the problem, which arises during the investigation, is described more generally (Coutinho, 2011). Regarding the data collection technique, we opted for the case study as it consists of “detailed observation of a context, or individual, from a single source of documents or specific event”, having a delimited area of research (Bogdan & Biklen, 1994). For this, we used two research tools: semi-structured interview and focus group. The first, allows us to draw a better analysis of the perspectives and experiences of the interviewees (Wahyuni, 2012). The focus group, our second tool, consists of listening to a group of people talking, in an open discussion, about the subjects of interest, offering deep insight and an enlarged perception. Braga Romana is a cultural event that occurs on the last days of May and portrays the city of Braga 2,000 years ago when the city integrated the Roman Empire. Here, the city’s commonplace as the capital of Gallecia (a Roman province) is remembered and recreated. This event, which was first held in 2003, counts already with sixteen editions. The latest of them happened between 22nd and 26th

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May 2019. Braga Romana will be the subject of this article, and, therefore, the spotlight of the practical part (semi-structured interviews and focus group). The interviews were conducted at the beginning of June 2019, the first lasted 30 minutes, the second about 15 minutes, and the third about 50 minutes. Every year, in the Braga Romana event we live a little of all that was and still is the august birthmark of the city, where we learn, revisit, enjoy, weep, and laugh, and whose relevant weight in the annals of history we acknowledge increasingly. The Braga Romana event is strongly recognized by the local community regarding the struggles and battles that involve city residents in honor of Roman times. Sport is, therefore, a practice much appreciated by the local community (and tourists) to differentiate the tourist event with a strong sporting perspective and with the appropriate equipment (Dzięgiel & LubowieckiVikuk, 2013), e.g. Combate Gladiadores Braga Romana – figure 3. Figure 3. Combat Gladiators Braga Roman in 2017.

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Source: https://webraga.pt/

The highlight of the event is the triumphal procession, where several animation groups, percussion groups, schools, and institutions from Braga come together to walk the streets of the city and spread the culture of the Roman people. Recreations of the Roman army, groups of citizens from different social spheres, Gods, and even gladiators are the main means of spreading the grandeur and cultural power of those people (figure 4). Throughout the days, several performances take place on the various stages entitled with the names of Roman gods, which spread over numerous points in the city center. Spectacles with fire, as is the case of “The daughters of Nereus”, where through dances and acrobatics, accompanied by torches and arches of fire, the antagonism between the subtlety of water and the power of fire is mirrored. Exotic animals are also present in several shows, for example in “Barbadis and his helper”, a narrative about Barbadis, a master of exotic animals and his comical helper, who between a lot of humor and interaction with the public showed different types of snakes and tarantulas. The Roman Board Games Tournament is the culmination of the dynamism of the games of the Mill, Soldier, Seega, and Tábula, in a school context, within the scope of the Centurium Educational

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Figure 4. Recreations of the Roman army.

Source: http://www.comumonline.com/ (Joana Mafalda Gomes/ComUM)

Project (figure 5). Students from different schools in different counties face each other to determine the absolute winner in each game and each step, namely: Primus Cycle; Secundus Cycle; Tetrium Cycle; Secundarium, and Inclusat. Theatre performances are also part of the script, with plays like “Medici” or “Família Vroculi”, with “Medici” being a satirical portrait of the rudimentary medical techniques that were used at the time, were a team formed by a doctor, a surgeon and a nurse was diagnosing and treating volunteers from the public. In the case of “Vroculi Family”, this is a family of street vendors, who in addition to their business are also storytellers, having told and interpreted the legend of Bacchus, Roman god of wine and excess. Both cartoons were based on humor, triggering laughter among those watching the performances. Figure 5. Centurium – X Romanian Games Tournament.

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Source: Município de Braga (2019).

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Therefore, relationship marketing in events tourism can be defined as creating, maintaining, and improving the mutually beneficial relations or possible termination of unfavourable relationships of management and events tourism with stakeholders. This is undertaken to satisfy the stakeholder’s need and to seek consensus between guest and events management and tourism interests in the development of tourism experiences. Satisfaction is considered a cognitive assessment, based on the personal experience of each of the events of the relationship. This concept is relationship quality, as it provides a summary of between the two parties; these interactions influence the expectations of quality of future interaction and, therefore, the general evaluation of the relationship (Berezina et al., 2016).

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4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION From a general perspective, our study aims to discuss the impact of implementing a strategic plan tailored to the needs of an event of this magnitude, like the case of Braga Romana. Tourism is a phenomenon that moves millions of people around the world, taking as a major driver of the global economy. Every year, much due to the frequent changes in the tourism environment, fosters competition between and within tourist destinations (Ferreira & Sousa, 2020). It is a multifaceted and geographically complex activity (Santos et al., 2021), where different services are ordered and delivered in different stages, from origin to destination (Hultman, Skarmeas, Oghazi, & Beheshti, 2015). In a slender context, we consider the best strategy for this study to be the qualitative paradigm, as we believe, like Guba and Lincoln (1988), that the reality of promoting an event is extremely complex and that only a holistic view of it can ensure a broad understanding of this process. At the first stage of the project (interviews), an analysis will be made of the results of the interviews conducted with interviewed 1 (owner of an establishment in the city of Braga), interviewed 2 (participant in the market of Braga Romana event, resident in Braga) and interviewed 3 (councilwoman). Subsequently, we proceed with the demonstration of the results of the covered issues, in the form of topics that resulted from the established dialogue. In this context, place marketing is one of the areas of marketing where there has been a higher growth and more relevant for the development and growth of cities. The growing business opportunity in the services sector, where cities are incorporated and reinforces the similarities that this sector has with the business activity, and the way some tools adapted to this new reality can be fundamental knowledge of how the cities will be affected by any changes. Even regarding this issue, the concepts of social marketing, the non-profit marketing, and the notion that the image to which individuals associate a product with poorly contoured outlined, as the cities seen as a product are, they were also major drivers since it showed that the marketing did not enjoy just to make a profit, but also creating initiatives that define the main objective of the common product. There is a consensus among many authors to classify the urgency to meet the needs of various types of consumers as essential, whether businessmen, tourists, or residents, both current and potential, through social processes and management guidance policy (Ribeiro & Sousa, 2016). This study had several limitations. First, it focuses on the opinions of a small number of people. This group should be expanded to include tourists, mass media representatives, investors, and other important stakeholders. Secondly, historical events attract a specific audience. Therefore, identification of the city’s image attributes is necessary.

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CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH The recent pandemic of the new coronavirus has significantly changed the lifestyle of the population, with a strong impact on the tourism, events, and sports sector. Consequently, the Braga Romana (Portugal) tourist, cultural and sporting event was canceled in the year 2020 due to the covid-19. This chapter intended to present a retrospective of this event and the growing importance of the safety and hygiene seal as a response (and anticipation) to the 2021 edition. The future (post-covid-19) will not be easy. It is a challenge with a lot of uncertainty. The present study highlights the importance of strategic planning at the territorial marketing level as a way of developing a particular destination, and in this case as a way of developing the Braga Romana event. It was found that, in addition to having a good development strategy and targeting a significant number of tourists, it is still essential to think about several strategies so that both residents, tourists, and visitors feel interconnected. Through this study, it was possible to found that residents like and seek to be part of this event and somehow, they are proud to be able to convey this passage of Roman traditions that can be passed on the various days of the event, however, some concerns have such as communication, transport, and even traffic infrastructure. During the focus group interview, the importance of a development strategy plan for the event was evident and several suggestions were mentioned by the interviewees. Regarding the issue of the importance of a strategy plan, the focus group members considered that it is important to define and prepare a strategic plan to improve the dissemination and communication of the event. The interviewed elements also consider that it is important to have a translation of the programs for foreigners, since the event already has a very large tourist dimension and mention that this implementation does not have a paper-based indicator, mainly because, nowadays, technologies are already an important and central means of publicizing a particular product. Thus, the interviewees conclude that one of the strategies to be applied for better dissemination of the event would be the creation of an application related to Braga Romana. They also suggest that it does not necessarily need to be only used during the event, but also for anyone visiting the city at other times of the year, as it is a city with great Roman impact. At the second stage (focus group) of the project, we analyze the data results obtained through the focus group. Initially, a general characterization is made, followed by an individual characterization of each of the participants involved in the data collection. The four sub-points analyzed constitute the main themes of analysis and result from content analysis and data interpretation. The focus group consists of nine elements, six female and three males, with the participation of three young people aged between 11 and 26 and six elements aged between 44 and 63 years. Regarding the academic and professional level of the participants, two are students, and seven are in the labor market, distinguishing themselves in quite different areas of work. However, the common feature among the interviewees is the fact that they attended and experienced the Braga Romana event. As a future approach, we believe that is important to implement a case of study of a quantitative nature to know the opinion of a larger number of residents and even to perceive the opinion of those who visited the event, to understand if they were well received and how they were aware of the event. Also, as a way of improving and recognizing the city of Bracara – Roman city, it would be important to carry out a project to develop a digital application, as a way of spreading the various local monuments and even the customs and traditions of the Roman past that once lived on the city of Braga. This chapter shows how event planners in Braga developed a means to evaluate value equity among business and leisure travelers. We intend, in a second stage, to present the results of group comparisons in structural equation modeling, to demonstrate that event planners need to consider the classificatory status of their target customers – that is, as business or leisure travelers – because both groups assess aspects of a 116

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venue’s value equity actions similarly and differently. Future research should reveal several potentials of individual destination attributes to cause satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction, and it shed light on the most determinant and critical attributes in explaining the overall tourist experience, in specific the case of events and local development. We are intent to show shows how these valid questions can be answered by introducing causal modeling and discussing one approach to it, structural equation modeling, which is a rigorous technique for building and testing such models. It is an advanced statistical methodology that delivers models and results that are easy to understand and employ. We are intent to confirm that a causal relationship exists (i.e., measurement over time should confirm that change in one variable precedes a change in the other; a controlled experiment is required that changes a single variable; the direction of causality must be correctly specified; the relationship must not disappear when common causes of both are removed and the causal effect “makes sense” in domain knowledge) (Elliott, 2003). The new vogue of events tourism (post-covid-19 era) forces us to challenge and re-visit the power relationships that exist within contemporary tourism and the host-guest relationship.

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Ratten, V., Tsiotsou, R., Ko, Y. J., Kim, Y. K., Kim, M. K., & Lee, J. H. (2010). The role of involvement and identification on event quality perceptions and satisfaction. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 22(1), 25–39. doi:10.1108/13555851011013137 Recommendations on Tourism Statistics. (1994). United Nations and World Tourism Organization. Ribeiro, I., & Sousa, B. (2016). City marketing and tourist events: An exploratory study of residents regarding the Carnival of Over. International Journal of Scientific and Technology Research, 5(10), 18–21. Rola, M., Malheiro, A. & Sousa, B. (2018). O papel da imagem dos eventos culturais na construção da marca de um destino turístico: O caso do evento “Braga Romana”. Dos Algarves: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal, 33, 1-21.

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Rosenbaum, M. S., & Wong, I. A. (2010). Value equity in event planning: A case study of Macau. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 28(4), 403–417. doi:10.1108/02634501011053540 Ruyi, X., & Pegg, S. (2007). Exploring the motivations for participant engagement in the Australian university games. International Journal of Event Management Research, 3(2), 39–46. Santos, V., Ramos, P., Sousa, B., & Valeri, M. (2021). Towards a Framework for the global wine tourism system. Journal of Organizational Change Management. Advance online publication. doi:10.1108/ JOCM-11-2020-0362 Sousa, B., & Ribeiro, I. (2018). City marketing e os eventos: Um estudo de caso aplicado ao Carnaval de Ovar. European Journal of Applied Business Management, 73-84. Sousa, B., & Silva, M. (2019). Creative tourism and destination marketing as Asafeguard of the cultural heritage of regions: The case of Sabugueiro village. Revista Brasileira de Gestão e Desenvolvimento Regional, 15(5), 78–92. Sousa, B., & Simões, C. (2010). Comportamento e perfil do consumidor de turismo de nichos. TékhneRevista de Estudos Politécnicos, 14, 137–146. Sousa, B. M., & Rocha, A. T. (2019). An afetividade na gestão dos territórios e na fixação da população: Uma abordagem ao contexto transmontano português. Revista Brasileira de Gestão e Desenvolvimento Regional, 15(1), 2–18. Tasci, A. D. A., & Kozak, M. (2006). Destination brands vs. destination images: Do we know what we mean? Journal of Vacation Marketing, 12(4), 299–317. doi:10.1177/1356766706067603 Tideswell, C., & Faulkner, B. (1997). A framework for monitoring community impacts of tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 5(1), 3–28. doi:10.1080/09669589708667273 Wahyuni, D. (2012). The research design maze: Understanding paradigms, cases, methods and methodologies. Journal of Applied Management Accounting, 10(1), 69–80.

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Zitta, C. (2014). Organização de eventos: da ideia à realidade (Vol. 5). Senac.

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KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

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Consumer Behaviour: The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and all the activities associated with the purchase, use, and disposal of goods and services, including the consumer’s emotional, mental, and behavioral responses that precede or follow these activities. E-Satisfaction: The contentment of a consumer concerning his or her prior purchasing experiences with a given retail-oriented website. E-WOM: Is any positive or negative statement made by a potential, actual, or former customer which is available to a multitude of people via the internet. Social Media: Social media are interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests, and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks. Social Networks: Is a social structure composed of persons or organizations, connected by one or several types of relationships, which share common values and goals.

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Chapter 8

Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic Asli Elif Aydin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9145-386X Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey

ABSTRACT The infuence of perceived barriers and expected benefts of exercise on exercise behavior is well recognized. During the pandemic, individuals’ ability to perform physical activities is restricted due to isolation conditions. Still, adherence to exercise is more important than ever, considering the positive impact of physical activity on the immune system. Additionally, exercise helps people get rid of anxiety, depression, and stress, which tend to escalate in the pandemic. This chapter aims to increase exercise participation by understanding perceived barriers and expected benefts of exercise during the pandemic. The relationship between isolation, exercise, mental and physiological health during the pandemic will be discussed. Moreover, a review of the perceived barriers and expected benefts of exercise will be made. Last, an empirical study examining these relationships will be made.

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INTRODUCTION Physical activity is one of the main pillars of physiological and psychological health (Hardman & Stensel, 2009; Netz et al., 2005). Recent studies report that even non-vigorous, regular physical activity promotes good health and improves longevity (Bouchard, Blair, & Haskell, 2012). A positive relationship exists between the amount of physical activity and benefits received in return, implicating a better quality of life with more exercise (Manley, 1996). Given the evident value of pursuing an active lifestyle, most individuals attempt to embrace an exercise regime within their daily routines. The increase in the widespread adoption of a sedentary lifestyle also heightens the need for leisure-time exercise. The Covid-19 pandemic brought out limitations in individuals’ ability to perform physical activities. Due to quarantines and nationwide shutdowns, many people had to remain at their homes. While staying DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch008

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 Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

at home, individuals could not walk/cycle as a means of transportation, and they could not carry out their outdoor exercises (Physiopedia, 2020). Additionally, facilities like fitness clubs and gyms were either completely closed or operated under strict regulations. Most group fitness exercises are cancelled due to social-distancing measures. Despite these limitations, physical activity is even more essential today, considering its positive effects on the body and the mind (WHO, 2020). Regardless of its frequency, exercise is beneficial for physical and mental health (Garber et al., 2011). Physical activity is considered a preventative measure since it boosts the immune system and strengthens the whole body’s defenses (Ravalli & Musumeci, 2020). Moreover, regular exercise helps individuals deal with anxiety and stress induced by pandemic conditions (Teferi, 2020). A significant predictor of exercise participation is individuals’ perceived barriers and benefits to exercise. It is suggested that as individuals’ perceived level of exercise barriers increases, their participation rates decrease (Taylor et al., 2002). Moreover, an increase in the expected benefits of exercise improves participation rates (Bandura, 1997). Examining the changes in perceived benefits and barriers to exercise caused by social isolation will be valuable to predict adherence to exercise. In that perspective, this chapter aims to examine individuals’ leisure-time exercise behavior during pandemic-induced isolation conditions. Specifically, perceived barriers and expected benefits of leisuretime exercise in a period of social distancing will be discussed. It is widely acknowledged that once the determinants of exercising behavior are known, intervention programs to increase exercise participation rates will be designed with more success. Therefore, from a public health perspective, understanding these drivers will be beneficial to increase physical activity during isolation periods (Souza et al., 2020). The remaining of the chapter will be organized as follows: First, the relationship among isolation, physical activity, mental and physiological health during the pandemic will be discussed. Next, a review of the perceived barriers and expected benefits of exercise will be made. The final section will present the empirical study results and discussions.

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BACKGROUND The influences of perceived barriers and expected benefits of physical activity on exercising behavior are mainly examined within the framework of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986). The social cognitive theory recognizes self-efficacy as a primary determinant of behavior. Another essential construct is outcome expectations, which are considered as anticipated consequences of behavior. Individuals who perceive that positive outcomes can be achieved with exercise will adhere to exercise (Bandura, 1997). Moreover, it is suggested that as individuals’ perceived barriers to exercise increase, their self-efficacy levels along with their physical activity decrease (Trost et al., 2002). Even though exercise’s outcome expectations influence physical activity, perceived barriers of exercise are more influential in determining the amount of physical activity (Taylor et al., 2002).

Expected Benefits of Exercise Several studies investigated the expected benefits of physical activity. In general, three categories of expected outcomes are identified: results related to psychological state, body image, and health (Steinhardt &Dishman, 1989). Having fun while exercising and socializing with people are considered psychological 123

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 Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

motivators that drive people to exercise (Willis & Campbell, 1992). Mental well-being and stress management is another frequently reported expected benefit within the psychological domain (Portela-Pino et al., 2020). Other motives for physical activity are improving stamina and enhancing mood (Hoare et al., 2017). Improvement in daily tasks such as improved work quality and increased mental alertness is another expected outcome that correlates highly with physical activity (Brown, 2005). Regarding body image category, controlling body weight and having a better physical appearance is also expected as an outcome of working out (Hoare et al., 2017). Furthermore, being fit, feeling more attractive, and improving self-esteem are listed as benefits of adherence to exercise (Rogers et al., 2007). Lastly, concerning the health category, some of the most commonly expected exercise benefits are determined as improving health and decreasing the risk of sickness (Cohen-Mansfield et al., 2003). Some studies made comparisons based on the outcome expectations of exercise between physically active and sedentary individuals. Overall, it is suggested that exercisers perceive more physical activity benefits than non-exercisers (Grubbs & Carter, 2002). It is demonstrated that active individuals expect enjoyment, relaxation, and fitness from exercise, whereas inactive individuals consider health benefits as the primary outcomes of physical activity (Davies, 2016). Another comparison between frequent exercisers and infrequent exercisers reveals that both groups anticipated fitness and appearance outcomes from working out; however, regular exercisers expected more fun, mastery, and social motives (Ryan et al., 1997). Individual differences in participatory motives also received some scholarly attention. Regarding gender differences, it is reported that while men mainly exercise for enjoyment and to pass the time, women exercise primarily to be in good shape (Slater & Tiggemann, 2011). Concerning age, competitiveness, enjoyment, social acceptance, and belonging are identified as the leading motives for adolescents’ exercising (Portela-Pino et al., 2020), whereas improving health is recognized as the most prominent motive for the elderly (Cohen-Mansfield et al., 2003). Comparison based on obesity status reveals that the expected outcome of fun and enjoyment is higher for non-obese individuals than obese individuals (Leone & Ward, 2013). Expected benefits for exercise participation also differ across personality dimensions, such that individuals who score high on neuroticism are mainly motivated to improve their physical appearances (Davis et al., 1995). Moreover, extroverted individuals expect to have fun and the chance to socialize with exercise, and conscientious individuals seek health benefits (Courneya & Hellsten, 1998). Individuals who score high on the openness dimension value relieving stress with exercise (Courneya & Hellsten, 1998).

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Perceived Barriers of Exercise In addition to the expected benefits, several studies focused on perceived barriers to physical activity. Perceived barriers are examined under two categories: internal and external barriers (Brinthaupt, Kang, & Anshel, 2010). Within internal barriers, lack of time has been one of the most commonly reported perceived barriers to exercise (Godin et al., 1994; Booth et al., 1997). Physical exhaustion is another obstacle to physical activity (Van Royen et al., 2015). Moreover, lack of drive also impedes exercising behavior (Buman et al., 2010; Langguth et al., 2015). Being embarrassed and self-conscious further decrease exercising tendencies (Grubbs & Carter, 2002). Barriers caused by physical limitations pertain to health-related issues and perceived health restrictions on exercise participation (Pender, 1996). External barriers comprise lack of sports equipment, lack of convenient places to exercise, and adverse weather conditions (Kulavic et al., 2013). It is suggested that lack of resources hinders physical activity as well 124

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 Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

(Uddin et al., 2018). Finally, barriers caused by others, which is another external factor that prevents adherence to exercise, relate to the absence of social encouragement that is provided by family members and significant others (Mailey et al., 2016). Studies also examined the distinctions between physically active and sedentary individuals regarding the perceived barriers of exercise. It is demonstrated that physically inactive individuals recognize physical risk, lack of drive, and bad mood as primary reasons for not engaging in physical activity. In contrast, physically active individuals identify lack of time, laziness, and bodily indisposition as barriers to exercise (Lees et al., 2005). Perceived barriers to physical activity differ depending on some personal characteristics. For instance, among teenagers, tiredness, shortness of time, and laziness are identified as significant obstacles to exercising (Portela-Pino et al., 2020). On the other hand, elder individuals indicate health problems, fear of injury, negative mood, and lack of time as the primary reasons for not participating to exercise (Grossman & Stewart, 2003; Lees et al., 2005). Concerning gender, it is shown that women perceive more obstacles to exercising than men (Roselli et al., 2020; Sørensen & Gill, 2008). Specifically, women stated more health barriers, priority barriers, and practical barriers than men (Sørensen & Gill, 2008). Based on body mass index (BMI), individuals with high BMI indicate perceived barriers of discomfort after activity, lack of social support, and a poor environment more than individuals with low BMI values (Ishii et al., 2009). Regarding personality differences, it is suggested that individuals who score high on neuroticism find having insufficient drive and being self-conscious as barriers to exercise (Courneya & Hellsten, 1998).

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Isolation, Physical Activity, and Well-Being The social isolation construct is described as the state of physical, social, or psychological distancing among people distinguished by low social connection. Social isolation experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic produces various adverse effects on individuals’ physical and mental health (Teferi, 2020). The increase in sedentary lifestyle during the pandemic poses great risks to cardiovascular health (Peçanha et al., 2020). The state of physical inactivity, which is experienced commonly during self-confinement, heightens the probability of putting on weight, swelling, increased blood pressure, and insulin resistance (Souza et al., 2020). Additionally, quarantines are most likely to aggravate psychological issues like stress, fear, anger, insomnia, and depression that may expand into long-term problems (Torales et al., 2020). Several studies investigate the impact of physical activity on social isolation and health problems connection. First and foremost, a significant association exists between social isolation and physical inactivity for several age groups (Schrempft et al., 2019; Werneck et al., 2019). Besides, it is demonstrated that the relationship between social isolation and depression signs is mediated by out-of-home physical activity (Herbolsheimer et al., 2018). In other words, as individuals get socially isolated, they adopted less outof-home physical activity habits, which leads to more depressive symptoms (Herbolsheimer et al., 2018). It is suggested that physical activity is invaluable to overcome the adverse effects of confinement on mental health (Matias et al., 2020). During the nationwide lockdown in Spain, a study shows that participants, who adopted frequent vigorous physical activity, experienced increased optimism, selfefficacy, and locus of control (Carriedo et al., 2020). Another study using a sample of Chinese children and adolescents in isolation reveals that mood states are influenced by physical activity levels such that active individuals had better moods (Zhang et al. 2020). It is further indicated that increased physical activity is associated with reduced mood disturbances (Kang et al., 2020). 125

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 Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Physical activity also strengthens general health. First, physical activity has a positive impact on the immune system (Teferi, 2020). Individuals’ cardiorespiratory endurance also improves with regular exercise (Garber et al., 2011). People can improve their physical well-being by losing weight with aerobic exercise (Donnelly et al., 2009). Given the positive impact of physical activity on the immune system and respiratory system, being active is especially important in the face of Covid-19 risk (Dwyer et al., 2020). In line with that, World Health Organization recommends adults to participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity workout every week (WHO, 2020).

The Study In this chapter, apart from the conceptual review, an empirical study will analyze individuals’ perceived barriers and expected benefits of physical activities during the pandemic period. One of this study’s goals is to investigate the relationship between isolation and perceived barriers, anticipated benefits of physical activity, and exercise behavior. The study also depicts the significant predictors of total exercise intensity during the pandemic.

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Method The empirical study for this chapter is conducted in Turkey from April to May 2020. Turkey has been in partial lockdown during this period. Curfews were in place during the weekends. Schools have been closed, and many employees worked from home. Activities of all indoor and outdoor sports facilities have been suspended. The data for the study is collected through a web-based survey. Convenient sampling is employed while aiming to attain a representative frequency distribution of sample characteristics. The sample consists of 175 participants comprising 83 men and 92 women with an average age of 34,05 (SD = 12,59). Mean weight is 69,11 kg (SD = 14,47), and mean height is 171,63 cm (SD = 9,27). The average body mass index score for the sample is 23,30 (3,55). One hundred ten participants are single, and one hundred eighteen participants have no children. The questionnaire contains several self-reported measures: Physical Activity Perceived Barriers Scale, Physical Activity Expected Benefits Scale, Leisure-time Exercise Scale. The Physical Activity Perceived Barriers Scale is included in the survey to assess how each barrier prevented the participants from exercising during the pandemic period. The scale, which comprises 12 items, is adapted from several questionnaires (Steinhardt & Dishman, 1989; Rogers et al., 2007). Respondents are asked to indicate how often each item prevented them from exercising during the pandemic period. Items related to internal barriers (e.g., lack of time, self-discipline, fun) and external obstacles (e.g., lack of equipment, space, company) are included in the scale. Items are rated on a 5-point Likerttype scale ranging from (1) never to (5) very often. The Physical Activity Expected Benefits Scale is included in the survey to assess how each anticipated outcome contributed to getting the participants to engage in exercise during the pandemic period. The scale, which comprises 14 items, is also adapted from several questionnaires (Rogers et al., 2007; Steinhardt & Dishman, 1989). Respondents are asked to indicate how often each item contributed to getting them to engage in exercise during the pandemic period. Items related to psychological (e.g., less stress, less depression), health (e.g., improving health, reduced disease risk), and body image (e.g.,

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losing weight, feeling more attractive) benefits are included in the scale. A 5-point Likert-type scale is used, ranging from (1) never to (5) very often. Furthermore, Leisure-time Exercise Scale (Godin & Shephard, 1985) is included in the survey to assess the frequency of strenuous, moderate, and mild exercise in a week during the pandemic period. While strenuous exercise refers to activities that induce rapid heartbeat, such as running, heavy lifting, and fast cycling, moderate exercise refers to not exhausting activities, such as fast walking, dancing, and slow cycling. On the other hand, mild exercise refers to activities that require minimal effort, such as yoga and easy walking. Respondents are asked to indicate how many times on average they participated in the three types of exercise for more than 15 minutes in a week. Other than the individual exercise scores, a total exercise score is computed by multiplying strenuous, moderate, and mild exercise frequencies by nine, five, and three, respectively, and getting the summated score of the products (Godin & Shephard, 1985). In addition to these scales, participants’ extent of isolation during the pandemic period is enquired. Respondents are asked to indicate how often they left the house during the pandemic period. A 7-point Likert-type scale is used, ranging from (1) I left the house as often as before to (7) I did not leave the house at all. Lastly, demographic characteristics, namely age, gender, BMI, marital status, and household size, are probed.

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Analysis and Results The descriptive statistics of exercise behavior perceived barriers of exercise, and expected benefits of exercise are presented in Table 1. The expected benefits with highest mean values are increased physical fitness (M = 3,94), increased energy (M = 3,82), improved state of mind (M = 3,74), and improved health (M = 3,73). On the other hand, the perceived barriers with the highest mean values are fatigue (or lack of energy) (M = 2,90), lack of self-discipline (M = 2,86), and lack of interest in exercise (M = 2,56). Regarding exercise behavior, respondents indicated participating in mild exercises (M = 2,32) most frequently. Next, perceived barriers, expected benefits, and exercise behavior are compared based on the extent of participants’ isolation. First, two groups are made based on their degree of isolation. The sample is grouped in two using a median split of the extent of isolation. Those with isolation scores equal to and above the median of six are placed in the high isolation group, and the remaining participants are placed in the low isolation group. A comparison of perceived barriers across high and low isolation groups reveals significant differences (Table 2). It is demonstrated that high isolation group perceived higher barriers of fatigue (t (173) = -2,00; p < 0.05), lack of self-discipline (t (173) = -2.47; p < 0.05), lack of interest in exercise (t (173) = -2.39; p < 0.05), not prioritizing exercise (t (173) = -2.67; p < 0.01), lack of enjoyment from exercise (t (173) = -2.00; p < 0.05) and getting bored with exercise (t (173) = -2.38; p < 0.05). Expected benefits are primarily similar in high and low isolation groups. Only a marginally significant difference is found for fun and enjoyment benefits (t (173) = 1.74; p < 0.10), which is higher for the low isolation group. There are no other significant differences. Last, exercise behavior is compared across high and low isolation groups. It is shown that, strenuous exercise levels are higher for low isolation group (t (173) = 3.56; p < 0.001). Moreover, a marginally significant difference exists for the moderate exercise levels (t (173) = 1.87; p < 0.10) such that the frequency of exercise is higher for the low isolation group. The total exercise score is significantly dif127

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 Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Table 1. Descriptives for exercise variables, perceived barriers, and expected benefits Expected Benefits

Mean

SD

Perceived Barriers

Mean

SD

Feeling less bored

2,98

1,20

Fatigue (or lack of energy)

2,90

1,25

Feeling less stressed

3,22

1,26

Lack of self-discipline

2,86

1,23

Less depression

3,14

1,30

Lack of interest in exercise

2,56

1,27

Improving self-esteem

3,34

1,25

Exercise is not a priority

2,19

1,21

Feeling more attractive

3,15

1,24

Lack of enjoyment from exercise

2,32

1,28

Improved state of mind

3,74

1,12

Lack of company

2,48

1,45

Fun and enjoyment

3,37

1,28

Lack of time

2,15

1,35

Losing/maintaining weight

3,58

1,39

Lack of equipment

2,03

1,22

Building muscle strength

3,69

1,21

Bad weather

1,72

1,03

Increased physical fitness

3,94

1,01

Family responsibilities

2,10

1,30

Increased energy

3,82

1,07

Exercise is boring

1,90

1,16

Improved appearance

3,73

1,17

No space to exercise

1,99

1,26

Reduced disease risk

3,58

1,20

Improved health

3,73

1,16

Total exercise

34,22

24,29

Strenuous exercise

1,88

1,95

Moderate exercise

2,07

2,04

Mild exercise

2,32

1,86

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Exercise Behavior

ferent across high and low isolation groups (t (173) = 3.26; p < 0.001). The total exercise score of the high isolation group is significantly lower. Pearson correlations are computed to examine the relationships between barriers, benefits, and exercise behavior. Initially, items that constitute perceived barriers are grouped as internal and external barriers, whereas items that include expected benefits are grouped as psychological, health, and body-image-related benefits. Apart from external barriers, internal barriers and all types of expected benefits demonstrate significant correlations with strenuous exercise, moderate exercise, and total exercise intensity (Table 3). It is revealed that mild activity is not significantly correlated with any barriers or benefits. Finally, a regression analysis is made to investigate the influence of perceived barriers and expected benefits along with the extent of isolation and demographic factors on total exercise intensity (Table 4). The multiple regression analysis predicting total exercise intensity is significant (R2 = 0.28, p < 0.001). Results indicate that the extent of isolation significantly predicts exercise behavior, such that an increase in the extent of isolation decreases total exercise intensity (b = -0,19, p < 0,01). Internal barriers also predict exercise behavior, as reduced internal barriers increase exercise intensity (b = -0,19, p < 0,05). Last, a significant relationship between expected benefits related to body image and exercise behavior is found. As individuals’ expected benefits related to body image increase so does their exercise intensity (b = 0,26, p < 0,05).

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Table 2. Means, standard deviations, independent t-test and effect size of exercise behavior, barriers and benefits according to the degree of isolation Low Isolation (n=76)

High Isolation (n=99)

M (Std.)

M (Std.)

t

p

d

Perceived Barriers Fatigue (or lack of energy)

2,68 (1,20)

3,06 (1,26)

-2,00

0,047

-0,30

Lack of self-discipline

2,61 (1,16)

3,06 (1,25)

-2,47

0,015

-0,38

Lack of interest in exercise

2,30 (1,21)

2,76 (1,28)

-2,39

0,018

-0,36

Exercise is not a priority

1,92 (1,07)

2,39 (1,27)

-2,67

0,008

-0,40

Lack of enjoyment from exercise

2,11 (1,16)

2,48 (1,34)

-2,00

0,047

-0,30

Lack of company

2,59 (1,48)

2,39 (1,43)

0,90

0,372

0,14

Lack of time

1,97 (1,19)

2,28 (1,45)

-1,55

0,123

-0,23

Lack of equipment

2,04 (1,23)

2,02 (1,23)

0,10

0,918

0,02

Bad weather

1,78 (1,12)

1,68 (0,97)

0,63

0,529

0,10

Family responsibilities

1,95 (1,15)

2,21 (1,40)

-1,37

0,173

-0,20

Exercise is boring

1,67 (0,94)

2,07 (1,28)

-2,38

0,019

-0,35

No space to exercise

1,95 (1,26)

2,02 (1,27)

-0,38

0,707

-0,06

Feeling less bored

3,01 (1,30)

2,96 (1,12)

0,29

0,771

0,04

Feeling less stressed

3,32 (1,36)

3,14 (1,18)

0,89

0,374

0,14

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Expected Benefit

Less depression

3,20 (1,41)

3,09 (1,21)

0,53

0,600

0,08

Improving self-esteem

3,38 (1,40)

3,31 (1,13)

0,35

0,729

0,05

Feeling more attractive

3,33 (1,43)

3,02 (1,07)

1,58

0,117

0,25

Improved state of mind

3,83 (1,23)

3,67 (1,04)

0,93

0,356

0,14

Fun and enjoyment

3,57 (1,38)

3,22 (1,18)

1,74

0,085

0,27

Losing/maintaining weight

3,51 (1,50)

3,64 (1,31)

-0,57

0,570

-0,09

Building muscle strength

3,71 (1,23)

3,68 (1,19)

0,18

0,855

0,03

Increased physical fitness

3,96 (1,08)

3,92 (0,96)

0,27

0,789

0,04

Increased energy

3,83 (1,16)

3,81 (0,99)

0,13

0,898

0,02

Improved appearance

3,78 (1,25)

3,69 (1,10)

0,50

0,617

0,08

Reduced disease risk

3,59 (1,29)

3,57 (1,13)

0,14

0,885

0,02

Improved health

3,68 (1,26)

3,76 (1,09)

-0,41

0,680

-0,06

Strenuous exercise

2,46 (2,04)

1,43 (1,76)

3,56

0,00

0,54

Moderate exercise

2,39 (1,94)

1,82 (2,08)

1,87

0,06

0,29

Mild exercise

2,25 (1,92)

2,37 (1,81)

-0,44

0,66

-0,07

Total exercise score

40,87 (25,80)

29,12 (21,86)

3,26

0,00

0,50

Exercise Behavior

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Table 3. Pairwise correlations between exercise behavior, perceived barriers, and expected benefits Strenuous Exercise

Moderate Exercise

Mild Exercise

Total Exercise Intensity

0,178*

0,186*

0,083

0,226**

Psychological benefits

0,187*

0,227**

0,020

0,235**

Body image benefits

0,277**

0,303**

0,041

0,336**

Internal barriers

-0,317**

-0,217**

0,048

-0,309**

External barriers

-0,044

-0,013

-0,001

-0,038

Health benefits

* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS In general, participants indicated higher levels of agreement with the benefit items compared to barrier items (Mbenefit = 3,50; Mbarrier = 2,27). Increased physical fitness is determined as the most substantial benefit of exercise. An increase in physical fitness will likely help individuals carry out sports activities and their jobs and everyday activities with ease. Consequently, increased physical fitness is identified as the factor that gets them to engage in exercise. Regarding the barriers, lack of energy or fatigue is identified as the most prominent barrier. Individuals who endure additional burdens during the pandemic, such as handling new chores at home, dealing Table 4. Multiple Linear Regression Model

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Variable

B

Std. Error

Beta

t

Sig.

(Constant)

46,97

16,51

2,85

0,01

Health benefits

0,68

2,38

0,03

0,29

0,77

Psychological benefits

-0,81

2,37

-0,03

-0,34

0,73

Body image benefits

6,55

2,90

0,26

2,26

0,03

Internal barriers

-5,86

2,49

-0,19

-2,36

0,02

External barriers

0,56

2,28

0,02

0,25

0,81

Isolation

-2,64

1,01

-0,19

-2,61

0,01

Age

-0,08

0,20

-0,04

-0,38

0,71

Gender

-4,35

4,09

-0,09

-1,06

0,29

BMI

-0,05

0,56

-0,01

-0,09

0,93

Marital status

-4,92

4,64

-0,10

-1,06

0,29

Children

-4,46

3,58

-0,13

-1,24

0,22

R Square

0,28

Adjusted R Square

0,23

Std. Error of the Estimate

21,30

F-statistic

5,69

N

175

130

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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 Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

with difficulties of remote working conditions, monitoring distance education for the children, etc., do not have enough energy to exercise. Besides, fatigue may be perceived as a significant barrier since individuals can easily get caught in a vicious circle: they perceive exercise as fatiguing, and the less they exercise, the more fatiguing it gets (Lovell et al., 2010). The comparison of high and low isolation groups demonstrates significant differences for several perceived barriers. Fatigue, lack of self-discipline, lack of interest in exercise, and not prioritizing physical activity become more significant barriers to exercise participation for individuals confined at home than those who are not under strict isolation. Another finding of the study is that participation in strenuous exercise is lower for individuals under strict isolation. A marginally significant difference exists for moderate exercise yet, for vigorous exercise, which requires more motivation for adherence, the difference is more pronounced. Additionally, the total exercise amount is also lower for the high isolation group. It is possible that on top of the high barriers, changes in routines might make it difficult to incorporate exercise activities in the new normal daily life. It is suggested that habits are an essential part of exercise behavior, and automaticity may lead to exercise adherence (Rhodes & Bruijn, 2010). Consequently, disturbance of the established habits makes it difficult to continue to exercise. The results of the regression analysis demonstrate that internal barriers are prominent predictors of exercise behavior. This finding is consistent with prior studies, such that those, who do not prioritize exercising, who feel tired or bored, exercise less (Gjestvang et al., 2020; Louw et al., 2012; Manaf, 2013). External barriers, such as lack of company or lack of space, are not significantly associated with this sample’s type of exercise behavior frequency. It can be deduced that situational difficulties arising with home confinement do not reduce exercise frequency substantially. Instead, individuals mainly suffer from a lack of intrinsic motivators, probably due to increased anxiety and stress symptoms (Torales et al., 2020). A critical finding of the study is the significant association between the extent of isolation and total exercise. In particular, an increase in isolation leads to less activity. This relationship is observed with some recent studies (Hall et al., 2020; Sekulic et al., 2020). One study attributes the decrease in exercise levels in isolation to increased screen time (Mon-López et al. 2020). Another suggests that due to the increase in chronic stress, individuals’ willingness to exercise drops (Burtscher et al., 2020). Among the benefit types, only the benefit related to body image has a significant relationship with total exercise. Specifically, benefits such as losing weight, improving appearance, and feeling more attractive contribute to getting individuals to engage in exercise. One likely account for this relationship is that in addition to many changes occurring in individuals’ life incurred by the isolation, one notable change occurs with their eating behavior (Herle et al., 2020). More individuals struggled with self-control regarding food, eat more frequently, and expect more weight gain during the pandemic period (Chopra et al., 2020; Robinson et al., 2020). As eating and exercise behavior relate to body image, individuals might be motivated to compensate for the negative impact of disorderly eating on body image through engaging in exercising behavior. The findings of this study provide implications for isolation conditions both during and after the pandemic. First, it is vital to develop regular exercise habits in isolation before vicious circles, such as stress-reducing exercise intent, which leads to less exercise and more stress, are established (Burtscher et al., 2020). Intervention programs that encourage individuals to engage in physical activity and overcome exercise’s internal barriers are essential. It should be recommended to start exercise routines before internal obstacles such as fatigue and lack of interest are established. Promoting home exercise activi131

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Expected Benefits and Perceived Barriers to Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ties, encouraging the use of exergaming and participation in online fitness classes might get people to remain active even in home-confinement circumstances. Last, since body image-related benefits predict exercise, persuasive communications can be designed with more effectiveness by addressing weight loss and appearance benefits. It is also important to note the limitations of the study. Further research is needed to validate the findings of this study with a larger and representative sample. It will further improve the validity of the results if objective measures of exercise behavior are employed instead of the self-report measure used in this study. Finally, longitudinal studies that examine the relationships analyzed in this study might provide fruitful results.

CONCLUSION The influence of perceived barriers and expected benefits of exercise on exercise behavior has been widely acknowledged (Portela-Pino et al., 2020; Ryan et al., 1997). During the pandemic, individuals’ exercise habits are disturbed due to either enforced quarantines or self-isolation worldwide. On top of that, many individuals suffer from increased anxiety, depression, and stress, crippling their motivation to exercise (Herbolsheimer et al., 2018). Considering the importance of exercise for psychological and physical health, increasing adherence to exercise by understanding perceived barriers and expected benefits of exercise during the pandemic is particularly important. The study presents implications for policymakers. Understanding the most commonly reported perceived barriers and expected benefits of exercise during lockdowns is essential. Furthermore, recognizing the impact of the perceived barriers and expected benefits of exercise on the frequency of exercise will provide the opportunity to devise effective intervention programs.

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Chapter 9

‘With or Without COVID’:

International Perceptions of the Tokyo Olympics, its Postponement, and its Rising Costs Christopher J. Hayes https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3945-3771 University of East Anglia, UK

ABSTRACT The Tokyo Olympics are now the most expensive Olympic Games to ever take place. Or should that be “to not take place”? Originally scheduled to be held in the summer of 2020, like much of the sports calendar, the Games were postponed due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Now, delayed until Summer 2021, the costs for the Games continue to rise and will do so until the end of the competition. COVID has seen many tournaments cancelled, and there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Tokyo Olympics. However, on 7 September 2020, IOC Vice President John Coates said that the Games would go ahead “with or without COVID.” This chapter will examine the problems associated with the Games, those that existed pre-COVID and issues arising directly or indirectly from the pandemic. It will look at the media reporting of these issues internationally and the narratives about the Games within the COVID context. Is the media confdent that Japan will be able to pull of an event that will signal recovery from a global pandemic? Or is it just blind, and expensive, optimism?

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INTRODUCTION Japan enjoys a largely positive image, strongly influenced by the global export of its popular culture products as well as its technological products. “Soft power”, the ability of a country to exert international influence through the country’s appeal and attractiveness rather than through direct force (that is, “hard power”), is of great importance to Japan, and the popularity of its exports are leveraged in improving the country’s international influence. More and more, countries are using sports mega-events such as the Olympics as part of their soft power strategies (Grix and Houlihan 2014). Past Summer Olympics DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch009

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have consistently had positive impacts on host countries in terms of increased tourism and an improved image (Ferreira et al. 2018), though the potential is greater for developed countries (Gripsrud, Nes and Olsson 2010). When Japan first hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964, it was, in many ways, a developing country after the Second World War. However, the Olympics served to reinvent the country, showcasing the country’s recovery and transformation into a modern nation, something we will look at later. In summer 2020, the eyes of the world would once again turn to Japan, providing an opportunity to enhance Japan’s soft power. All this changed with the spread of the Coronavirus disease 2019 across the world, and while statistically Japan has fared much better than other nations, its ability to host the Games is largely contingent on other countries being able to take part. The position of the committee is unwavering: the Games will take place. At the time of writing, the exact form these Games will take is unknown. However, as has already been said, costs continue to mount, and even a scaled-back event will not recuperate expenses past expenses. The Tokyo Olympics is now the most expensive Summer Olympic Games to ever take place. Or should that be “to not take place”? Originally scheduled to be held in the summer of 2020, like much of the sports calendar, the Games were postponed due to the global Coronavirus pandemic. This postponement was not immediate, however. With Tokyo organisers insisting that the Games would go ahead as planned for weeks after the virus had gripped the world, only conceding on 24 March 2020. Now, delayed until summer 2021, the costs for the Games continue to rise and will do so until the end of the competition. According to a study by researchers from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, as of September 2020 spending for the Tokyo Olympics is already at $15.84 billion and it is likely to increase by billions more, reaching a 200% overspend from the official $12.6 billion budget (Flyvbjerg, Budzier and Lunn 2020). While costs for Beijing’s 2008 Games are said to amount to over $40 billion, these costs include major infrastructure projects such as airports and hotels. Direct costs meanwhile account for $6.8 billion, representing only a 2% overspend (Flyvbjerg, Stewart and Budzier 2016). In September 2020, after a summer in which countries around the world experienced nationwide lockdowns due to increasing numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice President John Coates announced that the Tokyo Olympics would go ahead “with or without Covid” (BBC News, 7 September 2020). Unsurprisingly, responses to the committee’s and government’s position have been mixed, both in Japan and abroad. The Tokyo Olympics is not just an event for Japan, but for the world, and as such the world’s media has paid close attention to announcements and decisions made by the Games’ organising committee and the Japanese government. As news media is curated for its audience and is arguably a reflection of public opinion, the presence of news stories about the Olympics in publications around the world reflects the significance of the Games for the global community. The purpose of this chapter is to examine media narratives about the Games outside of Japan, focussing on major Anglophone publications—in part due to the author’s linguistic limitations, but also because of the global reach of major English-language news publications such as The Guardian and The New York Times. As much as the Olympics can have a positive impact on Japan’s global image and its soft power, there is a real risk of its image worsening and this is perhaps best observable in the news media, which represents a regular source of information about foreign affairs. This chapter will examine Anglophone press coverage of the Tokyo Olympics since the coronavirus began to become an international concern in February 2020, through to the end of 2020, analysing the key themes and concerns that arise in these articles, and will consider the implications that this coverage has for Japan’s global reputation.

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The Olympics and the News News stories are created in that journalists must decide on what is worth reporting, what details are worth reporting, and who to use as sources (Tiegreen and Newman 2008). This construction of the news is called framing and the way a story is “framed” can have a significant impact on how it is received and understood by its readers or audience. It has also been argued that journalists set an “agenda”, whether it is in promoting their own worldview or that of the publication, and that they “tell people what to think”. Wanta, Golan and Lee (2004) compared the media coverage of 21 countries in the US media, assessing whether this coverage was positive, negative or neutral, and then compared this to a national survey of the public’s views of foreign countries. They found that countries portrayed positively in the media were more likely to be viewed positively by members of the public, while correspondingly, countries portrayed negatively in the media were more likely to be viewed negatively by members of the public. As a global event, the Summer Olympics and Paralympics are inherently newsworthy, receiving high levels of press coverage and, during the Games themselves, high intensity of press coverage. It is very rare that an Olympic Games receives sustained high levels of coverage in the months preceding the event, however, except perhaps within the host country itself. That is, unless, the Games are subject to some kind of controversy. From the outset, the Tokyo Olympics has been the subject of not one, but multiple controversies. The original Zara Hadid designed Olympic stadium was abandoned for being too expensive, its logo was found to be plagiarised from a Belgian theatre, Japan Olympic Committee president Takeda Tsunekazu was formally investigated for corruption, and Olympic costs increased year on year from 2013, when Tokyo won the Olympic bid (Kingston 2020). Nonetheless, the reporting of these controversies amounted to one or more articles in English-language publications in each case, unlike the reporting of the impact of the coronavirus and the Olympics, which has been subject to sustained media “hype”. Vasterman describes media hype as a “wall-to-wall news wave, triggered by one specific event and enlarged by the self-reinforcing processes within the news production of the media” (2005, 515). In the case of the international coverage of the Tokyo Games, this trigger event was the decision to cancel or postpone the 2020 Games in light of the global pandemic. Based on years of study, Harcup and O’Neill (2017), identified 15 requirements for a story to be newsworthy. While it would be impossible to discuss all of them here, it is worth drawing out those criteria that apply to the reporting of the 2020 Olympics: bad news, conflict, shareability, entertainment (including sport), relevance, and magnitude. The cancellation or postponement of the Olympics is unarguably bad news, particularly within the overall negative context of the coronavirus pandemic. The story also exhibits conflict between the organisers, the Japanese government, and teams across the world, over whether the Games should or should not take place. As a major event, this news is highly shareable and likely to be shared on social media. The Olympic Games are a major sports entertainment event. The story is also highly relevant as not only are the Games well-known to people across the world, the context of the coronavirus pandemic has global relevance. As a global event in which hundreds of people compete, thousands travel to spectate, for which thousands more are employed, and millions watch from their homes, the magnitude of this story is incredibly high. Even outside of times of crisis, the Olympic Games are a “media spectacle” (Marshall, Walker and Russo 2010), receiving extensive coverage across all forms of media, both positive and negative (see e.g. Hayashi et al. 2016). In interviews with journalists, Stocking and LaMarca (1990) found that they typically begin their reporting on a story with a hypothesis in mind. In other words, journalists may have already drawn their conclusions before undertaking any research and writing their article. This places a large amount of 141

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pressure on events organisers when attempting to manage their communications with the press and the public during a crisis or difficult time. As such, organisers must demonstrate clarity and persuasiveness in their communications. In the present case, what hypotheses can be seen in journalists’ articles about the Olympics? In this chapter, international news articles about the Tokyo Olympics will be analysed both chronologically and thematically, demonstrating how concerns and attitudes changed between the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in February 2020 and the end of 2020. First, however, it is necessary that we consider how the Tokyo Olympics were viewed before the pandemic.

Olympics and Destination Image Although the strength of Japan’s soft power lies in its popular culture, this has not always been effectively leveraged by the government, instead being left to the industries producing these products and the organic effect of the consumption of these products on consumers’ images of Japan. The Olympics, on the other hand, are part of a category of events that Roche calls “‘official’ versions of public culture” (1994, 1). Grix and Houlihan argue that the primary motivations (and thus, justification) for hosting sports mega events are to project soft power and achieve foreign policy goals (2006, 573-575). By projecting their soft power, we mean displaying values and culture in a desirable way, promoting a specific positive image to foreign audiences (Potter 2009). Japan previously leveraged the Olympic Games for its international image when it hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, also in Tokyo. These Games served to reinvent Japan’s international image, which was still affected by the country’s status as an enemy during the Second World War. As a result of the War, Japan also had the image as a defeated nation, one that had been heavily bombed. At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the image of Japan projected was that of a peaceful nation, and one that had rebuilt from the ashes (Droubie 2011). Indeed, in Tokyo, the transport infrastructure was completely overhauled and Japan’s famous bullet train, the shinkansen, was launched in the Olympic year. Hood highlights that visiting media could not avoid Japan’s technological advances as some events took place in Osaka, which necessitated a trip on the country’s new shinkansen line (2015, 48). Up until this point, Japan was still being perceived as a country recovering from wartime devastation, and its transformation was seen as nothing short of miraculous. While Japan’s situation is nothing like its post-war state and subsequent transformation for the 1964 Summer Olympics, the Tokyo Olympics have been identified as a way for Japan to “confront” its current challenges, including its aging demography, international security and its relations with its neighbours, and its descent in global economic rankings (Curtis 2020).

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Hopes for the Tokyo Olympics In March 2011, Japan suffered what has come to be known as the Triple Disaster, when the country was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed over 15,000 people, left entire communities displaced, and caused the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom are still unable to return to their homes. The disaster, or more accurately, disasters, gained international press coverage and sparked a global debate about the safety of nuclear power. This debate continues, particularly where there is strong opposition to nuclear technology, which is often associated with nuclear weapons and the devastation caused by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. While Japan is generally perceived as a safe country, 142

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this reputation suffered a knock as a result of the disaster. Even before this current pandemic, the matter of safety was thus firmly in the minds of Japanese policymakers and Games organisers. The Tokyo Olympics have been positioned as a “recovery” Games, designed to showcase how Japan has bounced back from the disaster. Dudden suggests that the 2020 Olympics aimed not to rebrand Japan entirely, but to cover up the ongoing issues of radiation throughout Fukushima and surrounding areas in what she calls a “state-sponsored disaster tourism scheme” (Dudden 2020). Indeed, the 2011 disaster not only attracted significant global media coverage and controversy surrounding the Japanese government’s and Tokyo Electric Power Company’s handling of the situation, but also stimulated worldwide debate about the safety of nuclear power. While a cynical view of the soft power potential of the Olympics, it nonetheless highlights the value of hosting events like the Olympics for a country trying to make a new image for itself. Indeed, much like the 1964 Games, technology was set to be a major part of the Olympic spectacle. In 2014, one year after Japan won its Olympic bid, the UK’s The Telegraph reported that then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intended for Japan to also host a Robot Olympics alongside the main events (The Telegraph, 20 June 2014). On 10 June 2019, The Guardian returned to this theme of robots, suggesting that the 2020 Olympics would take a leaf out of the 1964 “playbook” by showcasing the latest in Japanese technology, including service robots and power suits for lifting heavy items (The Guardian, 10 June 2019). While the article features some negative commentary about the expense of the Olympics and its impact on local communities, it ends with a hopeful note that through the lighting of the Olympic torch, “out of the darkness of the Tokyo sky comes raging and sustained illumination”.

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Criticism of the Olympics In 2013, the Tokyo bid committee estimated that total costs would be $7.3 billion. By the end of 2019, the Associated Press were reporting that the committee was putting costs at $12,6 billion, but that costs could be a lot higher than reported (Associated Press, 20 December 2019). Spiralling costs led to the abandonment of the Zara Hadid-designed Olympic Stadium in favour of a cheaper, Japanese-designed alternative. There were also concerns about the suitability of Tokyo as an Olympic host city, with many concerned about Japan’s summer heat. On 2 November 2018, The Guardian reported on mounting pressure for the marathon event to be moved to 05:30 to protect runners and staff (The Guardian, 2 November 2018). Tokyo is well-known for its hot and humid summers, which caused concern over possible fatalities arising from heatstroke. Concerns turned into controversy as the costs of mitigating heat grew, adding to the existing estimated budget (The Independent, 6 October 2018). A solution was found by moving the marathon to the northern island of Hokkaido, but this prompted backlash from Tokyo local government, which was reported internationally, including in The Independent (The Independent, 29 October 2019). In addition to the climatic concerns, there are also ongoing concerns about the levels of radiation in Japan, as mentioned by Dutton. According to research by Shaun Burnie (2020), the effects of the 2011 disaster can still be felt, with radiation levels high enough to cause the United Nations to challenge government actions. Indeed, many people remain evacuated from their hometowns, but although the Japanese government is gradually removing evacuation orders, many people feel unsafe to return. Indeed, measurements taken by Burnie and Greenpeace staff at the J-Village sports complex in Fukushima were 1750 times normal pre-disaster background levels (Burnie 2020). The Japanese government’s position, however, is that certain areas are now safe, including the J-Village sports complex, and it was here that 143

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the Olympic Torch Relay was due to begin, despite opposition from locals (Reuters 2020). In spite of the pandemic, postpone, and opposition to these plans, Fukushima remains the starting point for the relay at a revised start date of 25 March 2021.

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Reporting of the Olympics Since Covid The UK’s Financial Times reported on 27 February 2020 that the coronavirus threatened “to lead to the cancellation of this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo”, citing the postponement of other sports events (Financial Times, 27 February 2020). In keeping with the publication’s demographic and area of focus, the emphasis of the article is on the financial implications for not holding the Olympics, particularly around corporate sponsors and the loss of tourism. On 29 February 2020, The Australian published an article with the headline “Olympics are like one giant petri dish” (The Australian, 29 February 2020). While much was still unknown about the new coronavirus, the article highlights the potential of the Olympics “becoming a hub of transmission”, noting that Saudi Arabia had already suspended entry for foreign pilgrims looking to make the Hajj pilgrimage, which would have taken place around the same time as the Olympics. A few days later on 3 March, the UK’s The Telegraph published an article “Tokyo Olympics could be delayed until the end of the year, says Japan’s Olympics minister” (The Telegraph, 3 March 2020). The article is As late as 18 March, organisers were insisting that the Games would go ahead as planned. This is in spite of countries around the world going into states of national lockdown or closing their borders. On this date, The New York Times published an opinion piece entitled “Cancel. The. Olympics” (The New York Times, 18 March 2020). Although blunt language such as this may normally be more expected in a tabloid publication than The New York Times, the article was even penned by an academic, Jules Boykoff, Professor of Political Science at Pacific University. Boykoff describes the actions of the Tokyo organisers and the IOC as “reckless” and “irresponsible”. He highlights opposition by an infectious disease specialist from Stanford University and a study that suggested that the disease would not reach its peak until winter 2020/21. Boykoff suggests that Japan and the IOC are more concerned about their brand and their financial investment in the Games. He does not suggest postponement, but cancellation altogether, arguing that “amid a global pandemic, holding the Games is unconscionable” and that cancellation would show solidarity with the rest of the world. This is an important point and worth some further reflection. The Olympic Games are a symbol of the world coming together, but in refusing to even consider postpone the events, Japanese organisers and the IOC could be seen as standing apart from the rest of the world. Indeed, Canada’s National Post quotes Japanese deputy prime minister Taro Aso in describing the Olympics as “cursed” (National Post, 19 March 2020). Aso refers to a pattern that there have been problems with the Olympics in 1940, 1980, and now 2020. The article distances itself from this, however, going on to say that Aso has a history of making “gaffes that have insulted people”. The article mentions the IOC and committee’s stance to not postpone or cancel, but sets this against the view that “every passing day of the new coronavirus pandemic has brought more calls for a rethink of this year’s Games”. Another article published by The New York Times on 21 March described the international reception of the IOC’s position as “tone deaf” (The New York Times, 21 March 2020). The article devotes a lot of its space to the Olympics as a media event and the significant investment that broadcasters and other media partners have made in the Games. It notes that IOC president Thomas Bach insisted decision about postponement would not be driven by

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financial interests, but the writers show clear scepticism as they immediately point out that Bach was in “constant contact with leading sponsors and broadcast executives”. On 23 March, The New York Times published an article reporting that the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees had decided to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics (The New York Times, 23 March 2020a). Although it formed the focus of the headline (“Canada Pulls Out of Tokyo Olympics as I.O.C. Considers Postponement”), the decision is only briefly mentioned towards the beginning of the article, before reappearing halfway through. Instead, the focus is on the Japanese government, the IOC, and concerns about athletes’ health and safety. The position of the article is clearly defined by its closing sentences:

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The athletes have grown increasingly frustrated with Bach’s insistence that they continue to push “full steam ahead” as though the Games will happen in July when doing so might put their health and the health of others in jeopardy, in addition to defying edicts of local governments that are closing all but essential businesses and ordering citizens to stay inside as much as possible. (The New York Times 23 March 2020a) Another article was published in The New York Times on the same day, reporting that the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee shared the view of the Canadian committees that the Games should be postponed (The New York Times 23 March 2020b). The article describes the IOC’s announcement to have a decision within four weeks as being “met with skepticism and derision”. Interviews with a British sports lawyer suggest that the IOC’s reticence to act was the result of avoiding financial repercussions as a result of contract breaches arising from not holding the Games as planned, with the IOC and Japanese committee intentionally holding off making decisions to allow for countries to pull out, absolving them of any responsibility. The article is not entirely critical, and goes into some depth about the complexities of postponing the Games and the financial implications, featuring interviews with multiple experts and athletes. Nonetheless, the lack of firm decision is marked as problematic. The UK’s The Express adopted a more sympathetic tone in an article published on 25 March with the headline “Putting off the show will cost Japan billions”, focussing on the amount of money invested in the Games by the organisers, the tickets bought by spectators, and the commercial contracts (The Express, 25 March 2020). The article describes the situation as “everybody’s nightmare” and that the Olympics was “momentarily defeated by an invisible foe”. In June, Newsweek reported on a Japanese survey that 51.7% of Tokyo residents believed that the Games should be postponed further still or cancelled altogether (Newsweek, 29 June 2020). The article mostly focusses on the continuing uncertainty of the Games and whether they can go ahead, whether they should be held at all, and if so, in what form? The article also gives space to the economic impacts of the Covid pandemic on the Olympics, suggesting that there may be negative impacts whether they are held or not.

What to Expect From the Covid Olympics In the height of the global pandemic, many sports events were cancelled, while others such as the German Bundesliga or the UFC have gone ahead, but without audiences. As we have seen in the quoted articles, there has been uncertainty about whether the Tokyo Olympics can go ahead at all, even if postponed. An article in The Independent from 22 September with the headline “Tokyo needs to convince sponsors 145

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Olympics will really happen” draws attention to the failings of the organisers in reassuring their corporate sponsors and supporters that the Olympics will actually take place (The Independent, 22 September 2020). If the Games are to take place mid-pandemic, then athlete safety is of vital importance. On 25 September, The Independent reported on a talk given by IOC President Thomas Bach in which he reassured Japanese government officials and organisers that they are prepared to hold the Olympics and that vaccination could offer a solution (The Independent, 25 September 2020). Much of the article is given over to quoting Bach directly, though it does question the appropriateness of using vaccines on athletes before more vulnerable groups. The article also suggests that there is criticism about the Olympics within Japan, citing surveys that show both businesses and the public believe the Olympics would or should happen. Without a doubt, the Tokyo Olympics will be different to previous Games. While at the time of writing, no firm plans have been announced, but it is expected that the Games will be on a smaller scale. The Independent reported on this on 7 October, but it draws attention to the fact that many costs have already been permitted and that there are no plans to cut the “opening and closing ceremonies, the heavily sponsored 121-day torch relay, and competition areas that will be seen on television broadcasts” (The Independent, 7 October 2020). Indeed, the savings represent only 2% of the official budget of $12.6 billion, though the article points out that this does not include the cost of postponement. In spite of assurances about preparedness and safety, on 11 November, BBC Worldwide Monitoring reported that the Japanese government was planning to exempt spectators visiting Japan for the Olympics from quarantine, even if such measures are still in place (BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 11 November 2020). The article suggests that a decision on foreign spectators was imminent, but the next day, The Telegraph reported that the decision would be delayed to 2021, to allow for developments in the pandemic (The Telegraph, 12 November 2020). Interestingly, the article focusses on a comment by Tokyo 2020 Chief Executive Officer Toshiro Muto that “spectators may be asked to refrain from shouting or talking loudly”, incorporating this into its headline, despite not forming the main part of the announcement. Also on the 12th, Canada’s The Globe and Mail reported on the possibility of vaccinations for athletes, and interestingly, Thomas Bach is quoted directly addressing the issue BBC Worldwide Monitoring raised regarding the ethical problems of prioritising fit and healthy athletes (The Globe and Mail, 12 November 2020). Bach says that high-risk groups are the priority for the “first wave” of the vaccination, not the athletes. In spite of the assertion that vaccines needed to be prioritised for vulnerable groups, in something of a contradiction on 16 November, The Times reported Thomas Bach saying that spectators may need to have been vaccinated in order to go to Japan (The Times, 16 November 2020). The article describes Japan’s comparatively low number of cases and says that sports events in Japan are going ahead with a reduced number of spectators. The concern raised in this article is not whether Japan can safely host the Olympics, but whether spectators should be arriving from other countries, citing unnamed Japanese officials who ae concerned about visitors from countries where mask wearing is not universally accepted. Adding to the uncertainty, The Australian published an article on 19 November with a quotation from Thomas Bach that the Olympic athletes will not require vaccination, unlike spectators (The Australian, 19 November 2020). Canada’s The Toronto Star reported on 19 November about the rules that will need to be in place for the Olympics, focussing on what it means for the participating athletes (The Toronto Star, 19 November 2020). The article explains that athletes will be encouraged to leave Japan after they have competed in their event and that there will be no opportunities for socialising with other athletes or sightseeing. The article is not negative, but it highlights the severity of the restrictions that will need to be in place: “physical distancing, masks and bubbles in the venues and the Athletes Village”. It ends by noting: “There are 146

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sure to be lots of rules. And athletes will be asked to follow them, as will thousands of officials, judges, media, VIPs and broadcasters”. Here, the difficulty of the undertaking is made clear and the absence of spectators in the list is telling: while the IOC and Japanese Committee have not committed to a decision on spectators, many are assuming that it will not happen.

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Risks to Japan’s Image As we have already discussed, mega sports events can serve to improve perceptions of the host country. The success of the Tokyo Olympics in spite of a global pandemic would no doubt have significant benefits for Japan’s soft power. At the same time, it has also been suggested that these perceptions are influenced by “personal, community and national engagement” with the events and the consequent “emotional entanglement” that they have (Lee et al. 2005, 43-44). In other words, for those travelling to spectate a sports event, the actual location is not important, only the event is. Nonetheless, an enjoyable event will have the side effect of improving the host’s image. If the Games are held as a “closed doors” event without spectators, will interest be as high? It is therefore not surprising that organisers are hoping to allow for spectators and developing strategies to ensure safety. However, this is not without risk. As early as 20 April, shortly after the Games’ postponement, The Independent published an article calling into question the sense of holding the Olympics at all. The article describes the confidence of economist Yukei Takano that the postponement would not lead to an increase in costs as “misguided” (The Independent, 20 April 2020). The National Post reported on 11 July that in “interviews with a dozen infectious diseases experts, a common theme emerged: the Olympics would increase the risk of an outbreak” (National Post, 11 July 2020). Through interviews and quotations from Japanese medical experts, the article puts across the point that although Japan has not suffered as much as other countries, “people in Japan should not feel secure” and that the situation could change if the Olympics went ahead. In contrast, The New York Times, in an article published on 19 July, quotes Molly Solomon, executive producer of US television network NBC’s Olympics production, saying that the Tokyo Olympics “has a chance to be the most memorable Games in history” (The New York Times, 19 July 2020). The question remains whether it will be memorable for the right reasons. It is important to consider the image of Japan and the Olympics held by the Japanese themselves, and there has been a growing domestic opposition to the Games, which has been picked up by the international press. On 24 July, The Times reported that according to a Japanese poll by Kyodo News agency, a third of Japanese supported cancellation, while another third favoured a further postponement (The Times, 24 July 2020). Based on this survey, the IOC and the Japanese Committee are acting contrary to popular opinion in their determination to host the Olympics. The article offers an explanation for this: that although the situation caused by the pandemic is full of uncertainty, the organisers have made this uncertainty worse “with a display of disunity about how to deal with the pandemic”. The Independent published an article on 13 November about resistance to the Olympics within Japan, referring to the “public’s ambivalence” towards the Games (The Independent, 13 November 2020). It quotes Ryu Honma, an author who has criticised the Olympics and its ties with Japanese advertising firm Dentsu, who describes the Games as a “farce”, arguing that if the Olympics can go ahead with quarantines and no social interaction, then they will fail to embody the principles of the Olympics. Newspapers and news websites have predominantly focussed on the cost of the Tokyo Olympics, and there is the risk that the Games will be remembered for their overspend. The Times article from 24 July describes the spending as “murky” (The Times, 24 July 2020). On 29 November, The Independent 147

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reported that the postponement of the Games would cost an additional 200 billion yen ($1.9 billion). On 1 December, Canada’s The Globe and Mail published an article with the headline “Tokyo Games won’t confirm reported costs of delay”, following up on these reported figures and the organisers’ refusal to confirm or deny the figures (The Globe and Mail, 1 December 2020). On 8 September, The Guardian reported that Japan’s Games minister Seiko Hashimoto had said that the Olympics must be held “at any cost” (The Guardian, 8 September 2020). The article describes a taskforce that has been set up to go through proposals on how to present an outbreak as a result of holding the Olympics. While The Guardian reports on several proposals under discussion, including “preparation camps” for athletes with testing, requiring athletes to leave immediately after competing, and reduced stadium capacities with social distancing, it says that the potential of a smaller scale, “downsized” Olympics is being downplayed. While a smaller Olympics would be easier to organise and potentially safer, it might be argued that the pressures to make the Games a financial success mean that this is not a possibility. Indeed, a few weeks earlier, The Business Times Singapore reported that two-thirds of corporate sponsors were undecided whether they would continue to support the Games (The Business Times Singapore, 23 July 2020). While quotations from organisers are optimistic, the article itself refers to the organisers as having “scrambled” to making rearrangements, suggesting panic and chaos, while also describing the “dire” prospects of the corporate sponsors that are struggling due to the pandemic. The loss of income and wasted expenditure that would result from a cancelled Olympics have framed the majority of articles covered in this chapter. The organisers appear to be engaged in a balancing act of trying to ensure public safety while also attempting to stage the world’s largest sports event. An opinion article in Bloomberg, published 6 November, describes this as an “experiment” (Bloomberg, 6 November 2020), and this choice of language is highly appropriate as there is no historical precedent for hosting an Olympics mid-pandemic. The article headline refers to this experiment as a “risky mistake”, suggesting that the organisers are willing to put the “privilege” of hosting the Games and the associated economic benefits ahead of public safety. The author criticises the government’s testing of strategies to mitigate spread, noting that the government did not wait to analyse the data before allowing further spectator events to go ahead. The article finishes by arguing that the risk of transmission during a pandemic should be enough to “shut down these experiments and accept a spectator-less Olympics”, making the point that if Olympic Games are in the best interests of the host cities, then a spectator-less Games would be the most sensible course of action. Another opinion piece in The Washington Post from 6 December similarly describes the decision to hold the Games in July 2021 as “crazy” (The Washington Post, 6 December 2020). The article claims that while the organisers may wish for the Olympics to go ahead for the “feel-good factor” of celebrating the Olympics post-Covid, the main reason the Games are going ahead is because of the financial implications and the importance of broadcasting revenue and sponsorship. The author also suggests that the Japanese government does not wish to lose face by cancelling the Olympics as it would mean that the next Olympics would be held by China in Beijing. China overtook Japan as the world’s second largest economy in 2010 (CNBC 2019) and the Tokyo Olympics offered an opportunity for Japan to reassert itself on the global stage. Once again it is suggested that hosting the Olympics with spectators is against public opinion, and there is a clear risk that in ignoring the views of the Japanese public as well as that of the global community, the IOC and Japanese Committee and, by association, the Japanese government, will be seen to be putting financial interests ahead of public safety. This could be highly damaging to Japan’s international image, because Japan is perceived as a safe country and is popular with international tourists. If an outbreak occurs due to the Olympics, people may be reluctant to visit, even as tourism opens up 148

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post-Covid. Japan’s political image may also be damaged, leading to other nations placing less trust in the Japanese government’s decisions and interactions with the world, the opposite of what the country hopes to achieve through the Olympics. From a sports perspective, poor handling of these Games may also damage the country’s chances of hosting other large sports events in the near future.

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Lessons for Sports Post-Covid It would not be unfair to say that the coronavirus pandemic has been a learning experience. There has been no comparable global viral pandemic since the 1918 H1N1 (Spanish Flu) pandemic. The world is a much-changed place, and it is a much more mobile place, too, with international travel commonplace. Post-Covid and post-Olympics, there will need to be a period of reflection to learn from this pandemic and its consequences. Constandt and Willem argue, optimistically, that a downscaled, Covid-safe Olympics could offer a “magnified Olympic message to the world” (2020, 5). They use the example of the 1920 Antwerp Olympics as an example of how post-crisis and post-trauma events can be successful. The 1920 Olympics followed the end of the First World War as well as the Spanish flu, two events that had wrought devastation across the globe. While a smaller event, the 1920 Olympics were highly symbolic, not least because they were the Games in which the Olympic rings were introduced, a sign of unity in a world that had been ravaged by war and disease. Post Covid, sports events will need to unite communities affected by the pandemic, and deploy measures that reassure these communities of their safety. On 24 November 2020, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo that the Tokyo Olympics would be a “new model” for the Olympics in the “post-Covid world” (Kyodo News 2020). In spite of the uncertainty, here Koike reiterated the desire for full crowds, but with anti-virus measures to make them safe. At present, it is difficult to say whether Japan will represent a model for post-Covid sports. During the summer of 2020, some events in the sports calendar continued behind closed doors with simulated crowd noises. These are undoubtedly safer, but the approach is not sustainable. Sports events need ticket revenue. It is hoped that by the time the Olympics take place, vaccines will be widely available and administered to the most vulnerable in many countries and that we will be at the tail end of the pandemic. Nonetheless, safety measures will still be of huge importance, and the Olympics could offer a model for similar situations in the future. The Summer Olympics are unparalleled in scale in terms of the number of participating sportspersons, staff, spectators, and media workers. In order to accommodate so many people, the Tokyo organisers will have to implement hygiene and distancing measures at a far greater level of complexity than smaller events. At the same time, however, the Tokyo Olympics could offer a model for how not to run a major sports event during a pandemic. The IOC and Japanese organisers have persisted with the attitude that the Olympics would be held at all costs, “with or without Covid”, generating criticism in Japan and across the world accusing the organisers of being irresponsible. The hesitance to postpone the Games and the lack of a clear plan has turned many against the Olympics, particularly as costs have continued to grow. While a Covid Olympics may be a leaner one, it is also the most expensive ever.

CONCLUSION The road to the Tokyo Olympics has not been easy and, as we have seen, it has met resistance from the start. Every Olympics has its critics, with frequent objections to the high costs and questions about their 149

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benefits for the communities they affect and for the host country as a whole. In the case of Japan, this kind of domestic opposition was strong, with critics of the high costs associated with hosting an Olympics, concerns that radiation in Fukushima was being downplayed, and that Japan’s indigenous Ainu population was being pushed out of the Games. The Coronavirus pandemic only compounded these domestic concerns and introduced new global concerns about the appropriateness of hosting the Olympics during a major crisis. Since February 2020, news articles have questioned whether the Games would be safe, or if it was a matter of putting corporate investors above the health of participants. Although at the time of writing vaccines are being produced and administered in some countries and Japan is ordering its own doses, it is difficult to speak of “post-Covid” and when this may be. Internationally, perception is growing that the organisers are taking a gamble and are unwilling to make a firm decision. Indeed, just as this chapter was due to be submitted, conflicting reports began to emerge about the fate of the Games. On 20th January 2021, Agence France-Presse (AFP) put out an interview with Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto, who said that the Games’ taking place was “unwavering policy” and that cancellation was out of the question (McKirdy 2021). The next day, however, The Times’ Asia Editor Richard Lloyd Parry reported that the Japanese government had “privately concluded that the Tokyo Olympics will have to be cancelled because of the coronavirus” (Lloyd Parry 2021). The day after that, Japanese Prime Minister responded to the report, stating that he was “determined to realise a safe and secure Tokyo Games as proof that mankind will have overcome the virus”, which was reiterated by Tokyo 2020 organisers, when asked about the report by the AFP (France 24 2021). The report was not outright denied, and it should be noted that Lloyd Parry is a highly respected author and journalist, who has been based in Japan for decades, and considered to be highly reliable. By the time this volume goes to press, the Olympics may or may not have been cancelled. They could have gone ahead and been a success, or they could have been a disaster. Regardless of the outcomes, what this chapter has shown is that through drawn out indecision and ambiguity, these Games, and Japan’s government more generally, have been subject to continuous media scrutiny. Crisis and “bad news” make a newsworthy story, but added to this, media hype was sustained because of controversy and conflicting information, bolstering its news value. Event organisers and policymakers should learn from this case to inform future approaches to sports event planning and communications with the media. Indecision or decisions that counter public opinion will be picked up by the press media because they meet newsworthiness criteria. Grix and Houlihan found that, although in the run up to the Games, preparations for the 2012 London Olympics received extensive media scrutiny and criticism, the Games themselves received highly positive coverage from the news media (Grix and Houlihan 2014). It will be valuable to see in the future if this negative press portrayal is cancelled out by the Olympic Games, whenever they are held.

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REFERENCES Associated Press. (2019). Tokyo Olympics say costs $12.6B; Audit report says much more. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/eb6d9e318b4b95f7e53cd1b617dce123 BBC News. (2020). Tokyo Olympics: Games will go ahead ‘with or without Covid’, says IOC VP. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54052669 BBC Worldwide Monitoring. (2020). Japan considers exempting international Olympics spectators from quarantine. Author. Bloomberg. (2020). Japan’s New Olympic Experiment is a Risky Mistake. Available at: https://www. bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-11-06/japan-s-new-olympic-experiment-is-a-risky-mistake Burnie, S. (2020). Radiation Disinformation and Human Rights Violations at the Heart of Fukushima and the Olympic Games. The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 18(5), 1–6. CNBC. (2019). Here are 4 charts that show China’s rise as a global economic superpower. CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/24/how-much-chinas-economy-has-grown-over-the-last70-years.html Constandt, B., & Willem, A. (2020). Hosting the Olympics in Times of a Pandemic: Historical Insights from Antwerp 1920. Leisure Sciences, 0(0), 1–6. doi:10.1080/01490400.2020.1773982 Curtis, G. (2020). Celebrating the “New” Japan. The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 18(4), 8. Dudden, A. (2020). An Opportunity for Japan to Change People’s Perception. The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 18(5), 1–4. Ferreira, L. B., Lourenção, M. T. de A., Giraldi, J. M. E., & Oliveira, J. H. C. (2018). Economic and image impacts of summer Olympic games in tourist destinations: A literature review. Tourism & Management Studies, 14(3), 52–63. doi:10.18089/tms.2018.14305 Flyvbjerg, B., Budzier, A., & Lunn, D. (2020). Regression to the Tail: Why the Olympics Blow Up. Environment and Planning A. Economy and Space, 0(0), 1–28.

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Flyvbjerg, B., Stewart, A., & Budzier, A. (2016). The Oxford Olympics Study 2016: Cost and Cost Overrun at the Games. Saïd Business School Working Papers. Oxford: University of Oxford. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2804554 France 24. (2021). Japan PM ‘determined’ to hold Olympics despite cancellation report. Available at: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210122-japan-pm-determined-to-hold-olympics-despitecancellation-report Gripsrud, G., Nes, E., & Olsson, U. (2010). Effects of Hosting a Mega-Sport Event on Country Image. Event Management, 14(3), 193–204. doi:10.3727/152599510X12825895093551 Grix, J., & Houlihan, B. (2014). Sports Mega-Events as Part of a Nation’s Soft Power Strategy: The Cases of Germany (2006) and the UK (2012). British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 16(4), 572–596. doi:10.1111/1467-856X.12017

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Harcup, T., & O’Neill, D. (2017). What is News? Journalism Studies, 18(12), 1470–1488. doi:10.108 0/1461670X.2016.1150193 Hayashi, K., Curran, J., Kwak, S., Esser, F., Hallin, D. C., & Lee, C.-C. (2016). Pride and Prejudice. Journalism Studies, 17(8), 935–951. doi:10.1080/1461670X.2015.1019550 Hood, C. P. (2015). Japan: The Basics. London: Routledge. Kingston, J. (2020). Tokyo’s Diversity Olympics Dogged by Controversy. The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, 18(4), 11. Kyodo News. (2020). Tokyo Games to be new Olympic model for post-COVID era: Gov. Koike. Available at: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/11/c332812810f7-tokyo-games-to-be-new-olympic-modelfor-post-covid-era-gov-koike.html Lee, C.-K., Taylor, T., Lee, Y.-K., & Lee, B. (2005). The Impact of a Sport Mega-Event on Destination Image. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 6(3), 27–45. doi:10.1300/ J149v06n03_03 Marshall, P. D., Walker, B., & Russo, N. (2010). Mediating the Olympics. Convergence, 16(3), 263–278. doi:10.1177/1354856510367619 National Post. (2020). COVID-19 Olympics: Top Japan minister calls Tokyo Games 2020 the ‘cursed Olympics’. Author. National Post. (2020). Experts warn of high-risk Olympics; Tokyo 2021 ‘Infection will flare up’. Author. Newsweek. (2020). Over half of Tokyo residents don’t want Olympic Games to be held in 2021. Available at: https://www.newsweek.com/tokyo-olympics-cancellation-poll-residents-japan-1514065 Reuters. (2020). In Fukushima, Olympic torch relay faces cool welcome from nuclear evacuees. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2020-futaba-insight-idUSKBN20P03M Stocking, S. H., & LaMarca, N. (1990). How Journalists Describe Their Stories: Hypotheses and Assumptions in Newsmaking. The Journalism Quarterly, 67(2), 295–301. doi:10.1177/107769909006700205 The Australian. (2020a). Olympics are like one giant petri dish. Author. The Australian. (2020b). Tokyo Olympians won’t need vaccine. Author.

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The Business Times Singapore. (2020). Tokyo prepares for Olympics in 2021 despite Covid-19 issues. Author. The Express. (2020). Putting off the show will cost Japan billions. Author. The Globe and Mail. (2020a). Olympic leaders hopeful about having a safe Tokyo Games with fans. Author. The Globe and Mail. (2020b). Tokyo Games won’t confirm reported costs of delay. Author. The Guardian. (2019). Reconstruction and robots: can Tokyo 2020 live up to 1964’s Olympic legacy? Author. The Guardian. (2018). Call for Tokyo Olympic marathon to start at 5.30am to avoid deaths. Author.

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The Independent. (2018). 2020: Olympics organisers under pressure to curb budget amid costly new plans to tackle heat. Tokyo: Author. The Independent. (2019). Tokyo Olympics 2020: City officials feud with IOC after plans made to switch marathon to Sapporo. Author. The Independent. (2020a). Tokyo needs to convince sponsors Olympics will really happen. Author. The Independent. (2020b). Tokyo Olympics: ‘Hundreds of millions’ of coronavirus vaccine doses could be available before games, IOC says. Author. The Independent. (2020c). Tokyo Olympics say they found savings even as costs rise. Author. The Independent. (2020d). Critics speak out on Tokyo Olympic costs, pandemic, fairness. Author. The Independent. (2020e). Coronavirus pandemic has cost postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games £1.4bn. Author. The New York Times. (2020). The Tokyo Olympics Will Open a Year From Now. Maybe. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/19/sports/2021-tokyo-olympics-protocols.html The New York Times. (2020a). Cancel. The. Olympics. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/ opinion/tokyo-olympics-coronavirus.html The New York Times. (2020b). Canada Pulls Out of Tokyo Olympics as I.O.C. Considers Postponement. Author. The Telegraph. (2020). No shouting, no talking loudly: how Japan may ask Olympics spectators to help tackle coronavirus. Author. The Telegraph. (2014). Japan’s PM plans 2020 Robot Olympics. Available at: https://www.telegraph. co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10913610/Japans-PM-plans-2020-Robot-Olympics.html The Times. (2020a). Japanese don’t believe Tokyo Olympics will ever take place. Author. The Times. (2020b). Tokyo 2020 to go ahead but spectactors may need vaccines. Author. The Toronto Star. (2020). Compete, then go, athletes to be told. Author.

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The Washington Post. (2020). Why does Japan insist on holding the Olympics? Available at: https:// www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/21/why-does-japan-insist-holding-olympics/ Tokyo 2020. (2020). Olympic Games postponed to 2021. Available at: https://tokyo2020.org/en/news/ joint-statement-from-international-olympic-committee-and-tokyo2020

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Chapter 10

Fantasy Sports and eSports: Is Unconventional Becoming Conventional? A Case Analysis Arne Baruca Texas A&M University, San Antonio, USA Ebru Ulusoy Farmingdale State College, USA

ABSTRACT Fantasy sports and eSports are relatively recent phenomena that are growing in popularity and importance in today’s society. Per their nature, they are also tightly connected with sports. In this chapter, the authors present these two phenomena and explain their importance in today’s sports industry. Furthermore, the chapter analyzes fantasy sports and eSports consumption patterns and discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic afected them. To conclude, the chapter suggests the possible implications for fantasy sports and eSports in the future.

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INTRODUCTION Unconventional competitive events, specifically games in online environments, are on the rise in the past decade. Not only are these events fast growing in number, but they are also becoming very attractive culturally and financially. Two of the most popular events are fantasy sports and esports. Although in the past years the topic of whether these sports, specifically esports, are considered as sports at all abound (Parry, 2018; Arnaud, 2010; Jenny et al., 2017), it is clear that the force of such sports is undeniable and has a very strong presence in society today. The fact that American high schools and universities run varsity teams in esports makes these discussions rather obsolete and unnecessary. The growth is apparent (Pei, 2019), and the interest, especially amongst young consumers, is undeniable. There is a wide variety of esports and fantasy sports games. Indeed, these various games differ in many aspects. There are more players in fantasy sports games, whereas there are more spectators/viewers in esports. However, they are similar in the fact that they attract groups of people who may be historiDOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch010

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cally disregarded, even marginalized, in previous competitions, the likes of the “nerds” now having their own platform to showcase their talents, even though they may lack talents in traditional sports (Baruca & Ulusoy, 2018). Another important commonality is that the fans are highly involved in both contexts. They follow the articles and news about the teams they support and follow and watch all the games. Overall, they are very devoted to any practice around these games. However, with the recent interruption in life resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the esports and fantasy sports markets have been transforming. It is crucial to understand these transformations to make better predictions about the future of these events. In this chapter, the authors first attempt to introduce what fantasy sports and esports are, address the common practices of consuming fantasy sports and esports, and how the consumption of these sports leads to social reproductions and changes in sports consumption. Moreover, the chapter reflects on what challenges these two unconventional competitions are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors have analyzed numerous industry data along with industry-related reports and experts’ articles since the lockdown in March 2020 and found three common themes that reflect the shifts in these events: A shift in the focus from sensory spectacles to social interaction, changing audience, as well as how the instability of the context of these events is managed. Finally, the chapter discusses what these changes suggest about the possible future of these sports and the future of conventional sports in general.

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What Are Fantasy Sports? Fantasy sports are online games where imaginary or virtual teams of real players play professional sports. The Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association (FSGA) reports that as of 2020, there were around 60 million players in the USA and Canada alone. The popularity of the Fantasy Sports League (FSL) arguably affects the lifestyle and sport consumption of a growing number of people today. In the last couple of years, some significant changes have taken place in the landscape of fantasy sports. The most significant change has been that fantasy players can participate in a daily league rather than just in a traditional yearlong league. In the daily league, participants are tied to their players (real athletes in a professional league) on a daily basis, where winners win cash winnings daily. This option has increased the popularity of fantasy sports as it gives more flexibility to participants. According to Tasch (2014), out of the forty-one million players that participated in some form of fantasy sports in 2014, about 3% of those participated in daily leagues, and movement towards these daily leagues was expected to grow. Daily leagues created by FanDuel and DraftKings are two of the most popular daily fantasy leagues, while other competitors such as Daily MVP have struggled for market share (Heitner, 2014). The increase in daily fantasy sports participation has also caught the attention of major league sports executives, leading some executes to create agreements to be the official provider of daily sports leagues for the given major league (Boudway, 2014). Although fantasy sports have changed sports consumption, this new form of fantasy league participation is expected to change overall sports consumption habits even further. Today consumers increasingly expect personalization and flexibility in how, where, and when they consume. Indeed, such flexibility has been one of the most prominent values for most consumers in the past years (Haller et al., 2020). As predicted, the option of daily leagues has increased the popularity of fantasy sports as the daily leagues market share is significantly higher than the 3% from 2014. According to the IBISWorld (2020), the fantasy sports industry in the US market has $7.8 billion in revenue (compared to the $29.7 billion of the sports franchise industry), with a $186.4 million in profit, 155

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and had an annual growth of .5% in the last five year. For the next five years, it is projected to grow 3.8%. The two major players in the industry are ESPN (15.2% market share) and Yahoo (12.1% market share), while minor players are daily fantasy league providers DraftKings (3.9%) and FanDuel (2.1%). The season-long fantasy sports services hold 45.3% of the market share, while the Daily fantasy sports services have risen to 40.3%, and it’s in line with what experts predicted. Despite an 8.4% decline in business due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the industry is expected to grow to $9.4 billion in the next five years due to the rising numbers of mobile internet users, online advertising, and an increased number of female players. As of now, the industry segmentation consists of 52.1% of consumers who are 34 and younger, 32.2% of consumers between 35 and 54 years old, and 15.6% of consumers aged 55 and older. More details in Table 1. Table 1. Industry statistics Fantasy Sport

(IBISWorld 2020)

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What Are Esports? Esports are organized video-gaming competitions. They primarily feature professional video gamers (and sometimes amateurs) competing against each other on a variety of video game platforms. The categories of variety of games are fighting, first-person shooter, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, Racing, and sports games. The video games Dota 2 and League of Legends are among the most popular ones. Competitors in these games are professionals. Esports athletes spend a minimum of 50 hours a week practicing (Jacobs, 2015). The income of esports athletes comes out of regular salaries, tournament prize money, and sponsorships. For example, the top 10 earners as of March 2021 earned between $ 3.77 million (10th) and $ 6.9 million (1st). Additionally, esports athletes also make an earning by featuring in online live gaming through sites such as Twitch. Popular players (current and retired) perform live, and the audiences pay and watch the player explain what (s)he does in certain game situations. The top 10 streamers on Twitch have millions of followers and hundreds of millions of viewers. Some, an example is a player named Ninja (Teng, 2018), crossed over to mainstream media in terms of popularity and are

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also known to non-gaming audiences. The best esports players experience a celebrity status with all the perks of a “traditional” celebrity, such as endorsement deals, requests for autographs, and even proposals that would be considered indecent. A quick snapshot of esports economic statistics (See Figure 1 below) tells that the esports industry revenue reached $950 million in 2020 globally, which is slightly less than in 2019. Despite the dip in the last year that is attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic, esports is projected to grow to $1.6 billion in 2023 (Statista, 2021). Figure 1. Esports global market revenue (adapted from Newzoo and Statista)

The growth expectation is mainly attributed to the increase of revenues in sponsorship and advertising (see Figure 2). Figure 2. Global esports market Revenue in 2020 by segment

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(adapted from Newzoo and Statista)

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North America consists of only 12% of the world viewership market, while the biggest market is Asia. Revenue-wise, the biggest market in 2019 was the North American one with 37% of its revenue, China with 19% of the market revenue, and South Korea with 6%. An essential aspect of the esports industry’s growth is its viewership. In 2018 there were 173 million frequent viewers (and 222 million occasional viewers) who tuned in to watch their favorite games and players (see Figure 3 below). It is expected that there will be close to 300 million frequent viewers in 2023 (351 occasional viewers). In the US alone, there are 25.7 million estimated esports viewers in 2018 and are projected to grow to 46 million by 2023. Figure 3. Global esports audience size from 2018 to 2023

(adapted from Worldwide, Newzoo, and Statista)

An increasingly important facet of the esports industry is the different game tournaments, where major teams and players compete with each other. Fans love to attend them live and watch them on stream. These tournaments are a major revenue opportunity for players, and also a big revenue stream for organizers of the tournaments, as Streams of such tournaments can reach up to a million peak viewers online, as it happened during a Counter-Strike: Global offensive game in the Intel Extreme Masters (Statista, 2021).

Figure 4. Leading esports games globally by cumulative tournament prize pool

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(adapted from Worldwide, E-sport earnings, and Statista)

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With interest growing, the prize pool money grows as well. It’s no surprise then that one of the highest prize pools in these tournaments is, in fact, the Counter-Strike: Global offense one (see Figure 4 below).

FANTASY SPORTS AND ESPORTS CONSUMPTION PRACTICES Fantasy sports and esports consumers, for the most part, are highly involved and devoted consumers. Their devotion generally is due to the interactive nature of these sports, these events being important spectacles that are important entertainment for many, and also that these games are tools through which consumers feel a sense of achievement as these competitive platforms can help them to increase their performances on many platforms.

Fantasy Sports and Esports Practices as Social Interaction

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Esports and fantasy sports are multiplayer platforms. In these platforms, consumers interact with players and other consumers virtually. Even though the competition is virtual, sometimes the players meet and play in the same location. One crucial characteristic in such games is consumers compete or cooperate with people from different geographic locations and even from different social groups on a global scale (Adachi et al., 2015). This practice offers a unique and intense socialization opportunity for people who do not have the chance to interact with such groups of people in some other context or platforms. Another important aspect of these practices is that they intensify the sense of belongingness. Fan communities are increasingly important for consumers today because these communities offer the opportunity to share the love for a valued activity, thus, enjoy the activity even more. The interactions in these communities are multilevel; they are not only among players, or players and spectators but among fans as well. For many players, the main attraction is the sense of belongingness that results from intense and unique social interactions rather than playing the game (Martoncik, 2015). Moreover, this aspect of fantasy sports and esports consumption practices also offers opportunities to increase social interaction in the players’ everyday lives when they compete or cooperate with colleagues, friends, or partners on these platforms (Howie, 2014). The intergroup competition and cooperation satisfy interpersonal needs for inclusion and affection for many (Adahi, 2015). The focus for many participants in these practices is interacting with others in a meaningful way to intensify the relationships rather than developing a strategy to compete or win as an individual. Both competition and cooperation are understood as activities that contribute a different layer of meaning to everyday relations rather than as platforms of individual achievement. These games are largely strategized. Yet, consumers develop interaction and cooperation strategies rather than strategies to win.

Fantasy Sports and Esports Practices as Immersive Spectacles Just as is the case for sports in general, the sense of being a part of a spectacle is a dominating aspect of both fantasy sports and esports for most audiences. Research shows that fantasy sports participants tend to be more engaged spectators of sports in general (Carlson 2013). Both sports involve sensory spectacles, such as the case of watching the games in big arenas with other people and communal spectacles, as most people are devoted to the communal intensity of these events.

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Consumers are devoted to esports and fantasy sports as spectacles mainly for two reasons: 1) to take a break from everyday life and immerse themselves into a spectacular fantasy world with meaningful social interactions, and 2) to enrich their experience of general sports consumption. In other words, these events offer a More immersive and interactive spectacle at many levels that the audience appreciates. Furthermore, the sensationalized aspect of fantasy sports and esports consumption is a valuable focus for the most audience for two reasons; In these practices, people focus more on the feelings of spectacles rather than winning in the games and, this offers a different mentality than the competitive mentality of everyday life. Overall, the spectacle aspect of fantasy sports and esports consumption complements and intensifies consumption of traditional sports on which these games are based (Nesbit & King, 2009) by offering consumers other ways to ways to understand, experience, and enjoy their favorite sports, teams, and players (Farquhar 2007 citing from Fantasy Sports Trade Association, 2003). For instance, fans do not have to be fans of a specific team in fantasy sports, but rather they become fans of different players of their preference regardless of the team at which these players play in “real” life. This structure resonates with consumers who highly value personalization and flexibility. Such flexible games are more important spectacles for consumers as consumers get to enjoy their preferences and feel more immersed. Also, the community of very passionate fans creates a synergistic effect. These sports allow consumers to enjoy sports in a personal and flexible way with others whom they care about.

Fantasy Sports and Esports Practices as Performance Increasers

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Fantasy sports and esports involve considerable physical activity, social competition (Murphy, 2010), as well as cooperation skills. The fantasy sports and esports practices are mainly coordinated by a desire to perform increasingly better in these games. These practices allow consumers to relate to the games and sports in general in new and competitive ways. It is almost a double immersion of participants in the games and, thus, in how they perform. Through these practices, consumers increase their understanding of games, sports, or other varieties. This higher level of understanding leads to higher performance. An important component of esports and fantasy sports practice for the audience is that consumers do not only aim to increase their physical performance in specific sports but also aim to increase their social, cognitive, teamwork, and psychological skills (Flockhart, 2006; Murphy, 2010). Furthermore, these practices also help with improved consumer creativity capabilities as “some firms have opened a portion of their proprietary content for transformation by consumers and allowed the development of consumer-designed and consumer-implemented derivative products” (Arakji & Lang, 2007 p.2). Overall, most consumers focus on playing fantasy sports and esports as activities for the betterment of a multitude of their skills.

ESPORTS AND FANTASY SPORTS PRACTICE INTERRUPTIONS AND CHANGES: COVID-19 SITUATION With the COVID-19 pandemic, fantasy sports and esports have been interrupted and adapted, as has been the case for all types of sports, especially team sports. And while the fantasy sports industry is directly intertwined with traditional sport, the esports industry is not and, as such, has been even more adaptable and creative in maintaining its operations. In fact, as reported by Rosenblatt (2021), the esports industry 160

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was one of the few entertainment industries that were minimally affected by the pandemic compared to most other entertainment industry events. This has changed many other practices in the big scheme of things. An example is that, since most of the sports were down during the pandemic, sports bars started playing competitive esports instead, which was quite unusual until then but could be an important practice for sports bars’ future. Some of the significant changes in the practices of esports and fantasy sports pertain to the changes in the dynamics of the sensory spectacle and communal spectacles, the characteristics of the audience, and the management of these sports’ stability.

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Dynamics of the Sensory Experience vs. Communal Experience Both fantasy sports and esports leagues are typically linked to live events that offer sensory stimulation to the audience. Fantasy league players attend live traditional sports events, like American football, basketball, or football (soccer), as they are fans of certain teams and/or players they “own” in their leagues. Fantasy league players also gather in social chat platforms where users connect and exchange their strategies or ideas about certain leagues or players (Marinelli, 2020). The pandemic has slowed down the fantasy league industry, but the observed dedication of the fans/players even in the pandemic context guarantees that after-the-pandemic leagues have considerable potential. Esports - have traditionally relied on sensory spectacles in which consumers are fully immersed in their experience in big arenas, with cheers of fans and big plays’ celebrations. This is in a very similar, if not exactly the same, fashion as in traditional sports. Arenas of such events are typically sold out within hours, and such events are a very focal point of the esports industry; and as such, they are spectacles like other sports competitions in big sports arenas. With the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most significant changes has been that the arena gatherings have been canceled or been limited in the audience number and behavior. Yet, what is observed is that these sports have not disappeared as a result of these cancellations or limitations. Rather, the focus in these events has changed from sensory spectacles to experiences that create a community. Fandom is one of the most important tools of community building. In this context where people have felt the ever-increasing need to belong to a community, fantasy sports, and especially esports, has been a vital channel for people to share their passion and values. One reason why fandom and community in these events are significant for many is that the connection in these events is constant, as explained earlier. In the case of esports, fans have had the chance to still follow their favorite competitions via streaming channels such as Twitch, and they have gathered into communities such as Discord, where they watch others play which motivates them to play more or discuss and comment on their favorite games (Lang, 2021). It offers players a sense of much-needed camaraderie in the pandemic context. Furthermore, this connection is global, reaching all continents. Moreover, unlike traditional sports, esports games can go on forever and thus can be constantly discussed or analyzed, thus offering a constant, rather than temporary sense of community and connection. The extent to which the esports industry has embraced its fans and makes them feel more connected with the teams and with each other during the pandemic is evident in the case of Team Liquid. Team Liquid is an esports organization competing in 17 games and that just recently launched a new platform, Liquid+, on which fans of all 17 games connect, get the latest news about the team, and connect amongst each other, effectively creating a “virtual stadium” to recreate live events as best as possible. In fact will add onto them even when these live events come back (Church, 2021). 161

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Another observation that is largely discussed in many news articles is that many school districts in different places have started to use esports as a tool for middle school and high school students to overcome some of the shortcomings caused by the pandemic, namely to provide them with teamwork assignments and camaraderie and to even teach them some tech skills to prepare them for future jobs in this industry. To make a more significant impact, teachers are trained to be esports coaches so students can easily and quickly join the spring and summer sports seasons (Tadayon, 2021).

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The Audience of COVID-19 Fantasy Sports and Esports When viewership numbers of many traditional sports during the pandemic went down due to the complete cancellation of competitions, the viewership of the NBA 2K esports league surprisingly went up by 11.7%, with revenue also going up by 15.7%, as Williams (2021) reported citing data from Newzoo. The news emphasizes that what has changed in terms of the audience of these events is not only the number of people viewing them but also the characteristics and values of the audience. The most significant new audience is the group who seek a break from the pandemic stress and who seek strong and meaningful communal connections. In the time of the pandemic, people have an increased need to relieve extreme levels of stress. Typical distractions in everyday life, such as going to a group class at the gym, have also become a source of stress in this context. Fantasy sports, and especially esports, have become important stress-relieving platforms in a community. Another important group of the audience is fans of sports, professional or recreational, games that have been involved in traditional sports as neither players nor spectators. But, the interest of these people in traditional sports has not decreased. Indeed, these people have a more significant desire for sports. Due to this desire, and the nature of social distancing, and more people spending time indoors, a considerable group of sports spectators has found esports to be the channel to live and share their love for games. Many recreational esports leagues started to pop up with organized games and tournament events (Nelson, 2021). All of that to offer additional safe fun to the fun depriving kids at home, and of course, for collaboration. The diversity of the esports audience has, without a doubt, seen a significant increase as well. Fans that previously only preferred to play have most likely started to watch and vice versa. Just as the case in traditional sports, more viewership, and higher exposure mean increased participation. Viewership increases on Twitch and Youtube Gaming, 10% and 15%, respectively, and soon after the pandemic started are a clear indication of esports taking advantage of the situation. After all, as Smith (2020) described a joke circulating in the gaming community: “Many in the gaming community were preparing for a pandemic shutdown their entire lives.” Additionally, esports are now being used as a productivity tool, both for companies (Leporati, 2021) and schools. This has brought a new, big, and devoted audience base for these events. As mentioned before, recreational leagues being canceled has not deprived only the youngest one of sports, but also many adults. That is why many companies, like Walmart and IBM, to name a few, are now using esports to increase productivity, team building and are de facto using esports instead of, say, softball leagues to foster that work/life balance amongst their employees. The practice is so expanded now that an organization, Corporate Esports Association (CEA), organizes such leagues and events.

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Management of Instability of the Fantasy Sports and Esports Practices Due to the pandemic, both fantasy sports and esports have needed to adapt and change their modus operandi. The efficient and effective adaptation and change strategies of these industries are crucial aspects that offer a model concerning the importance of flexibility, multimodality, and technology orientation for many other industries in the market. Many news has celebrated these industries for their fast adaptation. Fantasy league players are by nature dependent on live events. Although the task of preparing one’s team for the weekly game is not an effortless task in “normal,” non-pandemic times, doing it during the pandemic has just added to the uncertainty and makes this even more complicated. This situation has led to higher levels of engagement among fantasy players (Willingham, 2020). Despite the initial problems caused by game cancelation, soon after games started again, the entire industry adapted to this uncertainty. Scheduling became more flexible. Statistical analysts have offered different ways of analyzing games. And despite all these adaptations caused many frustrations, it actually connected fans with something new to talk and connect about. Interestingly, some daily fantasy sports companies have continued throughout the pandemic without any major hiccups. Namely, Win Daily, Inc. kept on working even after the initial cancelations. First, they relied on the Mexican league soccer as it went on for a while after sport was shut down in the USA, then simulation Nascar and interestingly esports. This innovativeness kept them in business while actually increasing staff, payroll budget, and advertising budget (Mezrahi, 2021). Another way that fantasy sports and esports have managed the instability has been that they understand and utilize technological advancements. The technological advancement happening in developing countries offers an increased possibility for both fantasy sports and esports to expand in these markets. With its 1.3 billion population, India has tremendous potential for fantasy sports as cricket is religiously followed just as American football is in the USA or football is in Europe and South America. The quick penetration of smartphones and the 5G technology offers endless opportunities to the fantasy sports industry for many big and small-sized companies. The esports industry, too, needed to change how things are run quickly. Live tournaments, just as in traditional sports, were canceled. But after the initial scrambling, the industry promptly reorganized, ranging from switching tournament formats to redesigning whole circuit systems, and many of these adjustments are still in effect (Hyrlikova, 2021), and it looks like that will be a part of the industry if/ when things go back to normal. The fast adaptation of these events has brought many advantages. One of these significant advantages is to attract sponsors. And as they have attracted more sponsors, they had more resources for managing instability more efficiently. The NBA saw an opportunity with the NBA 2K esports league, which so far attracted many corporate sponsors. Sponsors saw an opportunity to connect with an audience that is traditionally difficult to reach, and by doing so, we can argue that esports extended the audiences of traditional sports. In fact, as described by Campbell (2021), due to the fall out of many live traditional sports games that were canceled because of COVID-19, many traditional sports leagues used their esports counterparts and organized events and broadcasted live esports events instead. By doing so, some of the revenue was not lost, and their traditional fans “crossed-over” into the esports platform. With this higher media exposure, these events have attracted even more sponsors. Companies such as Mercedes, McDonald, Coca-Cola are just some of the most notorious ones who jump on the “esports bandwagon,” factually

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legitimizing the esports industry with their consumers. Others who did the same were Gucci, IBM, and Chupa Chups (Hyrlikova, 2021) Another critical point in the successful management of instability has been globalization. The esports industry already expanded globally before the pandemic. Yet, the news shows that the extent of globalization has been more considerable during the pandemic. The internet and Wi-Fi technologies have made it possible for players to play against each other no matter where they are. This was one of the biggest appeals of these sports, allowing them to thrive. Yet, during the pandemic, this has become even a more significant characteristic of these sports. Events are organized globally and can reach industry fans easily. For example, the NBA added a Chinese team to its NBA 2K competition. Now it’s tapping the African continent.

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DISCUSSION After the analysis and review of industry reports and news about the trends in both fantasy sports and esports, it is suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic has not significantly affected their tremendous growth in the last decade as negatively as it has affected many other industries. However, it has changed the practices of the audience and management. Yet, these changes have so far worked for the benefit of these games. Although there was some impact in fantasy leagues, such as the temporary cancellation of all sports competitions in March 2020 or the daily adjustments by fantasy league players due to COVID-19 exposures of some athletes, once competitions reopened, there was not any significant long term effect. Fantasy league, fueled by the NFL, was quickly back on its regular numbers, and it has not slowed much after. Esports, as traditional sports did, were significantly affected by the cancellation of live competitions, but competitions have not stopped, and the audience was still able to follow the tournaments online, and in fact, due to the easiness of access and other reasons we have discussed earlier the audience base grew during the pandemic. The three dimensions that we have discussed above have offered positive changes and offer hope for both fantasy sports and esports fields for growth in the near future after the pandemic: Audience identity and devotion, more intense and deeper meaning of fandom and community in the time of isolation, as well as effective and efficient management of fantasy and esports in a way to make it more conventional that would dominate the sports and gaming industries. How consumers consume fantasy sports and esports is shaped by their understanding of traditional sports, their social activities that revolve around sports, and their self-concepts and skills. Consumers find the opportunities to develop new relationships, strengthen their relationships that revolve around the fandom of certain sports, develop various skills, and experience sports more intensely by consuming fantasy sports and esports. Consumers start to see more of coopetition rather than competition or cooperation aspects of sports and routinize sports as a part of their everyday life selves. The practices help consumers help personalize and intensify their experiences with sports in general. These practices help with a higher level of immersion into the sports. They also transform fandom into a more interactive form. Many unconventional practices have started to become conventional in the “new normal” due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Unconventional has meant finding alternatives as the solution to survival in the

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context of the pandemic. Due to changes in the expectations and skills of more diverse audiences, we expect that there will be even more diverse practices in more diverse formats after the pandemic. A decade ago, Jonasson and Thiborg (2010) discussed what kind of an impact esports would have on the future of sports. They proposed three possible scenarios about the role of esports within the traditional framework of sports; i) they will be a counterculture within the big sports culture, ii) they will be a significant part of modern sports culture, and iii) they will be the future of sports. Some significant shifts happened in the past decade, and based on the observations and news analyzed in this chapter, it is suggested that the current status of esports is somewhat in between the first two scenarios proposed by Jonasson and Thiborg: esports is moving out of the role of the counterculture of sport and moving into being a part of the modern sports industry.

CONCLUSION Overall, consumption of online sports requires an understanding of traditional sports. However, they also have an important impact on how traditional sports and people’s relation to them are understood and experienced. There is always a need to understand and explain how new methods of consuming traditional products and services are influenced by traditional ways of consumption and, in return, how it shapes traditional ways of consumption. This approach can be extended to many traditional and everyday consumption practices that consumers have started to experience on multiple platforms. This has much significance to consumer researchers as most consumption behavior has begun to occur in various traditional and online platforms. The big question is: Will games such as fantasy sports or esports be a strong complement to sports? The answer based on the analysis presented in this chapter is that it will complement the physical benefits of traditional sports with the flexibility and stronger community benefits. It is expected that traditional sports are here to stay and thrive after the pandemic, mainly due to all the physical benefits they offer and because people miss it during the pandemic. Indeed, sports activities are among the activities that consumers have missed most. The physical benefits of traditional sports will probably make them stay. But, as it was discussed in this chapter, there are already fantasy leagues about esports competitions. And at least in this particular case, esports will increasingly become an equal partner to traditional sports.

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Howie, C., & Campbell, P. (2014). Fantasy Sports: Socialization and Gender Relations. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 39(1), 61–77. doi:10.1177/0193723514533200 Hyrlikova, H. (2021, February 9). Eldorado: How did the Pandemic Change the esports landscape. Esports Insider. https://www.esportsinsider.com/2021/02/eldorado-esports-landscape-2020/ IBISWorld. (2020, June 9). Fantasy Sports Services Industry in the US – Market Research report. https:// www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/fantasy-sports-services-industry/ Jacobs, H. (2015, May 11). Here’s the Insane Training Schedule of a 20-something Professional Gamer. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/pro-gamers-explain-the-insane-training-regimenthey-use-to-stay-on-top-2015-5

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Willingham, A. J. (2020, December 5). Fantasy Football Is a Billion-Dollar Pastime. Covid-19 Is Wreaking Havoc With It. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/05/us/fantasy-football-coronavirus-challengestrnd/index.html

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Chapter 11

Dealing With Adversity:

An Examination of the COVID-19 Impact on High School Athletes and Their Coaches Greg Selber The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA Kimberly A. Selber The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, has been that rare world-shaking event, from its efects on health, economics, and politics to its infuence on attitudes, behavior, and wellness. In a particular context, high school sports have also been greatly altered by the coronavirus, as many spring seasons were abbreviated, truncated, or aborted altogether in the wake of the pandemic spread. This chapter seeks to examine the efects of the pandemic on high school coaches and athletes in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a southernmost region comprising four counties on the Texas-Mexico border and about 1.5 million people. The Valley, as it is known, has one of the lowest per capita incomes per region in the United States, and it is an area where high school sports is a very important vehicle for all its participants.

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INTRODUCTION Contests of strength, speed, and skill have been a part of human life since the beginning of time, in terms of the impact of physicality on success in hunting and defense/warfare, and also as regards cultural development, competition, socialization, and cohesion. The notion of “play,” according to Johan Huizinga in “Homo Ludens” (1938/1971, p. 5), is an important element of the cultural development not only for youth but for all members of the society. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch011

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It has been suggested that play and physicality have always tended to be co-opted into a larger economic framework, i.e., professionalization of these organic tendencies (Michener 1976, 201; Baker, 1982, 32), leading to problematic issues such as gambling, blood doping, and over-reliance on sports, to name a few. Still, the natural benefits of physical exercise and play are undeniable, particularly applicable in the context of youth. Traditional literature concerning sports is replete with recounting of the positive effects of athletics on young people, including the building of teamwork, sportsmanship, and respect for rules, among others. The stories of American author Burt L. Standish (1903/2008) during the early 20th century, collected into the fabled series featuring the fictional Frank Merriwell as hero and exemplar of good sportsmanship and competition, acts as a prime example of the propagation of ideas through what one might call a “rhetoric of athletics,” in connection to its helpfulness as a socialization and teaching device of the young. Sports (and fanship) have also often acted as a compelling vehicle for building connections and pride of place, often in a spatial, geographical sense. Benedict Anderson (1983, p. 45) shows how people come to see themselves as part of an imagined community even though they rarely have any contact with others in the group. Anderson’s notions of connection pertain mainly to nationalism but can also be imputed to sports, i.e., school or community spirit. In a nationalistic sense, athletic events play a role in propagating and maintaining national identity, as attested in numerous books about international football – soccer – and its importance to identity, e.g., Ian Hawkey’s 2009 (p. 39) work, “Feet of the Chameleon,” about the sport’s contribution to post-colonial African identity construction. But what happens when the teaching, learning, and fan support are interrupted, and the exercise and play are curtailed by chance? When the COVID-19 pandemic exploded in the spring of 2020, it eventually caused the cancellation of most of the world’s sporting endeavors, both on a professional and amateur level. As of September 2020, most American high schools were struggling with how – or even whether – to resume athletic activity on campus, after most spring sports (soccer, baseball, softball, track, for prominent examples) had seen their campaigns postponed, abbreviated, or in many cases canceled altogether. In the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, comprising a series of small towns on the Texas-Mexico border, the second wave of the pandemic in mid-summer put this usually obscure area in the international headlines as one of the worst “hot spots” of the virus. The latest Texas high school football season was thus put into jeopardy because of the rampant outbreak on the border, where communities totaling 1.5 million people suffered some of the highest worldwide percentages of infection and death (Solomon, 2020). For communities which are often overly dependent on sports for entertainment – the Valley has three of the four poorest counties in the country (Custer, 2015; United States Census Bureau, n.d.) – and in a state where football is sometimes more of a religion than simply a pastime, as reflected in H.G. Bissinger’s (1991) “Friday Night Lights” phenomenon, the end of competitive athletic events was potentially a bigger disaster for participants than for those in other more affluent places with the money and ability to find other pursuits. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of the 2020 suspension of athletic competition in the Valley, focusing on high school-age student-athletes and their coaches, detailing their struggles to come to grips with the abeyance of not only their routines but their dreams. As Michener states in “Sports in America” (1976, p.252), sport has always been an important safety valve for residents in low-income communities, offering the chance to parlay success in games into an elusive college education on one

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hand, and giving vital feedback in the form of positive self-image, recognition, and increased self-worth on the other, regardless of whether they play at the next level. Using in-depth interviews with coaches and student-athletes who had their seasons squelched, the research will examine the classical conception of the value of play, competition, and organized athletics, suggesting that for many student-athletes living on the impoverished border, the suspension of games was not only a crimp in extra-curricular style, but in some cases a serious threat to their development, their ability to use baseball, softball, or track as a way to carve out their niche in the world, in college athletics, and finally, a hit to morale and self-esteem. Nonetheless, the student-athletes attempted to persevere with help from coaches. The stories of these athletes and coaches will help illustrate the importance of sport to physical and emotional/societal development as well as to the opportunity to attend college and continue sporting careers. Many of the subjects were able to rebound from the pandemic and the wake of cancellations; others were not. The point of this research is to trace the basic contributions athletics has traditionally made to various aspects of development, exploring these notions of, among others, teamwork, sportsmanship and cohesion, to examine how the traits in question – not to mention chances of the dream of using skill and ability to provide a college education – were affected by the COVID-19 scourge and its devastation visited on the stunted sporting season of 2020.

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SETTING THE STAGE There are endless versions of literature and lore extolling the virtues of sports, from the ancient Greek notion of a sound mind and body – mens sana in corpare sano – to the Muscular Christianity movement that originated in the 19th century (Putney, 2001). The latter was characterized by a belief in patriotic duty, discipline, self-sacrifice, manliness, and physical beauty of athleticism exemplified somewhat earlier in Thomas Hughes’(1857) series of stories which began in 1857 with “Tom Brown’s Schooldays.” As stated, in America, the Frank Merriwell saga as told by Burt L. Standish, is a prominent example among many that sought to plump for athletic competition as an excellent way to inculcate health, wellness, and All-American virtues such as teamwork, sportsmanship, and discipline. A more recent variety of the genre comes from the Friends’ Central School in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, a K-12 educational entity with ideological roots in colonial Quaker times. On the school blog (Crowley) in 2019, administrators came up with a rubric to explain the pluses associated with organized athletics, based on research in psychology and kinesiology, among other fields of academic study. Titled “6 Benefits of Participating in High School Sports,” the post gave advice on choosing a sport for children and for aligning an educational philosophy with a family’s principles, incorporating extracurricular activities as one of the keys to this successful mesh. Here are its major findings:

1. Physical Health and Wellness The article suggests that sports promote physical health at a vital time in a young person’s life and quotes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showing that those who participate are less likely to engage in negative activities such as smoking and drinking and less likely to suffer from obesity and/ or diabetes. Sports also serve as an outlet to relieve the stress that comes from academic and social life, which can improve mental health overall. 171

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2. Leadership and Teamwork Skills On the Friends’ site, soccer coach Luke Nowell describes the importance of development in this area, noting that gradually, student-athletes mature and grow into leadership roles and eventually “take younger players under their wing by showing them the ropes.” He adds that sports help participants cultivate valuable life skills, such as empathy. While working for a common goal, student-athletes learn appreciation for their peers, and the team concept learned on the field “carries over into the classroom and beyond, creating a more positive school culture as a whole.”

3. Mentorship The Friends’ document argues that facilitating professional growth and success for others is integral in the high school setting, where coaches are ideally the ultimate mentors for their kids, guiding them in pursuit of goals and reaching their potential. Nowell adds that coach-player relationships help the student-athlete on the field but also in school, extending to college aspirations and preparation for the next level. Coach-athlete relations create a “bigger picture” perspective for students, sometimes helping them develop as contributors in the community aside from sporting endeavors. Taking part in a strongly collaborative environment gives students tools they can use to be successful in life.

4. Time Management Preparation is a key component for student-athletes, whether it’s getting ready for a game or a test in school, and sports helps high school students balance their tasks and schedules. Again, this skill development and planning will probably teach the principle habits that will last a lifetime. Nowell says he has seen kids begin to adjust to the rigors of college work and sports even before they get there, based on high school experience in this area. “A lot of kids enter college and struggle to play catch-up and adjust to day-to-day life,” he writes. “Our students have already been living it for four years, so it makes the transition seamless.”

5. Improved Academics

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Several studies have linked positive academic results to participation in high school athletics. The Friends’ site notes National Federation of State High School Associations’ (2020) research revealing that participation was independently associated with higher GPAs for student-athletes. Efficient preparation and improved communication skills can be transferable from field to class.

6. Accountability and Responsibility Sports are supposed to teach participants to be responsible through daily requirements, including showing up prepared and on time. The coach’s goal is to teach student-athletes to hold themselves and each other accountable for actions that will directly impact the team as a collective. Inculcating the value of collaboration and team spirit, as well as the ability to learn from mistakes and correct them, is a huge part of the coaching experience. By building character, staying positive, and communicating effectively, participants in high school sports ideally grow as individuals and as members of a group. 172

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Summation of Benefits from Sports Participation Nowell adds that athletic programs are an integral part of the curriculum at Friends’ and are “used to cultivate intellectual, spiritual, and ethical promise of our students.” One of the most important aspects, he adds, is to teach students resiliency by “learning to fail. To take that failure, learn and grow from it and bounce back even stronger, is so crucial not only on the field, but the classroom, and in life” (Crowley, 2019).

THE CASES

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Overcoming Adversity Edinburg High head baseball coach Robert Valdez went through his share of adversity in 2020, from being reassigned (later reinstated) to the death of a parent. But he says that having to see his seniors miss the majority of their last go-around was perhaps the toughest of the setbacks. “For a lot of kids, this is their outlet,” said Valdez, a former standout athlete himself at the school. “It means a ton to our guys to get some recognition, raise their self-esteem. The fact that our season was cut short, it damaged what we are trying to do as coaches, which is help the kids build life skills, to make them into good leaders.” Valdez worked with his players to help them through the cancellation of the season, which occurred in mid-March before the first district game had even been played. “How to overcome adversity,” he insisted. “They need to be ready for that, because it’s going to happen in life, too, later on.” Valdez, who has established one of the Valley’s most consistent contenders over the past decade, believes strongly in mentoring. He has plenty of stories about kids he’s coached who have gone on to make it, graduating from a school of humble means in one of the poorest areas in the country. “One of our guys came here from Mexico, didn’t speak English yet, but he worked hard and always listened. Now he’s an engineer,” Valdez related. “We have several players who have gone on to become coaches. Really, it’s not about wins and losses or the monetary reward we get from this job. It’s about the relationships along the way. We had one guy who no one ever thought would go to college; he didn’t show any interest in it. But after four years with us, he took a shot, made it after a few hiccups, and is now in law school. That’s what sports is all about to me, helping kids become successful.” Valdez states that when he was coming up as a Bobcat, his coaches were instrumental in teaching him discipline and commitment. And now he’s passing it on, paying it forward, as they say. “They gave us tough love, and it worked,” he recalled. “They made sure we knew what the real world was going to have in store for us, and that’s what I am doing now in my coaching role.” In terms of the end to the 2020 baseball season, Valdez felt tremendous empathy for his 12th-graders. “It was just an abrupt end because of COVID,” he said. “There was no preparation for their last game; hell, we didn’t even get to play district ball. Such an abrupt end, and one guy, he had been injured in football, missed half the season. He rehabbed and worked hard to come back ready for baseball, and then this happened. Everyone was shell-shocked by what happened, but for him, it was a doubly difficult thing. But I told him and the other seniors, ‘This is the greatest lesson you will get about what it’s like

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to face and handle adversity.’ It’s left a bitter taste, to be sure, but there was nothing any of us could do except just deal with it.”

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All About the Future, Now Rigo Sanchez is a colleague of Valdez in the Valley coaching fraternity. As head baseball coach of Economedes High and also a football assistant, Sanchez, like Valdez, was a standout in sports in high school and has worked at his alma mater for the past 12 seasons. Also, like his Edinburg High mate, Sanchez has completed a master’s degree in higher education and someday plans on entering administration, perhaps as a principal. With that in mind, he focuses on the future, for himself and for his kids. “We play an important role in terms of leadership, and one of the things I believe in is what can be learned through participation in athletics,” he said. “I had a lot of positive influences on my life as I came through, coaches who helped me believe in myself against the odds.” Economedes is one of the most challenged schools in the area where poverty has a long legacy.14 The majority of the 2,200 students come from low-income households, and many are migrant workers, traveling the country doing farm labor from late spring to late summer. This means they miss large swaths of the school year in attempting to help their families put food on the table. “It’s all about the big picture; we have a lot of kids who have important roles to fulfill at home,” Sanchez explained. “They can’t always make it to practice, and many of them cannot afford the training and equipment that kids from other richer districts can afford. So, we have to allow for their circumstances while also pushing [them] to work hard and be successful. It’s not that they don’t have talent; it’s often that they don’t have the time or resources to concentrate solely on their sport.” When he was in high school, Sanchez was one of the stars of an Economedes football team that had won just one game the two previous seasons before breaking through to a playoff appearance in 2004. And he uses that experience all the time in mentoring his guys. “The coaches got us together before the season and they made us believe that we could be successful,” he remembered. “And when we were able to make the playoffs, win a game and almost go to the third round, a lot of the things the coaches were telling us, well, they stuck with us as we left school and got on with our lives.” When his players tell Sanchez that they cannot come to practice because they have to work, he understands. “We say, alright, no problem, get here when you can,” he said. “I let them know that I get it, I was them, I grew up here and went to school under the same circumstances. That connection, the fact that I know what they are going through, I think it helps them see that we are committed to them. And that also shows them what good leadership and coaching are supposed to be.” Sanchez believes, as does Valdez, that instilling confidence is one of the vital jobs of a coach. “Frankly, because we have never been that successful here in sports, sometimes the kids have a morale problem,” said Sanchez, who led the Jaguars to a rare playoff appearance in baseball three seasons ago. “We tell them that hey, it can be done; you just have to work, make no excuses, and battle through adversity. Sometimes we end up being father figures to some of these guys, their home life is difficult … some don’t even have fathers at home. Being involved in sports may be the brightest part of their day, and we as coaches always have to remember that. We try not to discourage them or be negative; I

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feel like our responsibility is to make it fun for them, so they can enjoy playing and take off some of the pressure they feel in life.” As for the cancellation of the latest season, Sanchez was as shocked as any of the players. “We were having a tournament here in town, and my phone started blowing up with rumors. I thought, OK, maybe we will miss a few days, and then we’ll be back at it,” he opined. “But gradually it became apparent that the season was lost, and for my seniors, they were devastated. They never got to finish what they started. But bigger picture again, we would have loved to finish the season, of course. They didn’t even get to have a season-ending banquet. But what we hope is that the things they have learned in high school, through athletics, will help them move into the world and know that no matter what happens, on the job or at home, they can tough it out and find a way. “At Economedes, our job as coaches extends past games, all the way into the kids and their lives, their hopes and dreams, and their future,” Sanchez noted. “That’s something we all focus on. We have to do it that way, to me. It’s more important than just baseball for our kids; they need us to help them get ready for what lies ahead.”

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Relocating Self During COVID One of the reasons she transferred into Edinburg High after her sophomore year had to do with school spirit. Once she got to her new school, Seci Lopez knew instantly she had made the right decision. Bobcat Pride is a long and storied tradition since 1919, and even though there are four schools in town now, Edinburg High was the original. And that matters to the kids, coaches, and fans. “I felt so comfortable right away. Everyone at EHS bleeds red and blue; everyone was so welcoming to me,” she recalls. “The spirit here was amazing, and someday I am going to come back here as a coach … I want every student to have the great experience I did. I want them to love it there just like I did.” Lopez was a softball prodigy, starting the game at age six after having watched her older sister play the game. Each of the Lopez girls was destined to compete at the college level, Sara at Texas A&MKingsville and now Seci, who is in her freshman season at McClennan Community College in Waco, six hours north of the Valley. “I loved the sport because of my sister,” Lopez said. “I started playing, and pretty soon it was my life, all the season, summers with club ball, it became a way of life.” The path seemed obvious: complete a fine high school career as a pitcher and outfielder and go to college to continue the dream. However, life had a twist in store for 2020. “We’d played 15 or so games, got our tournaments in and were about to start district,” she said. “Then there were rumors about COVID, everyone was like, ‘It’s here, it’s here, it’s in McAllen’ [adjacent town to Edinburg]. Some people were saying it’s fake, but somehow, I just knew, the minute the rumors started: there goes the season … I knew we were done.” The personal irony was that the Lady Bobcats had just played Weslaco East High when the cancellation news broke. “Last year in the playoffs, I had the game of my life against East,” Lopez grinned. “I went 5 for 5, and now I was going back to the same field, same opponent. Little did I know that this would be my last game in high school. I didn’t do very well in the game; I guess I was thinking about it way too much. I kind of knew this was it.” One way or another, though the loss of her senior season was a crusher, the softball star knows that it has all been worthwhile. 175

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“I know that without softball, I wouldn’t have been nearly involved in school or life in general. I would have been a little bum.” Lopez served as a student athletic trainer for the football team for two seasons at Edinburg High, was active in the National Honor Society, and took part in numerous extracurricular events through church. “I think that besides sports, my involvement in community service was the most rewarding part,” she explained. “I was able to see other people’s situations, put myself in their shoes, and develop a lot of empathy and understanding about what life is all about.” Sports seemed to jumpstart her life in every way, causing her to craft a work ethic and dedication that extended past the diamond into the real world. And this dedication paid off during her first months at McClennan. “It started off horribly; we all got COVID right off the bat,” she related. “I got really sick, actually, and there I was, so far from home and having to fight it off and stay positive.” Having gone through a tough regimen of training in high school and having seen that pattern take hold and become part of her everyday attitude, Lopez was able to weather the storm. “It was partly physical, just getting the virus,” she said. “But a lot of it was mental, I had to be strong and get into the struggle, and I feel that because I had some tough coaches who worked me to death, I was ready to face this adversity and compete against it.” Lopez noted that in high school, she learned that one has to work hard for what they want. “And you know what, as far as physical training, once I was able to get back to it, I worked harder than ever once I was ready. I probably hit it harder during quarantine than I ever had before.” The other silver lining to the COVID pandemic is a more spiritual one. Having been active in church all her life, Lopez discovered that dealing with sickness and lack facilitated a rebirth of sorts. “I definitely needed my faith to make me stronger during all this, especially since I was also starting college at the time,” she pointed out. “I had sort of lost my way recently for various reasons, but I was able to get back to myself and find Him again.” On the day she was interviewed, Lopez commented that she had just returned from a church outing, a socially distanced College Night event at one of Waco’s many houses of worship. “I had been wanting to find a church up here, you know, start to get back to my faith,” she mused. “And a few of the girls on the dance team invited me, all random … and I am so, so glad that they did.”

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Case Analysis and Relation to Literature and Theory The goal in analyzing the interview data was to make connections between the words and phrases used by the subjects to describe their situations and the historical literature on sports and its benefits. The interviews were free-flowing and unscripted, as opposed to the orchestrated set-up sometimes used in focus groups, for example, with the purpose of avoiding the error of “priming the pump” or eliciting responses based on preconceived notions. With this in mind, it is striking that each of the subjects’ discourse mirrored the rhetoric of athletics so often seen in classical texts on sport, such as the Standish stories from a literary perspective and the Friends’ website on benefits in sports. This may be a case of socialization or transmission of key ideas and phrases from teachers – in this case, coaches – to their mentored subjects. It also may be said that the experiences that coaches and athletes have had – which they discussed in the interviews – truly reflected the literature and rhetoric. It is suggested here that both outcomes are in play to a degree. The athlete who was interviewed spoke of the discipline and work ethic she learned and honed during her 176

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career, and the way these traits helped her overcome the obstacle of being saddled with COVID almost immediately after going to college. The interview method also indicates the strengths and weaknesses of the qualitative research tradition. On one hand, people who talk about their lives in depth will generally reveal aspects of their experience that are “authentic,” in that their words are their assessments, and if they have not been prompted too heavily by pre-conceived interview questions and suggestions, one must take on face value the things that they say. However, there is always the possibility that the interview subject has glommed on to what the researcher is after and – as many such studies have shown – display the tendency to “play along” or offer what they perceive to be “socially desirable” answers. Then there is the limitation to authenticity: just because someone says they have done things on the basis of this or that lesson learned, the researcher must be aware that there is no real way, in an ontological sense, of ascertaining without doubt, the reality of their motivations, or for that matter establish any ironclad causality between lessons imparted over time and subsequent behaviors. Someone can say whatever they want in an interview setting, and the only way to get a more valid and reliable data set would be to engage in long-term participant observation, which is relatively difficult to set up and execute for a number of reasons. Minus an ethnographic design over an extended period of time, where actions and speech of subjects tend to yield a richer, more nuanced, and to an extent a more defensibly verifiable context through real-time, organic events, the researcher is dependent on the talk that subjects make; there is no way around that. Nonetheless, the speech acts of the subjects for this study do suggest a certain alignment between the rhetoric of sport and the experiences rendered by the interview subjects. With that in mind, the discussion of school spirit and camaraderie by Seci Lopez suggested that much as the literature reads, this subject did find a real emotional benefit from participation in sports. The back story here is that in the South Texas town of Edinburg, where there are four schools in heated competition with one another every year, the original school in town, EHS, is known for Bobcat Pride. The researcher, with decades of work as a sports journalist covering these teams extensively, can corroborate the fact that this particular school has a demonstrably greater degree of spirit among fans and players, coaches, too, and this makes it a classic example of an imagined community. Though a town with a population of 100,000 will offer more chances for members of an associative organization (here, a sports program in a school, but also the fan base and the student body, combined) to have actual contact with one another, a large part of Bobcat Pride is associative and not intimate. Anderson’s notion about nationalism is that through symbols – and identification with them – members of a group transcend barriers of time and space to forge unity and bond over various shared affinities. Lopez as much as said that she transferred from one school to another because of this factor. Ironically, the school she left was more successful in softball than the one she went to, and that speaks volumes about the qualities of the program she decided to join. Lopez has also participated steadily in community service and church fellowship, and while one cannot suggest that simple participation in athletics was the key determinant in the development of these aspects of her life, it can be suggested that she feels that sports, discipline, teamwork, et al., have contributed to the construction of her constellation of activities. Here, sports, much as has been the case in post-colonial countries, has offered her a sense of pride in place and personal achievement, an identity in a team context of softball, both in high school and college. As for the coaches who were interviewed: each spoke at length about the way they were coached and mentored when they were athletes and noted at several junctures that they have used these experiences 177

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to help them in coaching careers. While again, this sort of party line can be assessed as an example of socialization, realizing this fact does not detract from the interactions the coaches have had with their student-athletes, and it does not gainsay the effects that their work with the kids has achieved. To wit, Robert Valdez’ stories about helping his baseball players get interested in college – in an area where the level of educational attainment lags well behind that of most more affluent areas – reflect that as long as we take on face value the speech acts of the subject, we can surmise that in many cases, sports has made the difference in the futures of some student-athletes falling into the at-risk category, for various reasons. Valdez’ story about the Mexican student who mastered English and went on to success at the next level, as well as the tale of the player who never thought about going to college before joining the Bobcat program, are instructive. Both anecdotes illustrate that with repetition of fundamentals such as discipline, time management, and accountability, some student-athletes will mature and improve, and keep on doing the things they have learned in high school at the next stop along the way. Which brings the study to Sanchez, the Economedes coach who has mined his past as a studentathlete at this severely challenged institution to construct morale and belief in his baseball players. The striking aspect of his story has to do with the future. As a master’s graduate in high education, Sanchez is well versed in the rhetoric of social justice and amelioration of inequalities, and he uses his position as coach – and future administrator – to get his kids motivated and determined to overcome their problems, on and off the field. Like Valdez, he stressed confidence and self-esteem as important goals he seeks to bolster in his teams, beyond results on the field. In trying to get the Economedes players ready for “real life,” he uses lessons learned along his life path to instruct and show the kids he has empathy for them – because he was there himself once – but also to get them used to avoiding excuse-making and simply to keep pushing forward. The wild card in this study was, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, and each of the subjects spoke at length about the challenges, disappointments, and recovery that eventuated in time. Their talk of the crisis and its effects mesh with the benefits of sport literature, both fiction and non-fiction varieties, suggesting that the subjects experienced the COVID situation in a sporting context and that their adventures on the field have assisted them in dealing with the overarching anxiety, writ large, of 2020. In sum, it can be supposed that high school athletics, though certainly not a panacea for all problems, or the only avenue through which adolescents can learn, progress, and achieve, has in some instances lived up the rhetoric of the sports storybooks and of public relations-inflected organizations such as the Friends’ Central School in Pennsylvania. For the trio of subjects in South Texas, success and fulfillment in life has been aided substantially through athletics, which has taught teamwork, discipline, and perseverance, day after day. Their experiences, while not technically generalizable to a larger population, are resonant of the sort of qualities that high school sport has always insisted it has sought to inculcate in its participants.

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REFERENCES Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Verso. Baker, W. J. (1982). Sports in the Western World. Chicago: Univ. of Illinois Press. Bissinger, H. G. (1991). Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream. HarperCollins. doi:10.1177/019263659107553213 Crowley, M. (2019, December 23). Six Benefits of Participating in High School Sports. Friends’ Central School Blog. https://blog.friendscentral.org/6-benefits-of-participating-in-high-school-sports Custer, A. (2015, January 13). Texas’s Poorest County Located in Rio Grande Valley. https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/texass-poorest-county-is-located-in-the-rio-grande-valley/ Hawkey, I. (2009). Feet of the Chameleon: The Story of African Football. Portico Books. Hughes, T. (1857). Tom Brown’s Schooldays. Macmillan. Huizinga, J. (1971). Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture (Rev. ed.). Beacon Books. Michener, J. (1976). Sports in America. Random House. Putney, C. (2001). Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920. Harvard Univ. Press. QuickFacts, Edinburg City, Texas. (n.d.). United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/edinburgcitytexas/HCN010212 Solomon, D. (2020, July 24). The Rio Grande Valley is Texas’ Coronavirus Hot Spot. Texas Monthly. https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/rio-grande-valley-texas-coronavirus-hot-spot/ Standish, B. L. (2008). Frank Merriwell at Yale (Rev. ed.). Wildside Press.

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The Case for High School Athletics. (2020). National Federation of State High School Associations. https://www.nfhs.org/articles/the-case-for-high-school-activities/#chapter1

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Chapter 12

Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic: The Case of Colombia

Juan D. Zabala-Sandoval https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8999-4053 University of Ibague, Colombia & University of Chile, Chile Andrés Gómez-León University of Rosario, Colombia & Universidad Los Libertadores, Colombia Jaime H. Sierra-González Pontifcia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia Iván D. Hernández-Umaña University of Ibague, Colombia

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ABSTRACT This chapter explores diferent impacts that the pandemic has had on athletes from bodybuilding, aikido, and squash practices in Colombia. It seeks to analyze the efects produced by the COVID-19 crisis and the response actions, seeking a structure that allows for the understanding of changes in sports practices as individual adaptation to the new conditions caused by the pandemic. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted to establish a baseline of sports habits and to investigate the efects on motivations, routines, times, spaces, and perspectives of the athletes. After describing the methodology, the main fndings are presented. The diversity of the responses was used to construct categories of analysis which, as an added value, allow for the grouping of heterogeneous positions, which were then divided into (1) adjustments, (2) adaptability, and (3) the negotiation of meaning. Finally, conclusions are presented.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch012

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

INTRODUCTION This chapter explores different impacts that the pandemic on aikido, bodybuilding, and squash practitioners in Colombia. It analyses the effects produced by the Covid-19 crisis and the action responses by developing a structure that allows understanding changes seen in sports practices as individual adaptations to the new conditions caused by the pandemic. For this purpose, we conduct semi-structured interviews and design a questionnaire to establish a baseline of sports habits and investigate the effects on the athletes’ motivations, routines, times, spaces, levels of demand, and perspectives. Although the nature of disciplines is quite heterogeneous, it is possible to obtain conclusions about adaptation and decision making when faced within each sport. The overall study relevance is based on contributions from physical and mental health areas, social interaction, and the importance of sport as a predictor of self-reported life quality. Subsequently, following Dubet (2010), the theoretical framework establishes three conceptual levels to be addressed: (i) integration, (ii) strategy, and (iii) subjectivation, which allows for a framework of analysis for the responses obtained. After describing the methodology, we present the main findings. Based on the diversity of responses, categories of analysis were constructed to group heterogeneous positions. These were divided into (i) adjustment, (ii) adaptation, and (iii) negotiation of meaning. Finally, the outcomes and conclusions.

BACKGROUND

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Restrictions Imposed by Colombian Authorities In Colombia, were restricted all sports practices to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. The population had to carry out a generalized and strict quarantine called the “Preventive Isolation Period” regulate through Decree 457 (Decree 457 de 2020). This context became one of the longest quarantines in the world. It meant severe restrictions for industry, commerce, and various service activities such as public transport. Decree 457 does not include the sports practices in his exceptions. Athletes were entirely confined since the formal restrictions were complemented by multiple pedagogical campaigns that called out to avoid public and private social congregations of any kind under threat of criminal and economic sanctions. Due to this legislation, practitioners sports at all levels saw their meetings with colleagues, partners, rivals, and coaches restricted. Add to the impossibility of access to clubs and all practice facilities, make to competitive tournaments were postponed or canceled. The training was arduous because of the generalized closure of facilities thus making it difficult to access equipment and implements for regular sports practice. For example, the closure of clubs and closed spaces made it even harder since the use of open places and multi-strength gyms installed in parks was also explicitly prohibited. In Bogota, for example, Decree 143 (Decree 143 de 2020) allowed some activities such as walking, running, jogging, or cycling at specific times during the morning and for periods of one-to-two hours within a geographical range not exceeding one kilometer away from home and, in the case of minors, under the compulsory accompaniment of elders. In any case, each legislation maintained the recommendations about biosafety protocols, mobility restrictions, and rules on physical distancing do it difficult to carry out the usual pattern of sport training practices. 181

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 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

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Justification Studies agree in exploring comparisons between sedentary lifestyles and sports, that the former is a harmful enemy of public health. Kohl et al. (2012) have documented that physical activity and sports practice could prevent different types of cancer, degenerative, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. William (2001) provides evidence on the incidence of non-existent sports habits in high rates of obesity, obesity-related diseases, and premature death. In studies offering observations on systematic exercise, Erikssen et al. (1998) find a high relationship between physical fitness, possible improvements in physical fitness, and risk of early death. The contributions of sport to physical health are a vast area of study that considers benefits of various kinds to be related to multiple factors. In sum, physical health and traditional medical discourse have contributed to increasing the number of works in its relationship with sport, so it does not seem necessary to enhance this area. On the other hand, studies from the perspective of mental health, dating from the 1970s in the past century, link sports activity with behavior disorders reports. The WHO conceptualizes health as a complete well-being state in physical, mental, and social dimensions, which allows a greater scope of studies on sports. Under this notion, Barbosa & Urrea (2018) compile studies that recognize the regular practice of physical activity and sports as determinants of self-confidence, sense of well-being, and cognitive functioning improvement. They also attribute to sport the reduction of the probability of suffering mental disorders, the capacity to face work and academic tensions improvement, and post-traumatic stress. Thus, diseases such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, stress, the appearance of Alzheimer’s symptoms, and schizophrenia are currently being studied in terms of the tribute that sports activity provides to people to combat them. Although the literature on the relationship between sport and mental health is not as extensive as in physical health, it is not negligible in quality and size. Canton (2001) notes that there has been a wide range of theories and models addressing psychological well-being issues concerning sport and that there are many open-ended perspectives, citing health belief models, the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned action, the self-efficacy model, the trans-theoretical model, the physical activity model, and the exercise behavior model as examples. However, as Leith & Taylor (1994) point out, it is reckless to claim that there is a general, direct, and unspecific relationship between the practice of physical/sports activity and the improvement of psychological well-being. On the other hand, the perspective of Airasca & Giardinni (2009) is integrative in positing physical activity and sport as sources of physical and mental health, but they include the relational component in the analysis. They argue that if the concept of health is approached in an integrated manner, it must contain a self-perception component. This is closely related to the interactions of the individual. According to Layard (2005), social relations tend to be enriched when individuals feel part of a social group and develop a sense of community so that their level of declared subjective well-being will tend to increase in the presence of collectively. The effect of the sports practice entails camaraderie, friendship, and companionship behaviors since childhood (Garrote, 1993), whilst for Gutiérrez (2004), it is relevant to point out the enunciating a biological, psychological, and social dimension in everyone importance. These, together with three areas of personal action (bio-motor, psycho-motor, and socio-motor), allow the enjoyment of everyday life. From this viewpoint, social values, procedures, and cultural norms accompany individual attitudes as determinants that explain the positive report of a level of people’s integral development.

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 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

Studies also confirm, from a subjectivity perspective, that sports practice facilitates a better evaluation of the quality of life. Jurgens (2006) confirms that (i) athletes’ self-reports on their quality of life are significantly better than those of sedentary individuals. (ii) The domains in which quality of life is affected by sports practice are those of social relations and the environment. (iii) There is a direct relationship between perception of quality of life and increased levels of sports practice; and (iv) at higher levels of sports practice, perceptions of improved cognitive and psychological functioning also increase. The pandemic has also left signs of impact on the public, whether they practice sports or not. Huarcaya-Victoria (2020) has compiled different types of affectations that Covid 19 delivers as a negative legacy of general wellbeing: excessive health anxiety, depression with mild, moderate, and even severe symptoms, feelings of psychological stress, which are aggravated when there is a lack of good physical health, and the recurrent appearance of perceptions of fear, general anxiety, and first psychotic episodes. The possibility of practicing sport in the middle of the pandemic is a good ally around the fight against physical, mental, social, and welfare qualification discomforts reported by people. Of course, all these documented effects are affected by the current environment. The pandemic creates an arid environment for most activities. It represents a dire context for older adults, children, and adolescents in natural physical activity actions such as moving and playing. On their side, athletes suffer from multiple problems concerning training and sustaining their habits. While they seek to adapt, little is known about the level of success of their accommodation, its impacts, and trends. In times of isolation, establishing effective recommendations to promote physical and mental health and collective fabric will only be possible if these changes are understood. It is necessary to identify positive experiences for their reproduction and promotion. It is important to study variations in sports practices during the pandemic and the quarantine experience to contribute to the knowledge of how individuals manage to accommodate and sustain their habits despite restrictions and changes resulting from contingency at the opportunity structure level. In this sense, approaching practices based on individual experience is relevant to think about the pandemic from the athletes’ action. It provides a bottom-to-top reading that allows glimpsing the nuances in the present time, from practices to structures (Barthe et al., 2013) and, thus, contrasts structural overdetermination as a product of the general and binding pandemic effects.

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Elias & Dunning (1992) refer to the term “sport” as a wide variety of activities, physical exercises, and games whose purposes range from entertainment to competition. These appear to be present in most or all societies, varying in their level of institutionalization and access. The authors also propose a relationship between the civilization process and the degree of internalization of emotional, behavioral, and moral regulations when facing violent behavior, so sport contributes to the generalized awareness of permitted and prohibited uses of violence in different social settings. The sport will tend to be institutionalized and differentiated from the simple recreational game with the emergence of regulatory codes that seek fair competition and equal opportunities (Elias & Dunning, 1992). Sport represents a social contribution to the level of order and self-discipline on the part of players never achieved in human history. Sportivization implies a civilizing effort as it involves a set of restrictions and specifications for violent behavior and the establishment of fair competition scenarios. The latter has implications from the perspective of the civilization process, insofar as the supposed equalization of 183

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 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

opportunities would focus on individual performance (Dubet, 2020) and contribute to the constitution of a system of merit sustained by economics and academics (Araujo & Martuccelli, 2012; Dubet, 2005; Dubet & Martuccelli, 1998; Martuccelli, 2007a). In summary, the strengthening of personal regulations through sports and the corresponding formation of the internalization of rules, as a way of conscience, contribute to the ordering of other spheres of life. According to Elias & Dunning (1992), this sought to guarantee greater security and stability in the reciprocal relations to the extent that it provides a general framework of expectations. It has been gradually observed that cognitive and behavioral set patterns have been established around sports. That allows the generation of sport and competition culture as part of the social integration of the individual or, rather, a habitus that structures a series of dispositions1 for action, while contributing to social differentiation consistent with the conditions and needs of each class or group (Bourdieu, 2008; Martuccelli & Santiago, 2017). It’s possible to understand athletes as an established based on the habitus group. Habitus is the set of practices, routines, and ways of thinking that they share. This habitus becomes systemic by reproducing the order of sport on new members, who incorporate it into their dispositions system in a durable way. The habitus, as a dispositions system, allows an action-based approach to the structural and multilateral network of constraints that operate on actors. However, it poses a structural overdetermination of individual action; so, it is necessary to approach it from the actor perspective and his capacity to work, reflective awareness, and appreciation of his action as part of the individualization process itself (Martuccelli, 2007a; 2007b; Martuccelli & Santiago, 2017; Yopo, 2013). A complimentary reading lies in the different logics of action that allow the analysis of practices. It is possible to highlight the proposal of the sociology of experience of Dubet (2010), which suggests three logics based on the juxtaposition of impact in three dimensions: social -that is, integration to community-, competition in the market, and culture. Each of these dimensions allows for a logic that serves as a basis for socially oriented action, which leads to the consolidation of a social experience articulated by individual action (Martuccelli & Santiago, 2017). Three logics of action are integration, which consists of the intentional and effective search for belonging to a collective or community; strategy, which seeks the realization of rationally-motivated interests; and subjectivation with a critical activity with oneself and the system of social domination (Dubet, 2010). Thus, community, market, and culture, in turn, imply analytical principles of identity, opposition, and totality, so the logic of action is always found concerning others, thus avoiding falling into a solipsistic perspective or methodological individualism.

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METHODS This research used a transversal (Hernández, 2017), open and progressive design, whose evidentiary device was refined from the immersion in the field (Cottet, 2014). For this, the participants situated experience was valued as a primary source of information, following Cottet (2006) when he refers to as bodies situated in significant practices, that is, practices that allow giving meaning to the contexts and contingent structural arrangements that represent a community. In this case, it refers to the community of athletes, in general, and the specific communities for each sport discipline. We use a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological focus to approach sports practices and the pandemic-related changes (Martínez, 2006; Hernández & Mendoza, 2018). In addition, we follow 184

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 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

the recommendations of Cooperrider et al. (2008) on The Appreciative Inquiry methodology (AI). Since our goal is to study (planned or anticipated) behavioral changes that occurred during or anticipated after the pandemic/confinement, this methodology is relevant. The sampling of choice is by convenience given the number of sports disciplines available. After selecting three disciplines (aikido, bodybuilding, and squash), we did the interviews. Finally, the geographical coverage includes five mid-to-big cities in four Colombian states (see Table 1). Based on Elam & Brands (2017), we propose the following methodological phases in a virtual or remote research approach: 1- Selection of participants, 2- Design and implementation of data collection instruments, interviews, and identification of themes, 3- Data analysis concerning building possibilities, validation, and ranking. Hence, the existence of professional and high competition like two types of sport is recognized. On the one hand, and amateur on the other. In the former, individuals spend their free time as spectators of an event (where professional athletes perform) or as practitioners themselves. In the latter, individuals participate as practitioners or sportsmen, and this is our target population. Out of twelve interviews, six correspond to squash practitioners, four to aikido practitioners, and two to bodybuilders. Ten are males, and two are females. They have more than seven years of experience. Some of them have received recognition in competitive competitions (except for akidoist), and some of them fulfill the roles of practitioners and instructors. In the latter case, they were careful to take only the information referring to their practice. Based on this, were carried fourteen semi-structured interviews. These facilitated the generation of units of information based on testimonies, with the premise that the narration should give an account of their experience within the framework of the set of practices to which they belong (Cottet, 2006). For this purpose, a flexible interview protocol was created that articulates topics such as social/group coordinates of sports practice, meanings of the practice, perceived changes, and future perspectives. For the analysis of information, we use the content analysis method (Navarro & Díaz, 1999), which implies consecutive coding exercises that go from thematization to classification, to arrive at the inductive inter-observer construction of analytical categories (Cáceres, 2003).

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RESULTS Interviews make possible access to participants’ experiences about their sports practices in the pandemic. They recounted the events, difficulties, feelings, and decisions taken to prevent and respond to the multiple contingencies that occurred, as well as their expectations about their future practices. It is worth mentioning that, among the set of situations that took place, the one that appears more frequently and seems to have a stronger impact is the quarantine, mainly configured by the confinement at home, the closure of stores and public places, and the restriction of services. Although not limited to this, it will be seen that most sports practices encounter difficulties, change, or are sustained within the framework of this experience which, due to its generalized nature, can be understood as a social experience (Dubet, 2010). In this sense, it is necessary to briefly describe the core of the experience derived from the quarantine situation to understand the nature of sports practices and their changes. Generally, most individuals miss the competitive environment (except for akidoist), as well as their teammates, coaches, and rivals/ partners. They also report a partial loss of the practice level reached in each discipline; they suffer from a sense of confinement that exceeds their control and causes them some anxiety given the uncertainty 185

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 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

Table 1. Interviewees’ data Name

Age

Discipline

Role

Geographic Location

Time of Practice

Remarks

Paulino Piedrahita

40

Aikido

Practitioner

Medellin

18

Black belt third grade

Abraham Builes

48

Aikido

Practitioner and instructor

Envigado

21

Black belt fourth grade

Daniel Agudelo

36

Aikido

Practitioner and instructor

Manizales

15

Black belt second grade

Juan G. Hernández

52

Aikido

Practitioner and instructor

Medellin

25

Black belt fifth grade

15

Senior intermediate champion. Third in Novice category, Squash Open Circuit 2018

12

Runner-up in the Ladies’ Rookies category, 2017 and 2018, Open Squash Circuit. Multiple stops winner (monthly tournaments)

Hosman Javier Álvarez Capote

Adriana Marcela Rodríguez Salas

María Eugenia Cárdenas Uribe

46

41

50

Iván Ruiz

Squash

Squash

Practitioner

Practitioner

Bogota

Bogota

Squash

Practitioner

Bogota

7

Runner-up in the Ladies’ Rookies category, 2016 Open Squash Circuit and third place in 2018.Winner of multiple stops (monthly tournaments)

Squash

Practitioner

Bogota

9

Top 10 2018 Squash Open Circuit. Senior Intermediate category

Carlos Andrés Piragauta Vargas

41

Squash

Practitioner

Bogota

7

Top 5 2017 and 2018 Squash Open Circuit, Senior Intermediate category. Multiple stops winner (monthly tournaments)

Camilo Andrés Cortés Guerrero

43

Squash

Practitioner

Bogota

7

Top 5 Squash Open Circuit 2018. Advanced Senior category

Andrés Zamora

Bodybuilding

Practitioner

Ibague

Looking forward to becoming IFBB professional

Esteban Fúquene

Bodybuilding

Practitioner

Bogota

IFBB professional since 2019

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Source: Authors’ elaboration

regarding the end of confinement. The confinement is accompanied by frustration. The partitioners find it difficult to carry out their usual routines, because of temporal and spatial limitations and on the aspects that motivate the execution of their practices. The results presented below are ordered in three categories that seek to show the changes in sports practices and their nuances. In this way, without trying to cover all the possibilities of action, a comprehensive perspective is privileged over an explanatory one, so we grouped according to the type of change we evident in each case.

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 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

Firstly, the appearance of adjustments that evidence efforts to preserve the practices despite the contingency; they become valid as preparation as the predisposition of necessary actions to obtain an end in the strategic sense. Secondly, adaptation includes recursion and permutation of activities given the available resources and refusal to modify the proposed purpose. Thirdly, negotiation of the very meaning of sports practice, which includes the adjustment of the goal pursued and the resignification of the experience of being an athlete during a quarantine (see Table 2). The three categories are emerging from the analysis results. They show changes in sports practices respond to adjust their pre-pandemic habits and routines, to adapt their use of resources or activities to safeguard their goals and negotiate the meaning of the very goals that guide their sports practices.

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Adjustment Adjustment is the configuration of the sports practice through the search for a particular goal. Although some participants proposed that the practice of sport is an end, sport is seen as a kind of playful activity that, in a performative manner, is configured and enjoyed while executed. Other participants openly state that their actions are directly or indirectly oriented to their health conditions improvement, the liberation of stress, and feelings of oppression derived from other spheres of their lives, such as their economic occupations and family burdens. A third group clearly states that their sports practice is necessarily directed by the competition logic. Within this last group of athletes, it is possible to make the adjustment strategy explicitly visible. Sport, as a set of activities structured towards a specific end, is evident in the logic of competition, which is based on the comparison of performances and proposes the recognition of achievement based on the confrontation with one or several antagonists (Elias & Dunning, 1992). Therefore, sports practice will tend to be ordered to demonstrate better performance than others, either in casual confrontation or in competitions in spontaneous or periodically established events (although this does not apply to aikido). Hence, some sports tend to become cyclical and highly regulated, which materializes in a detailed control of our individuals to their actions at a strategic and detailed level. In contrast, participants experienced some degree of a loss of control over their actions and routines. This feeling seems to be related to structural constraints, such as facility closures, curfews, etc. However, the participants had multiples restrictions for their sports practices; for example, those who enrolled in bodybuilding and squash players reported that, although they did not enter the sport with a competitive spirit, it became a relevant incentive to their practices. In definitive, the existence of competition in the short or medium term, implies entering the preparation time, that is, assuming specific routines of feeding, training, supplementation, mental programming, and exercise to tone up, highlight, polish, improve and achieve the greatest possible impact during the competitive event. The results show that prepare for the competition implies establish specific training and rest times, exercise, and feeding rhythms that cannot be changed if wanted to achieve optimal results. According to the nature of the sport in question, some routines must even be intensified in times of dedication, number of repetitions, and complementary exercises. In any case, in each discipline, the preparation calculation is extremely detailed and restrictive. As an example, in bodybuilding, the possibilities of action of the individuals are diminished by the established regime; hence, feeding is oriented towards the generation of a caloric deficit and the use of proteins, which could generate a sensation of hunger, changes in their mood, constant irritation, etc. At the same time, the meticulous calculation of calories, physical effort, and results are translated 187

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

into routines and values that facilitate the operation and the obtaining of the competitive achievement. Hence, bodybuilders practices are closely related to order, activity planning, calorie control, caffeine, and supplement intake level, and sleep time, among others. The pandemic makes economic limitations probable, so, a bodybuilder report having been forced to buy large lots of food and supplements as this allowed him to reduce costs and facilitate his planning; this practice somehow protected him from shortage when stores were closed and favored the quality of his preparation.

Adaptation This study refers to adaptation as the change of activities that seek to maintain sports practices goal. For all cases, the quarantine implied multiple restrictions, among others, the limitation of resources such as the reduced and diffuse use of time for sports activities, the modification of the relationships with instructors and sport partners, as well as the difficulties of access to specialized spaces and equipment (generally derived from the temporary closure of gyms, parks, clubs, and public squares, among others). The development of this category is proposed through two subdivisions. The first one refers to recursiveness, meaning changes in the way activities are carried out, mostly at a topographic level, and expressed in the alternative use of resources, varying implements, and spaces. The second, permutation, meaning a measure in which activities are changed by executing others to achieve the goal that defines their sports practice.

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Recursiveness Adaptation by recursiveness was expressed around the alternatives proposed concerning resources such as implements, spaces, and times. In that sense, some variations are shown below, considering that they are not separable from each other, but rather they have the characteristic of having a mutual impact. It is also necessary to clarify that some sports disciplines are more dependent on spaces; for example, despite the restriction of training spaces in a group, there was an adaptation of aikido practices that sought to correspond to biosecurity measures. In the first instance, the aikido activity was moved to the personal house, instructing the internet. Recursiveness concerning spaces forcefully turns daily places at home into gyms, dojos, or improvised courts; this brings as an effect, sometimes, discontent on the part of relatives due to the discomfort derived from the use of spaces not destined to the sport purpose. When occurs in community spaces, it’s the neighbors who eventually manifest discomfort due to the emission of sounds that affect them or because they witness unconventional and unauthorized use in the common areas of coexistence. In a second moment, when the governmental indications allowed it, aikido dojos were not opened but their practitioners made use of alternative closed quarters or resorted to open spaces like squares or parks, taking care of the capacity and the equipment. This implied practicing with no more than three or four people wearing mouthpieces, with wooden instruments that make part of the practice but do not imply contact. Regarding the implements, some (bodybuilding) participants reported that to continue with their muscle mass gain routines, weights of different gradation and machines for the work of specific muscle groups are necessary, whose access is usually through subscription to a gym. After the temporary closure of these establishments, some practitioners decided to rent or borrow weight equipment. They resorted 188

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 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

to their close circle used their status and reputation as facilitators of the loans, revealing an instrumental use that allowed them to overcome the difficulty. When this was not possible, they resorted to finding substitutes that provided similar functionality. One bodybuilder uses non-conventional materials, such as water bottles and resistance bands to maintain his usual activities. Ultimately, recursiveness occurs if it allows the goal to be met without varying the activities. As for time, its disposition has a certain degree of dependence concerning the purpose mediated by the existence or not of competition; thus, temporal disposition module adaptation by recursiveness. Time is one of the main resources for sports practice, it is seriously limited by the overlapping of activities of a different order. For example, the overlaps between labor, study, and family times, among others, created a sensation of time saturation; that is to say, people live in an accelerated way trying to cope with many parallel exigencies, each of which is important within its specific context. Hence, the exhaustion of time often implies the prioritization of some activities to the detriment of others and even being abandoned, as expressed by some squash practitioners. Before the pandemic, practitioners distinguished their sports schedules from family sharing times while, during the quarantine, they reported difficulty separating them. It was a period defined as long when time with a partner or children made it difficult for many of them to separate time for a sporting activity. At the beginning of the quarantine, practitioners felt they had more time to share with their families, but only some of them continued to value this as a positive point. Others do not manage to separate family time from their own, so they do not have time to practice and compete while reporting a sense of exhaustion. At the extreme of this scenario, there were testimonies of guilt on the part of some athletes, who affirmed that, when wanting or carrying out some sport activity instead of sharing more of the “new” free time at home with their relatives, they felt remorse, and this discouraged them at times. It is worth noting that the differentiation between work, sports, and family time made it difficult to establish the boundaries between work, sports, and family spaces. The home-place living room became an improvised gymnasium, as we saw in some bodybuilders; this resulted in practical effects (difficulty or ease of sports activity), relational effects (possible friction or irritation with the family), among others. This interaction between space and time becomes an example of categories interrelationship and correspondences between the phenomena that the pandemic produces in sports habits. Related to the difficulties of separating time and space, some athletes expressed problems to structure work time from home. Both athletes and non-athletes present problems to separate working and non-working times. This difficult for establish training schedules are important for obtaining habits and regularity in their sports practices and for maintaining their sports level. This phenomenon affected some practitioners in their attempts to maintain their physical fitness since they went from training with rigor, intensity, and frequency before the pandemic to using the “leftover” time from their day to day to exercise in their practices. Thus, with time saturated and contested by other orders and activities, the difficulty of establishing routines in the context of a pandemic becomes apparent in many cases. Routine is a temporary arrangement of activities that makes use of implements and spaces, so the level of success of the adaptation is closely related to the possibility of recreating routines from a set of minimum conditions to exercise training or simulate competitions. Adaptation is restricted to practices that allowed training to continue under other types of scenarios (house, park, community halls, or green spaces). An input is furthermore necessary for sports practice when it is difficult to recreate or change it. A significant number of participants stated that they had not slowed down their pace or had done so in a lesser proportion. This corresponds with facilities to recreate and readapt the scenarios, implements, 189

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 Making Sense of Changes in Sports Practices Brought About by the Pandemic

and routines. The participants who felt the greatest loss in their sports rhythm were those who declared the impossibility of accessing practice spaces whose conditions were not easily recreated or adapted. When it was not possible to adapt to times, spaces and recreate similar conditions, the interviewees recognized performance and physical form deterioration. In this sense, their recursiveness was not enough to adapt and their sports practice was impaired. Squash players report changes in motivation due to the absence of competition and interaction due to the impossibility of meeting training partners, instructors, or rivals, all framed by the perceived impossibility of replacing the squash court.

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Permutation The permutation refers to changes in the activities carried out that recognize and maintain the set goal. In simple terms, it is one or multiple changes in activities that are carried out to achieve the same prepandemic end. While recursiveness is a change in resources, permutation implies a change of activities. In that sense, sports practice would have topographic changes, but the teleological configuration would remain the same. In general, we found that those activities that require specialized spaces, events, or the presence of a training or competition partner were restricted. Athletes are said to seek alternatives that offer similar effects, knowing that these actions are sub-optimal and, therefore, will lead to performance effects. In the case of Colombia, the government provisions applied extensive quarantines at different levels and modalities, which sheltered the national territory leaving very narrow margins for the sports practices, especially those that use closed spaces and require the grouping of people as in squash and aikido. Academies, sports centers, recreational clubs, among others, were affected by the closure of such spaces. The realization of tournaments and competitions was also affected, this forced the athletes to look for adaptation alternatives in search of maintaining their rhythm and sense of progress in their discipline, directing their energies to new forms of performing routines. Squash and akidoist practitioners, seeing restricted the use of their natural space -courts- had difficulties to continue with their habits, which leads to a decrease in performance and loss of their physical shape, so they looked for substitute activities to some degree. First, there is the permutation of one sport for another. In this case, squash is replaced by tennis, which is done outdoors and forces a much greater distance. They also went into other sports such as cycling, jogging, and yoga as the most common. Secondly, there is the permutation of specific activities, such as cardiovascular exercises that find a substitute in the adoption of exercise routines at home, to maintain or, at least, not lose the physical form and the sporting habit. This, in turn, implied a momentary increase in the use of treadmills, stair climbers, or exercise bikes at home, an option that encountered difficulties as it frequently was declared that they were not a challenge or that they were not demanding enough, thus becoming monotonous activities. In sum, recreate some environments cannot be easily (squash courts and dojos), and when this happens, the athlete’s spirit is bent by this restriction and, if the changes they adopt in their practices are not attractive or challenging enough, they do not find motivation in continuing their practices. On the other hand, when changes in practice settings or environments are feasible and possible, then individual adaptation has a greater impact. In this way, it was possible to find ways out of the difficulty in order not to abandon or lose the previous rhythm. Some athletes, like akidoist, found their strengths and virtues in their adaptation process, and this encouraged them to continue.

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Negotiation of Meaning A third category lies in the possibility of negotiation of meaning on the part of the practitioners. It refers to the possibility of changing the very purpose of their sports practice, which implies a reflexive posture regarding the action itself to the point of even rethinking the bases and objectives. This category includes two groups, the adjustments of objectives or goals and the resignification of the experience of being an athlete during the pandemic. Both, as will be seen, are related to taking a stand on oneself.

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Goal Adjustment The first form of negotiation of meaning lies in the adjustment of the goal that guides the strategies. This is possible through reflection on the current and future possibilities and limitations that can be glimpsed from the athlete in a pandemic experience. In other words, having lived through overlapping times, spatial and resource restrictions, changing activities, cancellation of events, competitions, and the impossibility of meeting and practicing together, among many others, lead our athletes to consider changing their goals or even abandoning them. Preparation times are important for most athletes. Although the competition was not the first, nor the only motivating factor for the beginning of the sports practice, several of the interviewed people recognized that over time this one was gaining importance until achieving an important role as an extrinsic motivator of their physical and mental training. The restrictions of quarantines make tournaments develop are difficult, and to carry out any type of training. It increased the practitioners’ dependence on individual will; hence, the experience of the pandemic is characterized by a lack of competition accompanied by a feeling of emptiness that leads to the possibility of redirecting the purposes of action. Bodybuilders’ testimonials are an example of shifting targets during the pandemic. Their times and routines depend on the existence of a nearby competition; otherwise, they have to use routines to maintain or increase their muscle mass. The preparation of one bodybuilder for IFBB international competitions since the beginning of 2020 exemplifies the situation, the international event he had planned to attend since 2019 was postponed several times due to health restrictions, so the objectives were redirected to avoid losing the physical preparation. Decisions can even come to a halt in the preparation and begin work on recovery and gain of muscular mass, as a way of sustaining their sporting habit for other purposes when the different national and international competitions are postponed or definitively canceled. There is also the report of aikido practitioners, who emphasized a change in the formation of capacities usually considered “soft” such as meditation, breath control, regulation of emotions, among others. This set of skills is privileged during quarantine as opposed to those based on physical strength, agility, and flexibility. At first glance, it could be said that the change lies in the activities; However, the testimonies show that their initial goal of learning to defend themselves and make “good use of violence” was redirected towards strengthening the principles of aikido. It facilitates finding unsuspected contributions that they now feel more interesting than the physical component. In other cases, in which adaptation was not achieved through recursiveness or the permutation of activities, the practice objective became more and more ephemeral and evaporating until being postponed indefinitely. In other words, the impossibility of immersing oneself in the competitive environment plus the multiple difficulties in developing the activity creates a burden on the sportsperson, who must then choose between sustaining habits without an objective, at least not one possible, or redirecting his practice towards other horizons. 191

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In the end, the possibility of changing objectives implies modifying routines, which undoubtedly involves a discussion of the very meaning of sports practice.

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Resignification of the Experience A second way of negotiating meaning lies in the possibility of re-signifying the very experience of being an athlete in a pandemic. The change in meaning would not operate in the practice alteration, but rather in the valuation that is built through the relationship with others (peers or instructors) and the perspective on oneself so that the elaboration of meaning transcends the sphere of sport. As far as the relationship with others is concerned, the case of some squash players is exemplary. When they are away from training and competitions, they report the desire to return to their specific routines and schedules, but not all of them have the possibility of realizing this desire. When asked about the outlook for their sport, most of them said they hoped to be able to play during the pandemic without changes in execution, game rules, or required implements. They believe that reducing the number of players who can be on the field for training and the number of people who can accompany and support them in a tournament will be sufficient. However, two of the participants reported the lack of changes and controls in the sport present and future produces a great fear of contagion. Thus, although this group claimed to miss their coaches and partners, they articulated a sense of risk to the sport, so they refrained from sharing information about squash during the quarantine and considered even abandoning their sport temporarily. A sense of “sports family” is also asserted to training partners and instructors. In these cases, there was interaction with them. But it was never focused on the sport, but rather on living together on a personal, family, and work level, seeking bonds of integration among their peers. In other words, among squash players, “the others” constitute a risk in sport. But at the same time, it is possible to observe dynamics of integration among them that go beyond the sports environment and show the power of sport as a promoter of the social fabric. This is also true of aikido practitioners. In the case of bodybuilders, the bond with their advisor/instructor was not only maintained but even strengthened, reporting improvements in terms of follow-up and personalization of routines. It leads to a feeling of self-efficacy derived from better accompaniment, a close relationship with the instructor, and the fulfillment of intermediate goals for the sake of the established objective. The action possibilities limitation produced unexpected and positive effects on aspects such as technique and performance of bodybuilders. Thanks to the multiple resources, time, and space restrictions, they improved their exercise execution by performing them in a manner and with little margin of error at home using borrowed implements, which established some pressure that favored them. One practitioner improved his food regulation, an unexpected effect caused by the restrictions on food supply, a situation that generated greater efficiency in the use of resources, and the possibility of sustaining and increasing his motivation towards achievement. What is stated above is echoed in the self-realization assessments made by a large part of this group. A feeling of achievement based on internal strength demonstrated the ability to maintain their sports practice during quarantine, adaptation to adverse conditions, and even achievements and perceived evidence of improvement in terms of technique, muscle volume, and self-regulation. In short, those practitioners with greater roots and conviction about their practices not only resignified the raison d’être of their practices but have also reinforced their conviction and discipline.

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Table 2. Relational matrix: Analytic categories and sports Aikido

Sport practices depends on competition schedule

Improvement health conditions, and stress liberation

Resources limitations

- Lack of training places.

- Lack of weights and machines. - Supplements rationing

- Lack of specialized training spaces that are impossible to replicate

Spatial limitations

- No dojos access

- No gym access

- No court access

Time limitations

- Overlapping family, work, study, and sport practice time

Relational limitations

- Missing practice partners (especially high-level ones) and instructors

- Coaching’s relations changes

- Missing teammates, coaches, and rivals

- Decrease in performance and loss of their physical shape.

- Missing competitive environment and socialization spaces and activities related to sports practice

- Missing competitive environment and socialization spaces - Home exercise become monotonous and not a challenge

- Group training suspended

- Enter in competition’s preparation time. - Buy large lots of food and supplements to reduce costs.

Recursiveness

- Use wooden weapons. - Move activity to home. - Use the internet to get instruction. - Use alternative spaces (squares or parks) with reduced partners.

- Use artisanal implements (non-conventional materials). - Rent or borrow weight equipment. - Integrate family to sport practice.

Permutation

- Replace with outdoor sports (cycling, jogging), and indoor (yoga, cardiovascular exercises).

Goal adjustment

- Strengthening of soft capacities (meditation, breath control, regulation of emotions).

- Enter in recovery and gain of muscular mass routines.

- There was not. It was impossible to adjust the goal of sports practice in a very extensive and adverse scenario.

- Integration among their peers and couches as a “sports family

- Improved bond with their advisor/instructor. - Increase the feel of achievement based on selfefficacy, internal strength, and adaptation capacity.

- Purpose reduction of player’s quantity in tournaments. - Integration among their peers and couches as a “sports family”.

Motivationals issues

Adjustment

Adaptation

Negotiation of meaning Resignification of experience Copyright © 2021. IGI Global. All rights reserved.

Squash

Behavioral regulation (good use of violence).

Reported Sport practice’s goals

Social Experience

Bodybuilding

- Establish specific training schedules (using the “leftover” time from their day). - Replace with outdoor sports (cycling, jogging), and indoor (yoga, cardiovascular exercises).

Source: Authors’ elaboration

IMPLICATIONS The exploratory character of this study prevents the formulation of any normative outlook whatsoever. Nonetheless, it is possible and desirable to take advantage of the analysis to suggest further sensible advances in this research’s line.

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It’s necessary to propose research to understand the pandemic effects in the lifestyles population’s to create/activate public policies and to better focus on health and non-health operators health-related interventions. It’s necessary to formulate better organizations and institution’s responses related to nonprofessional sports practices as key allies to face the pandemic social challenges. Finally, research outcomes suggest that public policy concerning sports-related health practices can embody a more preventive (rather than a merely reactive) stance to complementarity promote public health measures enacted so far. Thus, the foreseeable benefits of taking this research line ahead greatly outweigh the difficulties and costs of doing so.

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CONCLUSION A first consideration concerns the very concept of social experience, which, following Martuccelli & Santiago (2017) and Dubet (2010), comes from the configuration of the action resulting from individual work when facing structural demands and requirements. Hence, the logic of action, as ideal types, allows their understanding in the social contingencies framework. This consideration leads to sports practices understanding as a product of the interrelationship between structure and agency, so it could be characterized as a downward conflation (Archer, 2009). Hence, it would be necessary to highlight how actors manage to put resources in front of them to widen and, thus, pluralize their possibilities of action making resistance possible. The sports practices addressed in this text (aikido, squash, and bodybuilding), although plural in terms of their activities, tend to generate a certain homogeneity at the intragroup level so that it is possible to distinguish recurrent characteristics in each that allow a transversal reading. It’s the case of the temporal-spatial arrangements that give rise to routines and habits oriented towards competence goals, well-being, and belonging. In turn, each discipline has its plans and programs, which organize and articulate group and individual efforts, in such a way that they generate a predefined and common path for all practitioners. This sports practice structure is common to the different disciplines, is faced individually by each sportsperson. In this sense, the social experience of sport articulates the structural demands and the actions that individuals put forward. However, the pandemic and quarantine measures impose several contingencies that affect the way sports practices have been conducted. Hence, it is possible to say that changes occur at the level of the very experience of being a sportsperson and, consequently, of the strategic, integrative, and subjective actions that are configured. Following the analysis of results, the multiple spatial, temporal, relational, and resource restrictions implied by the quarantine contingency are related to different strategies that are understood as adjustments of the practices to preserve the previously existing routines. It’s so that some habits of order and planning of exercise and food intake operated as protective factors in the face of uncertainty to which they were subjected. The second order of strategies is in the change of means to maintain the previously established goals. Thus, there is a tendency to adopt the practices to the restrictions, showing strong resourcefulness that allows the maintenance of the activities and varying the way of obtaining the exercise implements, even to the point of using non-conventional elements to replace them. Also, it is possible to adapt by permutation, which leads to propose activities and routines alternatives to safeguard the practice goal. The connection between the adaptation strategy and the possibilities of 194

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integration is relevant since having status given the membership in an institutional or informal circle of athletes increases obtaining implements possibilities and support of various kinds. It’s bound to make adaptation easier. Third, sometimes it is not possible to maintain the practice goal, which in turn would imply changes in routines. In this way, different paths for negotiation appear, such as the possibility of becoming aware of, reflecting on, and taking a stance concerning one’s practice and the very experience of being an athlete; that is, a way of establishing a critical activity for oneself and the structure of possibilities, or better, a form of subjectivation. On the one hand, one negotiates the very meaning of sports practice by consciously proposing changes in the goals sought and consequent alterations in routines. Therefore, it could be said that the reflective capacity is installed in the relational consideration of the possible goals to choose, the resources available, and the motivations that guide the individual. In summary, subjectivation becomes present as an action that modulates the strategies of adjustment and adaptation. Also, negotiation faces the possibility of resignifying one’s own experience of being an athlete during a pandemic. It establishes a relationship between contingency and the meaning that each athlete constructs on his/her experience, which produces the founding uniqueness in the individual figure (Martuccelli, 2007b; Martuccelli & de Singly, 2012; Martucceli and Santiago, 2017). Hence, there is evidence of a sense of integration into a “sports family” that displaces physical activity from the center of practice, while some pose sport in a pandemic within the framework of self-realization, through the exhibition of strength, discipline, and self-efficacy. Concerning the individualization of the structural demands derived from the contingency of the pandemic and the quarantine, there is, on the one hand, the appearance of self-care as a guideline that each person must attend to and that hinders group sports, contact sports, and sports competition. There is a feeling of destructuring of times, which used to be differentiated and now overlap due to the multilateral demands placed on the individual. The individual must try to solve the pressures, satisfy his/her needs, and achieve adequate performance in each of his/her dimensions (family, work, personal, sport, etc.). Thus, time management becomes a major test in quarantine. Consequently, the subtraction of tournaments and competitions from the calendar often led to the precariousness of the sense of sports practice, putting routines in check. The individual is forced to establish those times by himself, to exercise his self-discipline, and to base his will, implying an individualization of the sports practice derived from a loss of the function of temporary modulation derived from social structures. The return to the intrinsic motivation becomes a volitive source to adapt and reinvent their sports practices and to avoid their abandonment. However, the results indicate that intrinsic motivation is not a sufficient condition for all athletes to achieve such adaptation or reinvention during the isolation and quarantine. While there are aspects of the individual that relate to his/her intrinsic motivation to engage in sport, competition as a motivating environment is highly relevant in some sports. It was possible to register some levels of adaptation, strength, and higher reported levels of self-realization in athletes who have found extrinsic motivations during the quarantine. However, the absence of competition, coupled with the difficulty of recreating adequate training conditions, leads to a wild context that permeates the decisionmaking process. It makes those who perceived a greater impact in adaptation through both recursiveness and permutation consider a total change in their practices and a resignification of their sports experience. The effects of the pandemic on the habits of athletes tend to be negative. However, it is possible to find some experiences that facilitated unexpected gains from the pandemic. Athletes who were able to 195

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maintain a sense of purpose in their practices were able to cope with the quarantine through adjustment and adaptation, thus sustaining their fitness and improving their adjustment habits with discipline and perseverance. In the meantime, they also discovered “new facets” of their sports that they had underestimated in the pre-pandemic period plus new challenges and advances that facilitate and contribute to their development in diverse areas such as self-knowledge and personality development. Even under adverse conditions for their practices, athletes use networks and communication mechanisms not to lose contact with coaches and teammates/practice partners. While in some practices the use was associated with adjustment, recursiveness, and partial permutation of sports activities seeking to be faithful to the practice goal. In others, the practitioners showed a sense of community by materializing contact and taking an interest in personal, family, and everyday aspects of the life of their fellow athletes/partners beyond the purpose of the sport. It confirms the sense stated by Gutiérrez (2004) that can be achieved through sport as a driver of the overall formation of the individual who is interested in their peers and highlights the strength of sport as a motor of the social fabric.

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Cáceres, P. (2003). Análisis cualitativo de contenido: Una alternativa metodológica alcanzable. Psicoperspectivas, 2, 53–82. https://www.psicoperspectivas.cl/index.php/psicoperspectivas/article/view/3 Canton, E. (2001). Deporte, salud, bienestar y calidad de vida. Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte, 1(1). Cooperrider, D., Whitney, D. D., Stavros, J. M., & Stavros, J. (2008). The appreciative inquiry handbook: For leaders of change. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Cottet, P. (2006). Diseños y estrategias de investigación social. El caso de la ISCUAL. In Metodologías de investigación social. Introducción a los oficios (pp. 185-217). LOM Ediciones. Cottet, P. (2014). Tres versiones para el diseño de investigaciones sociales. In Investigación Social. Lenguajes del diseño (pp.13-42). LOM Ediciones. 196

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Decree 143 de 2020. Por el cual se imparten lineamientos para dar continuidad a la ejecución de la medida de aislamiento obligatorio en Bogotá D.C. y se toman otras determinaciones. Secretaría Jurídica Distrital de Bogotá. June 15 on 2020. https://bogota.gov.co/sites/default/files/inline-files/normatividadcoronavirus-sjd12.pdf Decree 457 de 2020. Por el cual se imparten instrucciones en virtud de la emergencia sanitaria generada por la pandemia del Coronavirus COVID-19 y el mantenimiento del orden público. Presidencia de la República de Colombia. Diario Oficial, Año CLV (51264). March 22 on 2020. http://www.suin-juriscol. gov.co/viewDocument.asp?ruta=Decretos/30038972 Dubet, F. (2005). La escuela de las oportunidades ¿Qué es una escuela justa? Gedisa Editorial. Dubet, F. (2010). Sociología de la experiencia. Editorial Complutense. Dubet, F. (2020). Naturaleza de las desigualdades y principio de la justicia social. International Seminar, Doctorate in Social Sciences. Universidad de Chile. Dubet, F., & Martuccelli, D. (1998). En la escuela: Sociología de la experiencia escolar. Editorial Losada. Elam, D., & Brands, K. (2017). Conducting appreciative inquiry in the virtual world. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 17(1/2), 11. doi:10.1504/IJHRDM.2017.085260 Elías, N. & Dunning, E. (1992). Deporte y ocio en el proceso de civilización. Fondo de cultura económica. Erikssen, G., Liestøl, K., Bjørnholt, J., Thaulow, E., Sandvik, L., & Erikssen, J. (1998). Changes in physical fitness and changes in mortality. Lancet, 352(9130), 759–762. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(98)02268-5 PMID:9737279 Garrote, N. (1993). La educación física en primaria - 6/12 años. Paidotribo. Gutiérrez, M. (2004). El valor del deporte en la educación integral del ser humano. Review of Education, 335, 105–126. http://www.revistaeducacion.educacion.es/re335/re335_10.pdf Hernández, R. (2017). Fundamentos de investigación. McGraw-Hill Interamericana. Hernández, R., & Mendoza, C. (2018). Metodología de la investigación. McGraw-Hill Interamericana.

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Huarcaya-Victoria, J. (2020). Consideraciones sobre la salud mental en la pandemia de COVID-19. Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y Salud Pública, 37(2), 327–334. doi:10.17843/rpmesp.2020.372.5419 PMID:32876225 Jürgens, I. (2006). Práctica deportiva y percepción de calidad de vida. Revista Internacional de Medicina y Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte, 6(22), 62–74. http://cdeporte.rediris.es/revista/ revista22/artsalud20.htm Kohl, H. W. III, Craig, C. L., Lambert, E. V., Inoue, S., Alkandari, J. R., Leetongin, G., & Kahlmeier, S. (2012). The pandemic of physical inactivity: Global action for public health. Lancet, 380(9838), 294–305. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60898-8 PMID:22818941 Layard, R. (2005). La felicidad. Lecciones aprendidas de una nueva ciencia. Taurus Pensamiento.

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Leith, L. M., & Taylor, A. H. (1994). Psychological aspects of exercise: A literature review. Journal of Sport Behavior, 13, 219–239. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-16003-001 Martínez, M. (2006). Ciencia y arte en la metodología cualitativa. Editorial Trillas. Martuccelli, D. (2007a). Gramáticas del individuo. Losada. Martuccelli, D. (2007b). Cambio de rumbo: la sociedad a escala del individuo. LOM Ediciones. Martuccelli, D. & de Singly, F. (2012). Sociologías del individuo. LOM Ediciones. Martuccelli, D., & Santiago, J. (2017). El desafío sociológico hoy: individuo y retos sociales. CIS-Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. Navarro, P., & Díaz, C. (1999). Capítulo 7. Análisis de contenido. In J. M. Delgado & J. Gutiérrez (Eds.), Métodos y técnicas cualitativas de investigación en ciencias sociales (pp. 177–224). Síntesis. Yopo, M. (2013). Individualización en Chile. Individuo y sociedad en las transformaciones culturales recientes. Psicoperspectivas, 13(2), 4–15. doi:10.5027/psicoperspectivas-Vol13-Issue2-fulltext-357

ENDNOTE

The concept of disposition is key in Bourdiean theory to determine, understand and define the concept of habitus as those dispositions or “schemes of acting, thinking and feeling associated with social position. Habitus makes people from a homogeneous social environment tend to share similar lifestyles because their resources, strategies, and ways of evaluating the world are similar.” (Bourdieu, 2008) (own translation).

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Chapter 13

Sport and COVID-19:

The Case of Croatia and Serbia Marko Begović Union-Nikola Tesla University, Serbia

ABSTRACT This chapter aims to present the institutional response of two Balkan countries aimed at mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. The research methodology involves document analysis examining policy documents and legislation. The pandemic crisis is a worldwide reality resulting in implementing various physical distancing and preventive measures. These measures were very strict in the Balkan region, but the enforcement depended largely on political circumstances. The political management of the COVID-19 crisis showed that both countries proceeded with the centralized decision-making approach, including the adoption of specifc regulations and support for sport movement. The COVID-19 crisis will continue to disrupt sport on diferent levels, and strong public support will need to provide sustainability of sportrelated activities. The “re-thinking” of sport in its current form is inevitable to create more dynamic and resilient sport structures.

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INTRODUCTION There is already extensive literature on COVID-19 and sport, impacting organization of international sport competition, (Darnell et al., 2020), the future of particular sport (Mohr et al., 2020), post-recovery practice (Plelan et al., 2020; Dores & Cardim, 2020), physical activity/inactivity during pandemic (Jurak et al., 2020). However, further research effort is needed towards understanding how the sport system at the national level is coping with the challenges associated with the pandemic. Medical science and state politics are far from consensus on how to tackle COVID-19 associated risks. Most of the countries proceeded with the lockdown policies during the first wave, however, when they began with the gradual reopening and lowering restrictive measures, the number of infected and dead has risen significantly. What has the spark that rise, differ from country to country. The COVID-19 pandemic became a reality in most countries worldwide. The implementation of physical distancing resulted in the lockdown measures that affected all societal aspects, including the DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch013

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 Sport and COVID-19

sport system. As a part of a variety of prevention measures, firstly, sport competitions were suspended. The consensus is that the effects of COVID-19 on sport resulted in a spectrum of challenges. The pandemic caused the closure of stadiums, gyms, and fitness, even parks, and playgrounds (Begović, 2020). The challenge for the sport system lies in the organization of competitive activities and providing opportunities for regular physical activity. Citizens are having fewer possibilities and opportunities to be physically active, probably following irregular diets and sleep (Mattioli et al., 2020; Bhasker et al., 2020; Blume, et al., 2020). As this pandemic strongly affected the global economy, particularly in underdeveloped countries citizens are exposed and vulnerable (Sumner et al., 2020). The ones suffering from non-communicable diseases are considered as a risk group of COVID-19 (Kluge et al., 2020). According to Arena et al. (2017), regular physical activity stands as one of the major preconditions for healthy living. It is well documented that physical activity improves citizens’ readiness to fight communicable diseases (Romeo et al, 2010). The effect of sport on sustainable development is recognized by the UN MDGs 2015 and UN MDGs 2030 underlining social, educational, health aspects of the sport. The negative effects of the lockdown measures resulted in many continuing to lose jobs including in the world of sport. The system of sport is experiencing a crisis on different levels. The estimated value of the sport industry in 2018 was $471bn (Gough, 2020). To tackle the spread of the virus, governments across the globe imposed strict measures that included the cancelation of most international and national sporting events, from the Olympics/Paralympics to school competitions. Besides affecting the competition format, the lockdown jeopardizes organized practice and economic safety. According to Hall (2020), broadcasting, commercial and matchday revenues will be losing billions. Futterman et al. (2020) found that close to $160bn could be lost due to the pandemic. The health-economic crisis is pressuring athletes, their status, and earnings, as many events have been postponed or canceled. Secondly, membership-based sport organizations are affected since imposed restrictions and lockdowns limit access to their members for regular physical activity, leaving these organizations dependable on public funding and subventions. Therefore, the aim of presenting the institutional response of two Balkan countries aimed at mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand the impact of the pandemic and associated measures, I will focus primarily on document analysis examining policy documents and legislation adopted from the start of the pandemic.

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The Case of Croatia and Serbia Across the region, there is a weak evidence-based and lack of real-time data on the variety of the effects of COVID-19 measures on the sport. As of August 24, in Croatia, there are 8,3111 registered cases, while in Serbia 30,714. Both countries are experiencing steady growth. The pandemic in the Balkan region is far from over, and the epidemiological situation is unpredictable. The COVID-19 crisis in the region accelerated the decline of democracy (Csaky, 2020) and revealed a devastating image of economic structure and performance (Vuković, 2020). According to Applebaum (2020) during FT Podcast Rachman Review, noted that the autocrats are “weaponizing this moment of insecurity”, reinforcing nationalism as in Croatia, Serbia, or Hungary. Through the strict policy of physical distancing, the established ad-hoc bodies included a range of punitive measures, with little or no educational approach. While Serbia introduced a state of emergency, Croatia implemented a curfew. Vuković continued that will need at least six years to resume economic activity at the level of the pre-COVID-19 crisis. In Croatia, the unemployment rate increased by 20% and according to the estimates, the Croatian GDP will fall up to 11% (European Commission, 2020). Due to the previously taken systematic measures, 200

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the Serbian economy was prepared for the crisis, as the overall estimate is that GDP will fall around 3%, with a forecast for 2021 of 7,5% growth (International Monetary Fund, 2020). Both countries went further deciding to close gyms and fitness, parks, and playgrounds. According to the WHO recommendations around regular physical activity is important for fighting non-communicable diseases. However, as lockdown measures have been implemented, access to sporting activities has been restricted. Before the elections, both Croatian and Serbian authorities reported fewer cases and started with re-opening socio-economic activities in-country and borders. With this environment, the leading parties in both countries remained in power after the elections. However, after the elections, there has been reported on both ends a significant rise of COVID-19 cases. The Serbian authorities adopted measures that foresee half of the students returning to school, and another half to follow school curricula online, while in Croatia the start is in the second week of September, but these decisions are not definite. The approach and the adopted measures in both countries have been very similar, with the strong presence of the state authorities establishing an ad-hoc and emergency intergovernmental body. In both cases, this body accumulated legislative and executive powers, to run state affairs. With political incentives, governments decided to loosen key measures. Re-opening led to a significant increase in spreading the virus. Serbian authorities went further in particular; two sport-related cases spiked the significant rise of infection by COVID-19. On June 10, around 25000 fans attended the Serbian derby between Partisan and Red Star. It was the first sporting event after introducing a state of emergency in mid-March, just ten days before general elections. The result of the aftermath was five Red Star Belgrade players tested positive and some others in isolation. Later, those players didn’t play in the match the Serbian Cup semi-final, where 20000 fans appeared. The second “troubled” event was the charity tennis exhibition planned series called “Adria Tour” organized by the team associated with Novak Đoković. The events were planned in Belgrade (Serbia), Zadar (Croatia), Banja Luka, and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). In the middle of the second event in Zadar, Grigor Dimitrov a top ten ATP ranked player and Croatian player Borna Ćorić were tested positive for COVID-19. Later on, it was confirmed that both Novak Đoković and Viktor Troicki are tested positive. Both tennis events were organized following official protocols and measures in both Serbia and Croatia, and neither country required participants to implement physical distancing measures including the measures between spectators and players.

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Institutional Response Following the pyramidal structure, the sport systems in Serbia and Croatia are organized through local – grass-roots clubs, regional and national associations along competent public institutions that facilitate the development of sport (European Commission, 1999). According to Chaker’s (2004) categorization, the sport system in Serbia is interventionist – where specific state legislations regulate the structure and responsibilities of the sport movement, and unconsolidated – with two umbrella sport federations (Olympic Committee of Serbia and Serbian Sport Federation). In Croatia, the sport system is interventionist and unconsolidated – with five umbrella sport federations: the Croatian Olympic Committee, the Croatian Paralympic Committee, the Croatian Sport Federation of the Deaf, the Croatian Academic Sport Federation, and the Croatian School Sport Federation. According to the Law on Sport (Art. 75) on funding public needs in sport, The Central State Office for Sport (SDUŠ) in January allocated funds to these five umbrella organizations (SDUŠ, 2020). The Croatian authorities adopted specific measures to safeguard the system of the sport. In April, the 201

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Table 1. Policy actions in Croatia

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Date

Policy Action

Remarks

March 12

The SDUŠ Instructions

     - Instructions for the sport system dealing with COVID-19 (suspending all events until further notice).

March 18

The SDUŠ Decision

     - Mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of the sport system.

March 19

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings

     - Suspended all sporting events.

March 20

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings (Amendment 1)

     - Suspended all physical activity on open spaces including parks and playgrounds.

April 4

The Government of Croatia economic package for sport

     - The government has adopted economic measures to help the sport system.

April 18

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings (Amendment 2)

     - Extension of duration of measures related to the suspension of all sporting events in enforcing as of May 4.

April 19

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings (Amendment 3)

     - Extensions of measures related to the parks and playgrounds in enforce as of May 4

April 24

The Headquarters for Civil Protection and the SDUŠ joint decision

     - Suspension of fitness centers, gyms, other sport facilities.      - Suspended public gathering (outdoor) for more than 5 adult persons at the same time.      - Allowed practices for high-performance athletes (Category 1 and 2).

May 3

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings – including sport (Amendment 4)

     - Amendment not related to the sport system

May 4

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings – including sport (Amendment 5)

     - Guidelines for outdoor sport activities (parks and playgrounds).

May 10

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings – including sport (Amendment 6)

     - Suspension of fitness centers, gyms, other sport facilities.      - Suspended public gathering (outdoor) for more than 40 adult persons at the same time.

May 10

Croatian Olympic Committee (HOO) Recommendation

     - Guidelines for the sport system (athletes and coaches)      - Recommendations for practices/preparations, school sport, and sport recreation

May 27

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings – including sport (Amendment 8)

     - Suspension of all outdoor sport competitions until May 29      - Suspension of all indoor sport competitions until June 12.

May 27

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings – including sport (Amendment 9)

     - Allowed outdoor competitions from May 30, and in indoor sports facilities from June 13, 2020

June 9

The Headquarters for Civil Protection Decision on limiting of all public gatherings – including sport (Amendment 10)

     - Resume of all competitions as of June 15

June 18

The SDUŠ Recommendations on sport competitions

     - Recommendations for holding sports competitions in indoor sports facilities in the presence of spectators

Government of the Republic of Croatia noted that with all restrictions imposed by the Civil Protection Headquarters, the sport system cannot generate regular incomes through membership fees, sponsors, and media rights. Secondly, as the competition season was suspended, there is a need for amending the current Law on Sport (namely Art. 61) along with sport rules. According to the planned measures, employees through their representatives will be able to request salary compensation of up to 430 euros for March and 530 euros for April and May for their employees who will be defined by the invitation and who have an employment contract. A total of 5.4 million is allocated from the state budget to cover salary expenses for more than 3000 applicants. This decision was extended for June. In July, the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted a Decree to amend the current Law on Sport to enable emergency and

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Table 2. Policy action in Serbia Date March 12

The government adopted a decision to establish Crisis Command to tackle COVID-19

March 13

Crisis Command Decision on the prohibition of all public gatherings

March 15

The joint decision by the Government and President of Serbia on measures during the state of emergency

Remarks

     - Suspended all sporting events.      - Suspended all physical activity on open spaces including parks and playgrounds.

The Crisis Command Instruction for the sport system

     I- Instructions for starting the training process of top athletes and other athletes in the sports system of the Republic of Serbia in the application of measures to prevent the spread and reduce the risk of disease COVID-19

The Crisis Command Recommendations for the sport system

     - Recommendations for the continuation of the training process in all sports facilities of top athletes and other athletes in the sports system of the Republic of Serbia in the application of measures to prevent and reduce the risk of SARS-Cov-2 virus transmission

May 28

Ministry of Health Order

     - Prohibition for gathering up to 100 persons indoor.      - Prohibition for gathering u up to 1000 persons outdoor      - Exemption: it is allowed for gathering more than 1000 persons during sport event with an application of appropriate measures

June 1

The Crisis Command Instruction for public gathering

     - Repeating the same measures from the Ministry of Health Order.

June 5

Ministry of Health Order

     - Prohibition for gathering up to 500 persons indoor.      -

June 5

The Crisis Command Instruction

     - Guidelines for fitness centers and gyms.      - Guidelines for the sport system

June 29

The Crisis Command Conclusion

     - Decision on determining special measures for the protection of the population from the infectious disease COVID-19 on the territory of the City of Belgrade, which also applies to the sport system.

August 11

The Crisis Command Recommendations

     - Special measures for the organization of sport events

April 30

May 11

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Policy Action

ad-hoc financial assistance for the sport system. The adopted provision provides an additional granting opportunity for organizations of sport competitions. After the declaration of a state emergency, the Government of Serbia revised the current legal framework for enabling the adoption of ad hoc measures to tackle the negative effects of COVID-19 on the economy.

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Table 3. Policy actions in Serbia Date March 12

The government adopted a decision to establish Crisis Command to tackle COVID-19

March 13

Crisis Command Decision on the prohibition of all public gatherings

March 15

The joint decision by the Government and President of Serbia on measures during the state of emergency

Remarks

     - Suspended all sporting events.      - Suspended all physical activity on open spaces including parks and playgrounds.

The Crisis Command Instruction for the sport system

     II- Instructions for starting the training process of top athletes and other athletes in the sports system of the Republic of Serbia in the application of measures to prevent the spread and reduce the risk of disease COVID-19

The Crisis Command Recommendations for the sport system

     - Recommendations for the continuation of the training process in all sports facilities of top athletes and other athletes in the sports system of the Republic of Serbia in the application of measures to prevent and reduce the risk of SARS-Cov-2 virus transmission

May 28

Ministry of Health Order

     - Prohibition for gathering up to 100 persons indoor.      - Prohibition for gathering u up to 1000 persons outdoor      - Exemption: it is allowed for gathering more than 1000 persons during sport event with an application of appropriate measures

June 1

The Crisis Command Instruction for public gathering

     - Repeating the same measures from the Ministry of Health Order.

June 5

Ministry of Health Order

     - Prohibition for gathering up to 500 persons indoor.      -

June 5

The Crisis Command Instruction

     - Guidelines for fitness centers and gyms.      - Guidelines for the sport system

June 29

The Crisis Command Conclusion

     - Decision on determining special measures for the protection of the population from the infectious disease COVID-19 on the territory of the City of Belgrade, which also applies to the sport system.

August 11

The Crisis Command Recommendations

     - Special measures for the organization of sport events

April 30

May 11

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Policy Action

The overall economic package included four-level ranging from tax relief, direct financial assistance for the private sector with a focus on entrepreneurs, and small and medium enterprises, additional loans through the Development Fund and private banks, and direct aid to all adults of 100 euros. Although there were no specific measures for sport, sport organizations and entrepreneurs/service providers in

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sport were entailed to receive support from the economic package. employees through their representatives were able to request salary compensation in the amount of the minimum wage covering the period from March onwards, receiving first payments in May. After the general elections in June, the Ministry of Sport and Youth (MOS) announced four funding calls for the reconstruction of existing sport facilities and the development of youth sport. In August, after the adoption of special measures for organizations of sport events in Serbia, the Ministry of Sport and Youth, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Health signed the agreement on enabling athletes and coaches to be tested regularly and for free on COVID-19. The main goal of this agreement is to create a condition for sport competitions to resume. At the beginning of the year, most of the public funds from the state level were allocated for a competition program for Tokyo2020. As the crisis suspended the Olympic program, the SDUŠ adopted a decision that 30% of funds from umbrella sport federations will be redirected to support administration within their members’ organizations, and athletes’ programs. However, most of the athletes, categorized as an amateur but regularly competing in the national competitions, were not covered by the financial instruments in both countries, thus it is necessary to redefine the existing sport-related measures to prevent the probable early ending of a sport career.

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CONCLUDING REMARKS The reopening in Croatia and Serbia has caused a new wave of pandemic. The second outbreak of COVID-19 in Serbia coincided with the organization of elections in Serbia and loosening measures that enable organizations of sporting events. In Croatia, in an attempt to restart the touristic season, the city of Zadar and the organizing committee jump in, when Montenegro decided not to host the second event. This event was only ten days before the general elections in Croatia. – economic and political pressure. A group of scientists from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) warned that the COVID-19 “will be present forever in some form or another (Coronavirus will be with us forever, Sage scientist warns, 22 August 2020). Besides, it is quite certain that the countries of the region are going in a recession, only that Croatia’s position is significantly better comparing to Serbia because it is entitled to an EU recovery fund aimed at mitigating the effects associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The political management of the COVID-19 crisis showed that both countries proceed with the centralized decision-making approach. In Serbia, the army implemented a state of emergency, while in Croatia the measures were milder with the introduction of curfews. Imposed measures were focused on the health system and economy. Representatives from the sport system were not included in the formed ad hoc bodies, however, both the SDUŠ and the MOS were consulted in adopting sport-related regulations during the pandemic. Sport-related measures were developed to limit the spread of pandemics during the resume of practices and competitions. The consequences of lockdown measures on the sport system are omnipresent, and the cases of Serbia and Croatia signal that both countries remained with strong public support to keep sport organizations in motion. Therefore, the countries will need both ad hoc and strategic measures to tackle structural crises ranging from health care and education system to other public services focusing on digitalizing medical services, improving safety conditions for kids to return to school, and diversification of the economy. Mohr et al. (2020), concluded in respect for the football clubs, and I believe it stands for all sport organizations – to “be aware of that these are special circumstances and be prepared for a future unlike anything experienced before”. There is already the presence of tectonic changes through the acceleration 205

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of digitalization worldwide, including Croatia and Serbia. The COVID-19 crisis will continue to direct national, regional, cross-border, and international activities. Further economic support will be needed for the sport movement to maintain current workforce access to income support, as well as technical and organizational measures to prevent exposure and the spread of the new virus. The “re-thinking” of sport in its current form as Parnell et al. (2020, p. 5) worded, has already underway. In Croatia and Serbia, the sport movement is closely collaborating with institutes for public health in developing tailored (from sport to sport) guidelines ranging from organization of competitions, individual and group training, and special measures for the entourage.

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Dores, H., & Cardim, N. (2020). Return to play after COVID-19: A sport cardiologist’s view. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(19), 1132–1133. Advance online publication. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-102482 PMID:32381502 European Commission. (1999). The European Model of Sport. Consultation Paper of DGX of the European Commission. European Commission. (2020). European Economic Forecast, Summer 2020 (Institutional Paper 132). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/ economy-finance/ip132_en.pdf Futterman, M., Draper, K., Belson, K., & Blinder, A. (2020, March 14). The financial blow of the coronavirus on sports. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/sports/sports- coronavirusimpact.html Gough, C. (2020, April 3). Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease pandemic effect on the sports industry Statistics & Facts. Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/6098/impact-of-the-coronavirus-on-sport/ Government of the Republic of Croatia. (2020). Official government website for accurate and verified information on Coronavirus. Government of the Republic of Croatia https://www.koronavirus.hr/en Hall, S. (2020, April 9). This is how COVID-19 is affecting the world of sport. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/sports-covid19-coronavirus-excersise-specators-mediacoverage/ Headquarters for Civil Protection. (2020). Compiled decisions of the Headquarters for Civil Protection of the Republic of Croatia for the prevention of the spread of coronavirus infection. Ministry of the Interior, Civil Protection Directorate. https://civilna-zastita.gov.hr/odluke-stozera-civilne-zastite-rh-zasprecavanje-sirenja-zaraze-koronavirusom/2304 International Monetary Fund. (2020). World Economic Outlook, April 2020, Chapter 1 The Great Lockdown. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/04/14/weo-april-2020 Jurak, G., Morrison, S. A., Leskosek, B., Kovač, M., Hadžić, V., Vodičar, J., Truden, P., & Starc, G. (2020). Physical activity recommendations during the coronavirus disease-2019 virus outbreak. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 9(4), 325–327. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2020.05.003 PMID:32426171

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Kluge, H. H. P., Wickramashinghe, K., Rippin, H. L., Mendes, R., Peter, D. H., Kontsevaya, A., & Breda, J. (2020). Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in the COVID-19 response. Lancet, 10238(395), 1678–1680. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31067-9 PMID:32401713 Mattioli, A. V., Sciomer, S., Cocchi, C., Maffei, S., & Gallina, S. (2020). Quarantine during COVID-19 outbreak: Changes in diet and physical activity increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases, 30(9), 1409–1417. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2020.05.020 PMID:32571612 Ministry of Health. (2020). COVID-19 information on Serbia. Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia, Institute for Public Health “Dr. Milan Jovanovic Batut”. https://covid19.rs/o-covid-19-virusu/

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Vuković, M. (2020, April 11). Kocka je bačena [The die has been cast]. Portal Vijesti. https://www. vijesti. me/kolumne/kocka-je-bacena-koliko-ce-trajati-oporavak-crnogorske-ekonomije

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Chapter 14

One Step Forward and Two Steps Back?

Pandemic Effects and Women’s Sport in Australia Michelle O’Shea Western Sydney University, Australia Hazel Maxwell University of Tasmania, Australia Sarah Dufy Western Sydney University, Australia Nicole Peel Western Sydney University, Australia

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ABSTRACT Over the last decade, professional sport for women in Australia has experienced signifcant growth. However, the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to all facets of life including sport has slowed momentum towards equity, diversity, and inclusion. This chapter considers the complex and contested growth of sport for women in Australia during this period. It starts with Australia and New Zealand’s bid win for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Then two Australian women’s sport leagues are presented as illustrative case studies: the Australian Rules Football League for Women (AFLW) and the Super Netball League. A study of grassroots women’s sports in 2020 highlights the challenges access and engagement can present for women and girls during this period. In summary, an exploration of the response of Australian women’s sport to the COVID-19 pandemic provides opportunities for sports organisations to reassess and recalibrate the ways they could beneft both professional and grassroots sport for all.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch014

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INTRODUCTION Labelled by commentators as ‘a break through decade’ for the rise of women’s sport (Mitchell, 2019) and a rousing ‘boom time’ (McLachlan, 2019) for female professional athletes, ‘it would seem there has never been a better time to be a woman in Australian sport’ (Toffoletti & Palmer, 2019, p. 1). Indeed, the Australian Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency labelled 2019 a defining year for equality in sport. While women’s sport in Australia has made significant hard won gains, structural and cultural inequities remain entrenched on and off the field (Adriaanse Schofield, 2014; Maxwell and Stronach, 2020; McLachlan, 2019; O’Shea & Toohey, 2014; O’Shea 2018; Sherwood & Nicholson, 2017; Toffoletti & Palmer, 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic has disinterred these issues and brought them into sharp focus. While some commentators have hypothesised how “women’s sport may be the solution not the problem” to a sports COVID-19 recovery (Breen, 2020), this chapter explores the emerging consequences for feminism and social change. The chapter opens with a discussion of the complex and contested growth of women’s sport in Australia. During the early pandemic period Australia and New Zealand’s joint “As One” bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup was formally endorsed (O’Shea, Mariyani-Squire & Duffy, 2020). Accordingly, the early and planned effects of this bid decision during the COVID-19 pandemic for women’s sport in Australia and New Zealand are considered. Following this discussion two Australian women’s sport leagues are presented as illustrative case studies. The case studies are underpinned by information and data collected from contemporary media reports (between March and December 2020) and draw predominantly on information in the public domain. For the purpose of this chapter, the Australian Rules Football League for Women (AFLW) and the Super Netball League provide further information rich contexts in which to critically discuss COVID-19 induced impacts on women’s professional sport in Australia. Finally, drawing on qualitative data collected during 2020 the chapter concludes by providing an empirically grounded discussion of how opportunities for girls and adolescent women’s sport access and participation are shaped by gendered values, discourses, and practices. The focus of this discussion is an exploration of how gender inequities have been exacerbated by and through the pandemic and its emerging effects. Revealing and problematizing inequities at the grassroots level is important in identifying and redressing inequities underpinning sport development pathways and enabling ongoing possibilities for the commercial and social growth, reach and impact of women’s sport in Australia.

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WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL SPORT IN AUSTRALIA: MAKING INROADS? The past five years have seen women’s professional sport in Australia make inroads like never before. Women’s leagues, including the Women’s Big Bash Cricket League (WBBL) and the Women’s Australian Rules Football League (AFLW) continue to demonstrate an important shift in the Australian sport landscape (Sherry & Taylor, 2019). In part through professionalised pathways the mentioned leagues help promote wider and more inclusive cultural conversations, challenging stereotypes of women in sport (Pavlidis, Toffoletti & Saunders, 2020). In connection, women’s professional sport is positioning itself as more than an apparatus for commercial gain. Women’s sport leagues, teams and individual athletes are increasingly using their profes210

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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sional status as a platform to engage with broader social issues relevant to gender and other inequities. Looking abroad Nneka Ogwumike’s 2018 Player Tribune piece in part amplifies this commitment. As a professional basketballer and president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) Ogwumike pronounced that the WNBA ‘is not just about business. This is deeply personal. This is about the kind of world we want to live in’ (Ogwumike, 2018). Nneka Ogwumike’s remarks echo the WNBPA leagues long standing and ongoing purposeful commitment to social justice issues, ‘today, challenging the status quo is a hallmark of the league’s players. They pushed the envelope long before it came into vogue … and led the way in protesting social injustice and racism’. From collectivist action to individual athletes taking a stand, the league’s activism is described as unparalleled among contemporary professional sports leagues (Abrams & Weiner, 2020). In the Australian context the recent recommencement of women’s leagues following COVID-19 restrictions has seen the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), the world’s leading women’s Twenty20 (often abbreviated to T20) cricket tournament take a stand against racism. Held in Australia and signaling their support for the Black Lives Matter movement female teams engaged in a barefoot circle. Gesturing toward the ongoing salience of strained Australian Indigenous race relations the barefoot circle ceremony was seen to be more appropriate for the Australian context than taking a knee, which in 2020 has become increasingly customary across the sports world (Evans et al, 2020; Hylton, 2020; Swart & Maralack, 2020).

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Small Wins and Incremental Change: Driving the Growth of Australian Women’s Professional Sport Women’s sport leagues in Australia are attracting large audiences and stand-alone sponsorship (Morgan, 2019). Recent reports tendered by Australian government agencies including the NSW Government Office for Sport (2019) report “massive potential to grow the sponsorship base for women’s sport” (p.6). Indeed, during the pandemic period Telstra, a large Australian Telecommunications company announced its support as the major naming rights sponsor of the National Rugby League Women’s competition (NRLW). Coinciding with the NRLW league’s third season this sponsorship announcement together with the NRLW’s broadcast on free to air Australian Television Network Channel 9, in part points to the leagues continued commercial buoyancy (Newton, 2020). Women’s professional basketball in Australia has brokered a deal for all 60 games of the 2020 Women’s National Basketball (WNBL) season to be shown live across Australia. For league head Jerril Rechter this move will generate ‘more exposure than ever before’ (Blackiston, 2020). Broadcast exposure is pivotal to the leagues ongoing commercial expansion as well as growth at the grassroots level with high-profile visibility across Australia helping build upon the popularity and growth of women’s basketball and inspiring a new generation of players. While at a slower pace, other Australian sports are making way for women’s professional leagues. Celebrating its inaugural season in 2018 and while yet to pay its female athletes the Super W (Women’s Rugby Union) competition further signposts the expansion and development of women’s professional sport in Australia. Indeed, women’s Rugby participation in Australia reportedly rose by 20% following the inaugural 2018 season (Scanlon, 2019). Despite Rugby’s masculine history (Carle & Nauright, 1999) the success of the 7’s Rugby format (teams are made up of seven players playing seven minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40 minute halves) is especially pronounced among women and girls with projections suggesting that by 211

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2026, 40% of players worldwide will be women (Huxley, 2016). With these growth forecasts in mind a positive trajectory continues to emerge for the women’s game domestically and abroad. Australian women’s leagues with longer histories like Netball (Taylor 2001) continue to increase their commercial reach and success. The 2019 Super Netball season saw the league reach an unprecedented number of television viewers. In line with new media platform growth the leagues commercial success was further illuminated with super Netball live streaming doubling on last season and the Netball Live Official App recording 27% growth from 2018 (Super Netball, 2020). Women’s membership on Australian Sport boards historically controlled by and for men (Adriaanse and Schofield, 2014; O’Shea & Fullagar, 2019) continues to change the face of Australian sport administration. In 2005 Katie Page made history as the first woman to be appointed to a major sport board in Australia. More recently, women’s involvement in the administration and management of Australian sport has further accelerated. In 2016 Kate Palmer was appointed as the first female Chief Executive of the Australian Sports Commission. Rayleen Castle’s appointed in late 2017 as Rugby Australia’s Chief Executive, the first woman to run one of Australia’s major football codes made for further positive headlines. Among media commentators Holloran (2020) Megan Davies 2017 appointed as an Aboriginal woman to the Australian Rugby League Commission signifies how gender and racial inequities are increasingly challenged in Australian sport and society more broadly. Just prior to the global COVID-19 sport lockdowns women’s sport in Australia reached a further significant landmark. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) hosted the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 final on International Women’s Day. The Australian Women’s Cricket Team celebrated a victory against their Indian rivals with a record-breaking crowd of 86,174 fans in attendance. This was the largest crowd for a women’s sport event in Australia and for any women’s cricket match globally (O’Shea, Maxwell & Duffy, 2020; O’Shea, Taylor & Richards, 2020). While event organisers fell short of the world record 90,815 who attended the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final at California’s Rose Bowl, the Women’s T20 events success is in part demonstrative of the immense popularity and the commercial potential of women’s sport in Australia. When comparisons are drawn between Australian women’s professional sport teams and their male peers, the growth and popularity of women’s sport is further amplified. Despite frequently receiving less funding and allied commercial support Australian women’s leagues and teams resonate with both female and male Australian sport fans. Research conducted by True North (2020) found sport fans demonstrate a higher familiarity with male Australian national sport teams, this is in part a reflection of the marketing investment and exposure these teams have had over many decades. However, Super Netball has the strongest emotional connection of all Australian sport leagues, including men’s professional leagues (True North, 2020). These findings are salient as men’s professional sports teams and leagues continue to receive the lion’s share of commercial and media support as well as prime television airtime (Caple, Greenwood & Lumby, 2011; Fink, 2015; Sherry, Osborne & Nicholson, 2016; Vann, 2014). Fan affiliation and connectedness are fundamental to team and league commercial success (Melnick & Wann, 2011; Theodorakis, Wann, Nassis & Luellen, 2012). The emotional connection engendered by and through women’s leagues and team’s further signals opportunities for commercial and other allied returns (Pope, 2017; Toffoletti, Pegoraro & Comeau, 2019; Toffoletti, 2017).

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PROBLEMATISING PROGRESS NARATIVES AND WOMEN’S SPORT IN AUSTRALIA Despite reported quantifiable gains and inroads, women’s professional sport in Australia is differentially valued (Pavlidis, Toffoletti & Sanders, 2020) especially in the media. For example, despite a commitment to enhancing the profile of women’s professional sport Channel 9, the commercial television network event rights holder for the Women’s T20 series chose not to telecast the event on its main commercial station. Following Australia’s initial COVID-19 sport lockdown analysis of sport media content revealed how even in the absence of live sport, women’s professional sport was consistently relegated to the sidelines (Breitbarth et al, 2020). Amidst the COVID-19 period the challenges and opportunities associated with growing women’s sports social and commercial footprint are shown in Australia and New Zealand’s bid proposal rating and ultimate 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup bid success. The proceeding case study illuminates emerging tensions and gaps between stated commitments, policy and practice.

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Australia and New Zealand’s “As One” FIFA Women’s World Cup Bid Win: Realising the Promise? The Australian and New Zealand bid book emphasized how women’s football is much more than a game; it is a game-changer (FFA, 2020). An opportunity to advance women’s leadership and promote women’s football underpinned the bid proposal and was highly rated among bid officials (Lynch,2020). While difficult to quantify, the social benefits from large-scale sporting events should not be overlooked, particularly for women’s sport. An estimated 1 billion television viewers watched the 2019 World Cup in France, a jump from 750 million four years earlier (O’Shea, Mariyani-Squire & Duffy, 2020). In connection, recent analysis of the events print media coverage mark more inclusive event reporting and critical shifts relevant to how female athletes and women’s sport events are represented through the media (Petty & Pope, 2018). Following the bid announcement the Football Federation Australia FFA president remarked how the World Cup will “supercharge” women’s football in Australia and New Zealand. With a pay equity deal struck in 2019 between the Australian women’s (Matilda’s) and men’s (Socceroo’s) National Football teams, the continued positive trajectory appears set to continue (Bossi, 2019). However, recent commercial decisions illuminate the complexities of redressing entrenched and taken-for-granted inequities. With the 2023 Women’s World Cup event secured and a mandate to start working toward the mentioned gender equity goals Football Federation Australia (FFA) and Nike’s initial failure to make available the Matilda’s (Australian Women’s National Football Team) jersey in women’s cuts and sizes was met with criticism and backlash. Among those unhappy with the decision was Matildas player Elise Kellond-Knight, who tweeted her concerns. On various social media platforms fans similarly expressed their frustration that women’s sized apparel and cuts for Australia’s most-loved sport team were not available. While subsequently responding to fans by making the replica away kit available in women’s sizes, the oversight was described in the media as an own goal and a blunder (Hislop, 2020).

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Figure 1. FFA and Nikes failure-a significant problem

It is often the case that greater diversity among senior leaders and personnel can reduce the propensity for group think (Spaaij, Knoppers, & Jeanes (2020). More diverse eyes and voices may very well have sidestepped the mentioned uniform availability oversights. The sporting world clearly needs more women in public-facing and influential governance roles. The president of New Zealand Football, Johanna Woods, was the only woman leader among the World Cup bidding countries. Indeed, women’s absence in the senior management and leadership ranks of football is long standing and an area of focus leading into the 2023 event staging. In association, broader questions are being raised about how the 2023 bid committee will create a roadmap for releasing its purported “game changing” prophesy. This is especially salient against the backdrop of restless race relations in Australia and abroad. In reference to the As One bid proposal stakeholder engagement, human rights and Australia’s Indigenous culture feature. Notwithstanding its own fraught histories, the international Football Federation (FIFA) required that all bidding nations include an independent human rights assessment. In the case of Australia and New Zealand’s assessment it is believed to be the first written by a woman focused on women’s issues. Recommendations arising from Professor Susan Harris Rimmer’s assessment included “organisers minimise their environmental and economic impact on host cities and are instructed to mitigate homophobic, racist or discriminatory chants in stadiums and social media directed at players. Rimmer also encouraged “framing the Women’s World Cup as an important contribution to recognising women’s right and ability to participate in all forms of public life”. As we look to the next two years, there is a rich opportunity to imagine what a modern Australian (and NZ) World Cup looks like culturally (Foster, 2020). Time will tell if these imagined possibilities for women, girls and other minorities will be realised.

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Figure 2. Fans described FFA and Nikes decision as unacceptable

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While earlier noting the achievements and firsts for Australian female athletes and administrators, recent research reveals how often in subtle and less overt ways gendered discourses and practices inequitably shape men’s and women’s sport management careers (O’Shea & Toohey, 2014; O’Shea, 2017). Showcasing the appointment of women to positions of influence together with highlighting their commitment to more gender equitable headcounts has enabled Australian sport managers to substantiate their claims that gender inequities are a past concern. However, calculative rationalities and proportional claims (Miller & Rose, 2008) can reproduce a culture where once equal numbers of men and women are employed, other gender inequities are overlooked and ignored. Women’s show piece status (Lewis & Simpson, 2012) can undermine the legitimacy of their appointment or promotion. Constructed as tokens appointed because of their gender rather than their superior skills and expertise. Indeed, and in line with Pape & McLauren’s (2020) caution that during periods of uncertainty “women leaders tend to fare badly” (p. 394) the current climate has proved this true. Raelene Castle’s tenure as the first women to head a men’s professional sport organisation Rugby Australia came to an end amidst the initial COVID-19 sport shutdown. The media spotlight she endured was unlike any other sport administrator, with women in power held to a much higher account than men (Litchfield & Osborne 2020; Priestley, 2019). Kate Palmer’s tenure as the first female to head Sport Australia came to an end in 2019. Electing not to renew her contract, her departure marks the loss of another influential female sport administrator (Lutton, 2019). In the next sections and framed through the prior defined case study’s the chapter further critically discusses the issues and complexities enabling and constraining women’s sport in Australia-on and off the field.

AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S SPORT AND COVID-19 EFFECTS In preview, three themes (each supported by a relevant case study) will be discussed: 1. Women’s professional sport on pause 2. Rebooting women’s sport and 3. Trickle down effects-enabling girls and adolescent women’s sport participation

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Women’s Professional Sport on Pause The gendered cultural practices inequitably shaping men’s and women’s professional sport are clear when examining the COVID-19 shutdown. This analysis and discussion challenges claims that professional sport has entered a new era where gendered inequities have been redressed and so a past sport organisational concern. Hence, this section of the chapter looks to deepen understandings of how inequities are constructed, reproduced and often strengthened so that they can be challenged. Through the pandemic period, women’s sport collectives have proved powerful contexts for contesting mainstream norms relevant to women’s influence and engagement in sport both on and off the field. Central to this issue is the idea of the female voice. The “Outer Sanctum” is an example of a new female-fan community or gender sport collective which proved critical for AFLW fans prior to and during the COVID-19 period. Since “The Outer Sanctum’s” 2016 debut the podcasts, developed by citizen

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Figure 3. The Outer Sanctum changing the game for women’s AFL

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journalists, sports fans and passionate advocates have provided a strong female voice for the promotion of female sport in Australia in the social media age. This is particularly the case, as Sherwood (2019) points out, there remains little mainstream coverage of women’s sport and female athletes. In response, female sport fan collectives are emerging, navigating and challenging traditional media’s preoccupation with men’s professional sport. The Outer Sanctum provides an illustration of women challenging conventional masculine culture and social norms. The women driving this gendered sport collective are committed to shifting the conventional AFL discourse by changing dominant societal discourses and challenging practices which have also excluded not only mainstream women but other minorities such as Muslim and Indigenous women (Maxwell et al. 2013; Maxwell & Stronach 2020; Stronach et al 2016). The commitment of the women of The Outer Sanctum is demonstrated in their support for pay equity among AFL and AFLW players, advocacy for maternity rights for athletes, family friendly practices and a questioning of the legitimacy of gendered marketing practices (Bruce, 2016) such as the naming of the female competition ‘AFLW’. The AFLW case study illustrates the development of the league and the subsequent situation faced by the elite women players when the outbreak of COVID- 19 burst out across Australia in March 2020. Despite the AFL’s vast resources, during the early pandemic period scarcity and commercial sustainability narratives quickly emerged through organisation reporting and media. Failing to position the women’s league and athletes as legitimate partners the 2020 season in its final’s countdown was brought to an immediate halt. The early effects of the COVID -19 pandemic on the AFLW are explored below.

Australian Rules Football League for Women (AFLW) … the 2020 Experience After years of Australian women and girls lobbying the AFL (an all-male league) for a professional football league for women, the (AFLW), was introduced in 2017. According to AFL Commission Chair Mike Fitzpatrick, setting up a national women’s league would fundamentally change the sport, “our game will never be the same again”. A dedicated women’s competition would provide a “platform to inspire young girls to reach for the stars and provide another avenue for Australian Rules fans to enjoy”.

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At the time this sentiment was echoed by Daisy Pearce who would go onto become one of the league’s early stars, “It’s great to have the opportunity to play an elite sport out on an elite arena in a professional environment. But more so, to look around today and see those little girls who will grow up knowing that’s something they can achieve is amazing,” Pearce reported (Matthews, 2016). The popularity of the league was immediately evident with the inaugural AFLW game breaking the attendance record (excluding the Olympics) for a standalone women’s sporting event in Australia. This record was broken again in 2018 with an AFLW match between Fremantle and Collingwood at Optus Stadium, then yet again by the 2019 AFLW grand final at Adelaide Oval with a (53,034 crowd) (Bastiani, 2020). However, in March 2020 with the rapid spread of COVID-19 the men’s AFL season was suspended after the first round as the AFL entered crisis response mode. On 22 March Gill McLachlan (the AFL Chief Executive Officer) announced that the AFL season would need to be suspended after only one round, however the intention was to still complete the season (ABC 2020), this showed continued support for the long established male game. In contrast the women’s league was abandoned resulting in disillusionment from female players which was articulated by one of the AFLW players as “a bit disappointing overall, the finish to the season. I mean, we would have had a really good run into finals” (Bastiani 2020). This statement showed her devastation and hints at the gender inequality of the league’s action. On Monday 23 March there was further confusion and disenchantment amongst the female players as Trent Cooper (one of the professional coaches) confirmed there would be no finals for the AFLW and no conclusion to their season. Despite the pandemic and the cancellation of the women’s finals, the women’s league in 2020 saw an expansion in AFLW membership to 20,849 members (a 48.9% increase for 2020). On a positive note for gender equity, the AFL has indicated that there will be no change to the current AFLW and that the 2021 season will commence in February, with a nine-week home and away season, before a three-week final’s series. The ‘up’ and ‘down’ ride of 2020 for women playing AFL saw several further setbacks including a number of cutbacks in the professional game. Cherney (2020) explains:

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The AFL’s coronavirus crunch has claimed further victims in the female game with Geelong making their head of women’s football role redundant. Geelong issued a statement on Thursday outlining that because of COVID-19 they would need to reduce costs by $6 million leading to “heartbreaking” decisions. As part of these changes, Simone Bellears, an employee of Geelong for the past nine years, departed the club this week after her role as head of women’s football and pathways was made redundant. The Cats confirmed that Bellears and AFLW assistant coach Natalie Wood, who also coached the club’s VFLW team, were among about 15 staff to be let go. In conclusion, player payments and the current AFLW Football Department soft cap are to be kept and the 2021 season will be subject to how the Australian community is dealing with the pandemic (AFLW, 2020). AFL Commissioner Chairman Richard Goyder said it was the Commission’s view that the AFLW was a significant growth area for the game and should not be subject to any reductions for next season, when considering the competition was not able to be completed this year and the fact that AFLW spending within clubs was much smaller than the current spend on the AFL football programs (AFL Media, 2020). Against this backdrop the future outcomes and growth of the women’s game in relation to gender equity remains contested and complex.

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Rebooting Women’s Professional Sport

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Commentators and academics are beginning to theorize and empirically explore how the COVID-19 panademic has and will continue to shape issues relevant to equity, diversity and inclusion. One area of concern is sport (Clarkson, Culvin, Pope & Parry, 2020; Druckman & Sharrow, 2020; Staurowsky, Koch, Dury & Hayes, 2020). Taken from a strengths-based perspective and in reference to women’s sport (Maxwell et al 2019) COVID-19 has been positioned as an opportunity to rethink, reassess and reboot in novel ways (O’Shea, Maxwell & Duffy, 2020). However, applying a gendered analytical lens and looking to how men’s professional sport in Australia sought to recommence their season fixtures during this time a valuing of masculinities and men’s professional sport prevailed. O’Shea and Duffy (2020) drew attention to how the male power structure constituting Australian professional sport used political and economic resources to protect itself. With a pandemic raging and organisations and individuals in lockdown NRL powerbrokers were focused on getting their sport back on the pitch. Through the leagues “Project Apollo” plan the NRL was able to bring their product back to a less congested and competitive domestic sport marketplace. League commentators argue the NRL’s COVID-19 return plans led by Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys underpinned his unwavering commitment to the code. An aspirational leader, strategist and innovator at the helm during a period of unprecedented disruption and uncertainty (Read, 2020). While marketing strategists report the benefits of a head start arising from first mover advantage (Suarez & Lanzolla, 2005), complexities and risks were associated with V’landys’ innovation committee’s moves. For instance, while sometimes a first mover advantage can be useful, it very much depends on surrounding circumstances and how this edge on competitors has been achieved (Suarez & Lanzolla, 2005). The behaviour of male NRL athletes breaking strict biosecurity requirements and dissemination of these indiscretions across the media brought with it brand and reputational damage for the individuals involved and the code more broadly (Hart, 2020). Despite initial concerns that the 2020 women’s NRL domestic competition would not take place, the season did proceed. Staged in late 2020 NRL commentators continue to exult the codes ‘deep commitment’ (Konstantopoulos, 2020) to season extensions and increased numbers of competing women’s teams. However, COVID-19 induced resource scarcity has stalled the leagues expansion. A move toward a fully-fledged home and away season for the women’s league appears decidedly unlikely. Equally uncertain is the future of the Australian Women’s Super-Netball competition. Notwithstanding, resource constraints media representations during the COVID-19 period further amplify the inequities in how women’s and men’s sport are constructed and valued. In the next case study, the identity issues female athletes navigate are illuminated and critically discussed.

Super Netball: A Glamour Sport? This case study examines two examples where the sport of Netball in Australia or one of its players have been framed negatively in the media for reasons other than their sporting prowess. In a controversial start to the Super Netball season in July 2020, Melbourne newspaper The Age published a 2.5-star review (shown in image below) characterising the professional league as a “glamour sport”. Prominent players came out in scathing condemnation of the review and Puma, the sponsor of Melbourne’s team the “Vixens” responded the very next day. Puma released a video on social media titled “no glamour here”, 218

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Figure 4. Screen shot from Twitter of review from The Age news with comment from former captain of Australia’s national women’s netball team, Liz Ellis

channelling the frustration and outrage felt by the netball community. At the time of writing (November 2020), the video has been viewed over 44,400 times. This is an impressive number when you consider that in the 2019 season the average televised game attracted 135,980 viewers per game. The video hits back against the description: “once just for schoolgirls and workplace bonding, this is now a full glamour sport for many.” The video starts out with the tagline: “nothing glamourous here” and then proceeds to show the elite athleticism of the sport, the competitiveness and its physicality. The video also flashes the text “work, study, family, all at once” (see screenshot below) highlighting that many of Super Netball’s athletes are firstly not able to support themselves based on the salary from the sport alone (unlike their male counterparts in NRL and AFL) and secondly that many of the players are also mothers (or soon to be mothers) with caring responsibilities and unique challenges. COVID has brought these conflicting priorities into sharp focus. Some Super Netball players had to sacrifice their additional employment and most had to be separated from loved ones in order to join a “COVID bubble” in Queensland. NSW Swifts Player, Sophie Craig left behind a new husband and was compelled to take 10 weeks leave from her part-time job (Lulham, 2020). Thanks to an understanding employer this was possible. The gender pay gap, persistent and present in Australian society more broadly is magnified in our professional sports. April Brandley brought her baby into the bubble and thanks to a partner who was able to come along to care for their son, it was possible for Brandley to continue to play and breastfeed without being separated from her family (Woods, 2020). The challenges of parenting in a pandemic have been experienced across many professions, but certainly present particular challenges for elite female athletes. The Super Netball athletes and support staff rose to the challenge of COVID- 19 and almost 200 players, team staff and family plus 50 umpires, officials, league staff relocated to a single Queensland hub. The sport had zero COVID breaches, unlike both the male NRL and AFL. The two and half star review in The Age demonstrates that despite much commentary to the contrary, the present day is not a “boom” time in women’s sport. Tension remains in the way women’s sport is viewed more broadly and the way it is represented in the media (McLachlan, 2019). Campaigns such as the discussed “no

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Figure 5. Screenshot from Puma “Glamour? You be the judge”

glamour here” forge a new, more truthful representation of both the talent and hard work of our elite female athletes and the struggles they continue to negotiate. Kim Ravaillion, Super Netballer, mother and wife was used as a scape goat when her husband’s employer Collingwood made a last-minute decision to trade her husband, Adam Treloar (Waterworth & Zita, 2020). Collingwood cast doubt on Treloar’s commitment to the team with his wife and child moving to Queensland for Ravaillion’s career. Initially the Herald Sun issued a salacious tweet (shown in image 3) reframing Ravaillion as a “WAG” rather than an athlete (and a person), shown in an evening gown with a headline hinting that she was to blame for the decision. After facing backlash from Ravillion herself and others, they removed the tweet and the next day tweeted (shown in image 4) an image

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Figure 6. The now removed tweet from the Herald Sun (they have over 90,000 followers)

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of Ravillion playing Netball for Australia with a quote from Ravillion herself and her husband in his uniform carrying their child. The initial tweet appeared to be aimed at silencing Ravillion. By focusing on her appearance and role in relation to her husband her status and accomplishments as a professional athlete were largely diminished and subordinated. In contrast, the follow up tweet showed her in her profession, used her words and depicted her husband caring for their child. Figure 7. The revised portrayal of the issue

In sum, the criticisms levelled together with the revised media framing, in part through the above image demonstrates how change can be enabled. Challenging the status quo and reimagining femininities and masculinities on and off the field opens possibilities for destabilising entrenched taken for granted gender norms. The more sources these challenges originate from (sponsors or the athletes themselves as these examples show), the more nuanced portrayal the public receives.

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Trickle Down Effects-Enabling Girls and Adolescent Women’s Sport Participation The focus of the chapter so far has been women’s professional sport. The proceeding section is concerned with how in 2020, during the COVID 19 pandemic, professional women’s sporting competitions/leagues and their female athletes, may act as role models to influence girls and adolescent women’s sport at the grassroots participatory level (O’Shea, Maxwell & Peel, 2020). We argue that to continue to build the momentum and gains occurring at the elite levels of women’s sport in Australia, sport participation and active recreation among girls and adolescent women must be actively supported and encouraged on mass. Grassroots female community participation in sport often springs from school-based opportunities for girls and adolescent women who are encouraged to ‘have a go’ (O’Shea et al 2020). This is especially

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the case for engagement in sports historically played by boys and men and why initiatives involving schools are both important and timely. Despite gains in the professional sports context Australian girls sport participation remains problematic (Eime & Harvey, 2018). Litchfield & Elliott, 2020; Slater & Tiggemann,2010). Research underscores the ongoing challenges such as access and opportunity facing girls and adolescent women in the emerging field of developing sport for women and girls (Sherry and Rowe, 2020), especially among girls from culturally and linguistically diverse communities (Walseth, 2008; Maxwell 2012; Maxwell and Stronach, 2020) and Indigenous girls (Stronach et al. 2016; Stronach and Maxwell 2020). Drawing on empirical data collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (February to December 2020) the “Girls and Sport Roadshow” case study focuses on stakeholder networks and relationships which both enable and constrain girls and adolescent women’s sport and active recreation participation. A social capital framework (Maxwell and Taylor, 2010) is utilised which focuses on how relationships between people within organizations have the capacity to facilitate action and impactful outcomes, in this case for girls to participate in sport (O’Shea, Maxwell & Peel, 2020), through the generation of goodwill, trust and reciprocity (Hoye & Nicolson, 2009). Specifically, we consider how these relationships are established and activated by government agencies, sports, and community organizations as a form of linking social capital. Woolcock (2000, p.17) describes ‘linking social capital as the relationships people have with those in power’. These relationships are fundamental to facilitating opportunities for girls in sport and are described in the case study presented below.

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Girls and Sport Roadshow: Change Agendas at Play Conceived of as the ‘Trickle down sport effect’ (Hindson, Gidlow, & Peebles, 1994) where elite sport inspires individuals to take up sport at the grassroots level, this ‘Trickle down’ idea is used as a foundation to a healthy active program by a local council in Australia. The program is designed to link resources and sporting organizations to areas of need in a local council of Western Sydney to leverage ‘linking’ social capital (Woolcock, 2020). During 2020 the Council offered a free program targeting girls in education settings via the Women in Sport Roadshow’ program. Through hosting free sport/health events (with a ‘have a go philosophy’) during and after school, the program is in its third year of operation. It provides a safe, aspirational context for girls to try new sports and engage with positive female sporting role models. The 2018 Australian Sports Commission (ASC) research showed children’s participation in sports in Australia is increasing however participation rates are decreasing in girls aged 9-11 years. The gender participation gap is widening, especially amongst the 12-14 age groups. By hosting free targeted clinics in local primary and high schools, the program provides a much needed safe and aspirational context for girls to try new sports and engage with positive female role models. A robust body of literature supports the benefits of participating in organised sport, including improved health and fitness, better mental health outcomes and stronger social networks (Misener & Doherty, 2012; Robertson, Eime, & Westerbeek, 2019) especially for women and girls (Pavlidis, 2018). In equal measure empirical research reports the nuanced and complex barriers and constraints obstructing girls and women’s sport and active recreation opportunities (Maxwell and Stronach 2020, Stronach and Maxwell, 2020). The program goals are especially relevant to the targeted social and economically disadvantage community which has low levels of physical activity particularly among younger and adolescent girls. Some of the cultural and family backgrounds of the girls limit their exposure to sport with girls not

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having access to any organized sport outside school. Therefore, the added intersections of cultural and socio-economic barriers within the boundaries of these schools may further limit participation. Female athletes from the NSW Swifts, AFL Giants, Flames Basketball and Rugby 7’s lead the sessions. Using female sporting role models in a safe and familiar environment has been shown to facilitate the participation of marginalised girls in sport and physical activity. Accordingly, the Roadshow was delivered as two integrated sessions. Female athletes share the many social, psychological and physical benefits associated with sport/ physical active lifestyle. Structured question and answer sessions enabled dialogue between athletes and participant’s opportunities to share positive stories, field concerns and take time to answer students more general questions guided toward themes including career and education. Arising from requests from participating school’s athlete presentations were further focussed toward providing messages relevant to resilience, overcoming adversity and empowerment for girls. Following the mentioned presentations/discussions female, sport mentors then guided practical games relevant skills clinics with a positive activity focus introducing participants to physical literacy outcomes. The overarching aim of this program is to knock down some of those barriers to participation. The case study provides a useful example of how a variety of stakeholder organizations link together to promote and deliver a “Women’s Sport Roadshow” and provide opportunities for girls to play sport and start on a pathway of sporting participation which may even lead to the professional level. Furthermore, the program demonstrates how sport and physical activity can be powerful platforms to impart positive messages and provide a context for girl’s empowerment by challenging normative values and discourses around female participation in sport. Sport is more than just playing a game and kicking a ball around on a field once a week. Participants in the ‘Women in Roadshow Project’ have demonstrated in 2020, under difficult pandemic conditions, that the benefits of social connections (Darcy et al, 2014) beyond the tangible well known traditional sporting skills, operating within a social capital framework (Maxwell & Taylor, 2010) can transverse gender, age, diversity, professional and institutional settings.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Like most other industries COVID-19 has presented professional sport with unprecedented disruption, challenges and complexities. However, it is also the case that the pandemics effects represent an opportunity. Professional sport in Australia has made space for women’s access and inclusion, but gender, race and socioeconomic status continue to be constructed and reproduced on and off the field of play. The recent recommencement of professional women’s sport has amplified the gains and indeed the constraints shaping women’s sport. The post pandemic context provides a setting through which women’s professional sport might be valued and repositioned in different and more equitable ways. Future research might look to empirical research concerned with investigating how women’s sport leagues and teams have navigated this early pandemic period. Athlete experiences and those of women working in sport management and administration can provide insights not only relevant to the present but the immediate future (Bowes, Lomax, & Piasecki, 2020). In connection with the chapter focus and case study findings, future research might look to explore the growing influence of women’s sport fan collectives. Understanding how these networks of sport fans are enabled and can be further strengthened in ways that navigate and directly challenge normative sport cultures could have notable sociocultural meanings and effects (Symons, 2020). Given the reported fan connections engendered through these networks there are also commercial learnings of value for sport marketers (Meier, 2018; Toffoletti, 2017). 223

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The salience of this research is amplified when considering the preferences and expectations of emerging fan markets. Increasingly, youth make commercial and brand decisions based on values and corporate social imperatives (Walzel, Robertson, & Anagnostopoulos, 2018). Indeed, a 2020 Australian Youth Survey Report found that equity and diversity were social issues front of mind for Australian youth Mission Australia, 2020). Understanding and engaging with this market and their concerns will be of rank to sport marketers and managers, especially as research reveals how during the pandemic period Australian’s sense of connection with sport has softened considerably (True North, 2020). Referencing girls and adolescent women’s sport participation there is scope to more deeply explore how school, government and non-for-profit entities connect and network in ways to enable sport participation at the grassroots level (O’Shea, Maxwell & Peel, 2020). While gains at the professional level are important, understanding the levers and constraints shaping girls sport access is fundamental to any reimagining of more inclusive sport futures. Enhanced sport and active recreation involvement among girls and adolescent women have important social, health and wellbeing outcomes throughout the life course across genders and generations. In turn, deeper and more nuanced understandings have value for forward policy development and practice.

CONCLUSION This chapter has drawn on empirical data to highlight and offer critical reflections on how sport for women can be reimagined and more opportunities enabled. 2020 has been a year of snakes and ladders for women’s sport. This chapter has responded to Pape and McLauren (2020) and Fullagar’s (2020) calls to draw on the post pandemic sport context as a context to reassess and recalibrate in ways which benefit women’s professional and grassroots sport-on and off the field. While the chapter case studies, and critical discussion illuminate moves toward equity and inclusion it is also the case that women’s sport in Australia is valued differently. It is fundamentally important that the gains achieved are not lost. Equally, it is important that progress narratives do not deter efforts to further deepen girls and women’s access and inclusion in professional and grassroots level sport and active recreation.

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Staurowsky, E. J., Koch, B., Dury, G., & Hayes, C. (2020). Exploring Narratives of Scarcity, Uncertainty, and Opportunity in Women’s Sports Coverage During the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Sport Communication, 1(aop), 1-11. Staurowsky, E. J., Koch, B., Dury, G., & Hayes, C. (2020). Exploring Narratives of Scarcity, Uncertainty, and Opportunity in Women’s Sports Coverage During the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Sport Communication, 13(3), 408–418. doi:10.1123/ijsc.2020-0226 Stronach, M., & Maxwell, H. (2020). Developing sport for Indigenous women and girls. In E. Sherry & K. Rowe (Eds.), Developing Sport for Women and Girls. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780367854201-9 Stronach, M., Maxwell, H., & Taylor, T. (2016). ‘Sistas’ and Aunties: Sport, physical activity, and Indigenous Australian women. Annals of Leisure Research, 19(1), 7–26. doi:10.1080/11745398.2015.1051067 Suarez, F., & Lanzolla, G. (2005). The half-truth of first-mover advantage. Harvard Business Review. PMID:15807045 Suncorp Super Netball. (2019). Suncorp Super Netball Reaches More People Than Ever Before. https:// supernetball.com.au/news/ssn-2019-viewership-attendance Swart, K., & Maralack, D. (2020). Black Lives Matter: Perspectives from South African cricket. Sport in Society, 1–16. doi:10.1080/17430437.2020.1819693 Symons, K. (2020). “The AFLW has given me back something I thought I’d lost” - How the AFLW fan space has welcomed back the lost voices from the stands. Proceedings of the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand, SMAANZ Week 2020. Szreter, S., & Woolcock, M. (2004). Health by association? Social capital, social Stronach er al 2016theory, and the political economy of public health. International Journal of Epidemiology, 33(4), 650–667. doi:10.1093/ije/dyh013 PMID:15282219 Taylor, T. (2001). Gendering sport: The development of netball in Australia. Sporting Traditions, 18(1), 57–74. Theodorakis, N. D., Wann, D. L., Nassis, P., & Luellen, T. B. (2012). The relationship between sport team identification and the need to belong. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 12(1-2), 25–38. doi:10.1504/IJSMM.2012.051249

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Toffoletti, K. (2017). Women sport fans: Identification, participation, representation. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9781315641690 Toffoletti, K. (2017). Women sport fans: Identification, participation, representation. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9781315641690 Toffoletti, K., & Palmer, C. (2019). Women and Sport in Australia—New Times? Journal of Australian Studies, 43(1), 1–6. doi:10.1080/14443058.2019.1579081 Toffoletti, K., & Palmer, C. (2019). Women and Sport in Australia—New Times? Journal of Australian Studies, 43(1), 1–6. doi:10.1080/14443058.2019.1579081

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Toffoletti, K., Pegoraro, A., & Comeau, G. S. (2019). Self-Representations of Women’s Sport Fandom on Instagram at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Communication & Sport, 1–23. doi:10.1177/2167479519893332 Tzanakis, M. (2013). Social capital in Bourdieu’s, Coleman’s and Putnam’s theory: Empirical evidence and emergent measurement issues. Educate, 13(2), 2–23. Vann, P. (2014). Changing the game: The role of social media in overcoming old media’s attention deficit toward women’s sport. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 58(3), 438–455. doi:10.1 080/08838151.2014.935850 Walseth, K. (2008). Bridging and bonding social capital in sport—Experiences of young women with an immigrant background. Sport Education and Society, 13(1), 1–17. doi:10.1080/13573320701780498 Walzel, S., Robertson, J., & Anagnostopoulos, C. (2018). Corporate social responsibility in professional team sports organizations: An integrative review. Journal of Sport Management, 32(6), 511–530. doi:10.1123/jsm.2017-0227

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Woods, M. (2020). Brandley balancing bub and Super Netball. The Canberra Times. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6867912/brandley-balancing-bub-and-super-netball/

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Chapter 15

The Impact of COVID-19 on Sponsorship in Slovenian Sports Armand Faganel Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Slovenia Branislav Mitić ITS Information Technology School, Serbia Aleksander Janeš https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5678-0737 Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Slovenia

ABSTRACT

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Slovenian sport is fnanced from three main sources: public expenditure provided by the state through the annual sports program and the Sports Foundation at the national level and local communities; population expenditure on sports products and services; and economic expenditure, which is mostly sponsorship in sports. Each company follows its own sponsorship strategy, with many areas and projects always competing with each other, deciding which areas to invest in (e.g., sports, culture, etc.) and assess their priorities and relationships with other investments. 2020 has been heavily marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a profound impact on the world and the economy, as well as on sports and sponsorships. Namely, sport is one of the forms of social activity in which the participants are physically close or even in contact at all times. These are athletes, coaches, masseurs, physiotherapists, and others, as well as spectators. Most Slovenian companies have decided to insist on sponsoring selected sports activities, but they also expect some sort of government assistance. This chapter explores the impact of COVID-19 on sponsorship Slovenian sports.

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-6780-7.ch015

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Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Impact of COVID-19 on Sponsorship in Slovenian Sports

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INTRODUCTION The National Assembly has confirmed a new national holiday in 2020, the day of Slovenian sport. Slovenians celebrated it for the first time on September 23, exactly 20 years after the Slovenian national anthem was played for the first time at the Olympic Games in Sydney in honour of rowers Iztok Čop and Luka Špik and sports shooter Rajmond Debevec. The holiday is dedicated to Slovenian sport and the promotion of sport in the broadest sense, with special emphasis on the fact that all Slovenes celebrate it with physical activity. Organized sport is an important driver of the development and promotion of sport while preserving tradition, protecting values and the basic principles of sports participation. It also has the task of providing an appropriate and safe environment in which sports activities take place under professional guidance in such a way that each participant gets the opportunity to meet their potential or goals (Bizovičar, 2020b). Both professional and recreative sports are searching for sponsors, in order to provide suitable conditions for trainings and performances. A sponsorship represents support, either financially or through products and services, that an individual or company provides to others. Certain sponsorship categories include: sports, entertainment, causes, arts, festivals, fairs and annual events, associations and membership organizations. Sponsorship spending, globally, has been nearing 70 billion USD yearly (Guttman, 2019). The cancellation of mass gatherings was one of the earliest measures implemented to combat the spread of Covid-19 – and that meant the sport and entertainment industry was one of the first and most severely hit. It has left rights holders contending with the financial implications of large and possibly complete reductions in revenue streams through decreased earnings in broadcast rights, sponsorship payments and match day operations (KPMG, 2020). Social lockdown was imposed, and the Olympics – and almost every other sporting contest you can think of – was postponed (Howarth, 2020). As WHO Director-General Tedros said (WHO, 2020), “The pandemic is a once-in-a-century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come.” The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sport sponsorship industry will have multiple consequences and, although these days most analyses focus on assessing the loss of income, it will also be necessary to take into account possible future investments required to manage the gradual return to a new normal (Denton, 2020). In the specific Slovenian environment, where sports organizations are financially largely dependent on the state and sponsors, a lot of adjustments and changes will be needed. Olympic Committee of Slovenia made a survey and stated (STA, 2020b): “Of the more than 2,000 registered sports organizations, we received responses from 613, of which 35 sports federations and 578 sports associations, and noted that the coronavirus pandemic threatened over 800 full-time employees of these sports organizations and more than 4,192 permanent external collaborators. All employed athletes and coaches in public administration at ministries and coaches employed in national branch sports schools are excluded from the above. Only among the participating organizations in our query is expected a loss of revenue of almost € 25,500,000”. The crises before Covid-19 so far have shown that sponsorship money will certainly be reduced, at least initially, and that state aid will hardly remain at the same level. Therefore, the crisis is and will have to be seen as an opportunity to create additional sources of funding, and the crisis will in some way expose most sports entities in the country. That impact is and will be implicated in a positive and unfortunately also in a negative sense. It is not to be expected that all the activities will be stopped. It is necessary to be aware that for companies, sponsors, a good sponsorship story or activation provides a comparative advantage in the eyes of the target groups. In the light of the whole situation, the whole 233

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story will be perceived in a slightly different way - even more in the light of corporate social responsibility in support of (top and recreational) sports. Sport will be or is one of the main tools or indicators of a return to normality - here sponsors can play a key role and at the same time take advantage of the attention that fans will pay to the return of the sport in any form. At the beginning, it should be pointed out that there will be a kind of cannibalization of sponsorships which will probably be cheaper, and at the same time sports entities will be willing to do even more for smaller amounts than before, which will quickly lead to devaluation of sports. This will be very difficult to fix on the long-term. It has been done the analysis of the publications on sport sponsorship future among sport fans, to understand what are their predictions and sentiments. Sport has survived many crises and even in the current period, sport has found ways to adapt to the situation. Sports shops are still seeing a lot of interest in recreational sports. Last but not least, in the first wave of the epidemic, those who had not done so before also started cycling and running. Most sports events have been cancelled recently, but the enthusiasm for sports among recreational athletes is not waning, quite the contrary. One of the main trends is the importance of providing quality own content by all stakeholders in sports. In the absence of “live” sports, fans need to be provided with different types of content. Statistics show that the number of posts on social networks by sports entities decreased by 50 percent during the pandemic. The goal of all stakeholders will have to be to create quality own content of all types, for their own and other communication channels. The boundaries between individual actors in this area will be further blurred - sports entities will increasingly have to become a kind of media house. It will be necessary to place even greater emphasis on our own digital channels and to have a clear digital strategy (Okoren, 2020).

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LITERATURE REVIEW The term “sponsor” derives from the Latin spondeo, a response used by the Romans to assume the obligation of a third party and thus become its guarantor, endorsement entity (Vilani, 2009). Despite the undoubted reference to the ancient institution of sponsio and its original meaning of guarantee, the term “sponsorship”, undergoing Anglo-Saxon influence, has taken on the modern meaning of financing for advertising purposes (Caudo, 2018). Earlier authors in the 20th century define sponsorship goals as; achieving commercial objectives, commercial advantage, way of supporting the corporate objectives, and increasing organization’s image and awareness (Ikävalko, 2004). Delhom (2019) argues that the term guarantor indicates the exploitation of the endorsed organization’s potential, which is not the case here, namely sponsors role is to support the organisation in need. So Delhom uses the term “partnership” related to partner which derives from the Latin word partitus - shared, parted, distributed, divided, having been shared (WordSense.eu, n. d.). The term partnership, according to Delhom (ibid.), would be more connected with “a collaborative act, a process of resources sharing, based on a relationship. The orientation of the model has shifts from a one-way process to a two-way dynamic”. Although it could be easy to agree with the argument, the term sponsorship is already so strongly established that it has been used in this chapter. Sponsorship.com (2018) defines sponsorship as “a cash or in-kind fee paid to a property ([a property rights holder] typically in sports, arts, entertainment, or causes) in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential of that property”. So, sponsorship means a contractual relationship between a sponsor (company) and the recipient of funds, for example a cultural association, a sports club, in 234

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which the former undertakes to invest certain financial resources in exchange for the services of the latter. One of the latest and in our opinion quite relevant sponsorship definitions is from Wakefield et al. (2020): “Sponsorship is a series of exchanges between brands, sponsored properties, and consumers for contracted time periods, driven by brands’ use of sponsored properties’ communication assets, to influence consumer thoughts, feelings, and actions toward multiple, dynamic marketing objectives for brands and properties.” In practice, sponsorship is one of the complex tools in the set of marketing communication and public relations tools. It is used in the company at various levels, for example as corporate sponsorship, brand sponsorship, product sponsorship or sponsorship related to strengthening relationships with business partners in B2B markets. Corporate sponsorship is about influencing a company’s reputation; brand sponsorship is about strengthening its positioning, awareness and perception, while product sponsorship is about typically promoting product sales. Cornwell (2019) offers an overview of the typology of sponsorship categories organized by the sponsored object: “(a) venues/equipment/things, such as Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, (b) activities/ events/programming, such as the Olympics, with sponsors such as Samsung Electronics, (c) groups/ individuals, such as Arsenal Football Club sponsored by Emirates airlines, and (d) organizations/leagues/ associations, such as the non-profit organization Save the Children sponsored by luxury brand Bulgari“. Cornwell & Kwon (2019) realise that “brands are spending more on sponsorship, and sponsorship is relevant to more consumers than ever before, as marketers find sponsoring sports, causes, and the arts an increasingly viable marketing communication channel“. This chapter deals with sports’ sponsorship, which is the most popular form of sponsorship. It is defined as “a potent alliance between those who market sport with those who market through sport” (Farrelly & Quester, 2005). North American sponsors allocate 70% of available funds for sports sponsorship, 10% for entertainment, 9% for causes, 5% for arts, 4% for festivals, fairs and events, and 3% to associations and membership organizations. Forneci (2016) believes that sports’ sponsorship appeared in its early form already in the ancient Rome. Even then, Roman patriarchs sponsored gladiatorial games with the intent to gain the favor of the people. Sports’ sponsorship was steadily growing in the last decades. The revenue of the North American sports sponsorship market for example, was estimated at approximately 17.17 billion USD in 2018 and was expected to grow to over 20 billion USD by 2022 (Gough, 2020). European sports market is valued 17.6 billion USD, Asia Pacific follows with 16.6, Central and South America 4.6 and all other countries 2.8 billion USD (Sponsorship.com 2018). In this difficult period of economic crisis, it is increasingly necessary for sports operators to resort to forms of finding rapid and concrete means. Advertising and sponsorship contracts represent a valid form of financing both for professional and amateur sport alliances, societies and individuals. Decision who will be chosen as recipient of sponsorship depends largely on the goals the sponsor wants to achieve. Already in the preparation phase, he has to decide who to sponsor and in which sectors he wants to invest. Goals should be defined in terms of the type of sponsorship, scope and importance, current reach and its potential, target group, other activities of the sponsor and competition. Often the sponsor takes the company’s marketing and communication goals as a starting point. The goals can be divided into two categories, namely communication (e.g. increasing the level of brand recognition, improving the selected dimensions of the image, etc.) and economic (e.g. increasing sales, regaining lost consumers, etc.).

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Sponsorships Types Let’s now have a look at the division of sponsorship from the point of view of the sponsorees, because such division is not being met very often. First, there is a series of sponsored objects in a personal (individuals, groups, societies, clubs, associations, organizations, institutions, non-profit organizations) and non-personal sense (events, campaigns, projects, publications). These forms have a well-defined form, duration, and content. The level of professionalization of sponsors is divided into three levels: professionals (they make a living from sports income and systematically look for sponsors); semi-professionals (they have a steady income, and with side sponsorship allowances they create greater opportunities for sports activities); and amateurs (they have a steady income, part of the costs they incur in voluntary sports activities are covered by contributions from sponsors). Type of counter-services: exploiting market opportunities (sponsors have the opportunity to take advantage of current market opportunities, in the event environment (e.g. with billboards, posters, tickets, advertising signs on the sponsor’s equipment, use of official titles, etc.); taking over the name of the sponsor; awarding official titles; direct or indirect promotion of a brand or company. Types of service levels of sponsored objects - sponsors can carry out their activities at different levels: wide level (supporting people or groups who play sports in their free time); narrower level (supporting people or groups who are systematically engaged in an activity); top level (persons or groups participating in national and international competitions where the competition is strong and they achieve top results).

Types of Sponsored Events

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There are different types of sponsored events, such as national or international, regional or local events and creative events organized by the sponsor (tournaments, performances). It could also be shed some light on the sponsored adverts in social media. Paid (sponsored) posts on Instagram are very effective for visual services and products, especially for small businesses or sole proprietors who can offer their services online. These are, for example, trainers who can transfer their workouts into digital training. Businesses can have distance conferences, or make educational videos for employees who are currently at home. So, if businesses haven’t thought about paid ads on social media yet, now is definitely a great time to start doing so and take advantage of a new sales channel. Kim & Kim (in press) made an interesting study on influencers and sponsorship disclosure results “suggest that influencer-product congruence can be used to enhance product attitude and reduce advertising recognition by generating a higher affective motive inference. Sponsorship disclosure can also affect product attitude in a serial mediation of calculative motive inference and advertising recognition“.

SITUATION REVEALED Due to the Covid-19 epidemics sport events stopped abruptly in Slovenia, as they did all over the world, in order to stop mass gatherings. Such situation represented a strong impact both to sponsors and sponsorees. Sponsors already faced a difficult situation on the market, due to the lockdown and subsequent revenue downturn. Sports industry was also heavily affected because of the sudden loss of income from entrance fees, TV and other broadcasting rights and related franchise transactions. And finally, due to 236

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the frozen sports’ activities, the brands exposure is no more there. All this brought to strong frictions in the partnership relationships between sport and industry. According to ESA (2020) rights holders in Europe are at risk of 30.7 billion euros, which companies pay annually for sponsorship rights. Morton (2020) forecasts that for sponsors, the loss of return on this payment could be potentially much greater. IEG (2020) research has shown potential differences of opinion between rights holders and sponsors regarding loss reduction measures, 31 percent of sponsors expect agreed-upon agreements and reimbursements, while only 11 percent of rights holders think this would be the right way to solve the issue. The pandemic caused the postponement of the Summer Olympics 2020 which were scheduled to take place between July 24 and August 9 in Tokyo. Although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the organizers in Japan decided for a long time to postpone the Games, in the end, according to the majority, especially athletes, common sense and concern for the health of those involved won out. According to the new plan, athletes will compete for Olympic medals in Tokyo between July 23 and August 8, 2021. This was decided on March 30, 2020 by the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the host Japan. Before Tokyo agreed in agreement with IOC that there would be no games this year, 57 percent of the total of 11,000 participants had already secured a place in the Games. How further qualifications will take place, as many have been postponed or canceled, is not yet known. The Olympic Committee of Slovenia (OCS) pointed out on March 20, 2020, with a survey of 606 out of more than 2,000 sports organizations, that sports organizations in Slovenia recorded a loss of revenue in the amount of 25.5 million euros due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic (STA, 2020). The OCS supports the Slovenian government’s mega-law on intervention measures to curb the Covid-19 epidemic, as it also includes measures for sports organizations. The OCS expressed satisfaction that the bill includes sports organizations that have canceled their activities due to the pandemic and suffered financial consequences that threaten their future operations. According to the OCS, the sport organizations expect that the presented measures will be followed by measures to normalize the functioning of sport after the end of the epidemic, because the consequences in sport will be felt as in the economy. Unfortunately, the voice of sports organizations is not being heard always, despite the importance of sport and recreation for people’s health, and it’s not only the case of Slovenia. In Montenegro, for example, Begović (2020) reports that although the national coordination body for communicable diseases has been formed as a multisectoral and multidisciplinary body, meant to coordinate the implementation of the broader health and socio-economic measures, no representative from the Montenegro’s sport system has taken part in decision-making processes. In the specific Slovenian environment, when sports organizations are financially largely dependent on the state and sponsors, a lot of adjustments and changes will be needed. The crises so far have shown that sponsorship money will certainly be reduced, at least initially, and that state aid will hardly remain at the same level. Therefore, the crisis is and will have to be seen as an opportunity to create additional sources of funding, and the crisis will in some way also reveal most of the sports entities in our country. That impact is and will be implicated in a positive and unfortunately also in a negative sense. It is not to be expected that all activities will be stopped. It is necessary to be aware that for companies, sponsors, a good sponsorship story or activation provides a comparative advantage in the eyes of the target groups. In the light of the whole situation, the whole story will be perceived in a slightly different way - even more (also) in the light of corporate social responsibility in support of (top and recreational) sports. Sport will or already is one of the main tools or indicators of a return to normality - here sponsors can play a 237

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

 The Impact of COVID-19 on Sponsorship in Slovenian Sports

key role and at the same time take advantage of the attention that fans will pay to the return of the sport in any form. It should also be pointed out that there will be a kind of cannibalism of sponsorship – sponsorships, which will probably be cheaper, and at the same time sports entities will be willing to do even more for smaller amounts than before, which will quickly lead to devaluation of sports (Okoren, 2020). In a study that Slovenian Marketing Association (SMA) made among sport sponsors and sponzorees (DMS, 2020), sponsors estimate that sponsorship funds will not be drastically reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 70% of them believing that it will shrink by less than 25%. Sponsors estimate that the consequences of the pandemic will lead to greater reductions in the amount of sponsorship received. Thus, 60% of sponsors do not plan to cancel any of the sponsorship agreements; the sponsorship recipients are more pessimistic, as 86% of them think that they will lose at least one sponsor. The view of trends in the sports sponsorship industry due to the consequences of the pandemic is similar among sponsors and holders of sports property. With a higher level of agreement, both expect growth in their own content creation (as many as 95% of sponsors surveyed) and that the use of new technologies (as many as 85% of sports property owners surveyed) will be key in the evolution of sponsorship. Given the projected smaller volume of events in the near future, both sponsors and sports property owners (94% of sports property owners who participated in the survey) are planning changes to their communication strategy as an alternative measure. Most sponsors do not plan to freeze marketing budgets until events return. Both sponsors (all who participated in the survey) and sports property owners agree that the Covid-19 pandemic will result in greater demand and consumption of digital content by consumers. It is important to know that Slovenian sport is financed from three main sources: public expenditure provided by the state through the annual sports program and the Sports Foundation at the national level and local communities, household expenditure on sporting goods and services and economic expenditure, which are mostly sponsorships in sport. Public expenditure in this asset pie accounts for about 16 percent, household expenditure about 65 percent and economic expenditure about 19 percent (Kolar, 2020).

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ANALYSIS Slovene media texts dealing with sponsorship in sports, connected with Covid-19 situation in the 2020 have been searched for, that were found in online newspapers, blogs, e-journals. As the method of analysis, it has been chosen the conceptual content analysis (Drisko & Maschi, 2016; Faganel & Trnavčević, 2013; Krippendorff, 2018). To analyze data it has been used open coding, which contained three procedures: 1) definition of coding units, 2) free attribution of terms or naming (open coding) and 3) definition of terms and categories. In the first phase, the empirical data obtained in the research were first broken down into components so that coding units were defined. For the coding unit has been chosen one sentence. In the second phase of coding - individual coding units have been named with a specific term or code. In this process three techniques were used: attributing concepts to empirical descriptions, combining related terms into categories and analysis of characteristics of terms and categories. As a result of the first step of data analysis, coding scheme has been developed as following: concepts and categories that were relevant to the problem and purpose of the research were selected, then concepts and categories were named with a specific term, they were defined and assigned their meaning, which has been supported with quotes from gathered empirical data. Regarding the reliability of the study; it is known that researchers’ human nature causes coding errors, which can’t be completely eliminated, they can only be minimized. In the literature it is mentioned 238

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a margin from 70% or 80% as an acceptable reliability (Campbell et al., 2013; Fahy, 2001; Kurasaki, 2000). Hruschka et al. (2004) and Krippendorff (2018) argued that in the case of an exploratory study, this criteria could be loosened. In our case, two researchers achieved 87.5% intercoder reliability, when the coding was done in isolation from each other. Analysis has been done by having in mind three basic reliability criteria: stability, reproducibility, and accuracy. Articles and papers dealing with these themes taken into analysis were found as follows: 21 newspaper articles, three articles at sports associations and clubs, and six articles from different websites and blogs. There were no scientific papers to be found on the theme. Categories which were identified are: athletes, recreational sports users, sports spectators, sports organizations, sports sponsors, sporting goods industry, national identity and sports, laws and regulation. Following is a short presentation of these categories with appropriate analysis.

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Athletes Description: a person that is professionally active in sport, competes in one or more sports. Codes: sportsman, sportswoman, sponsorees, personal sportsman brand. The results of the Mori et al. (2020) study shows that regardless of the sporting results, stock prices react positively to the participation of athletes selected as a country representative in international tournaments; the positive market responses intensify when the sponsored athletes perform well or when a long-term contract is in place prior to the sport event. As Kolar (2020) claimed: “Athletes could not train, coaches, masseurs, physiotherapists and judges could not do their job, organizations could not organize competitions and other events, in short, the sport stopped completely during this time.” Sport stopped and many of athletes fell of their physical condition due to the lack of training and other support. Ambrožič (2020) argued: “Sports are not just athletes, but all the people around them that are forgotten. Even more than the coaches, it happens with the administrative part. […] It is this invisible part of the sport that will be even more affected because fundamental things will be addressed first.” It is often forgotten that behind every athlete there is a whole system, helping athletes to perform better and to allow them to be focused on their main activity. And these people have been left out of many mitigation measures, prepared by the government. Okoren (2020) found out that: “Athletes who have already worked strategically on their own brand will be in an even better market position. At a time when there are no sporting events on the schedule, fans turn directly to athletes who are also interesting outside of sports fields and consequently have much more content to offer than perhaps a “classic” sports organization.” It is clear that athletes have to find new ways to communicate with their fans, digital and social media offer a plethora of possibilities. In this way sponsors and brands can be visible and still profit from their sponsorship activities, despite the lack of sporting events. Mijatović (2020) pointed out that: “The most striking media hit at the moment is the battle between athletes and clubs. The former desire their contractual requirements to be fully met, the latter face a loss of income, so their liquidity is limited.” Disputes between top athletes also resonated abroad, with some seeking to achieve compliance with contractual obligations, regardless of the current situation in the society. If later, probably also due to the negative publicity, they adapted to the situation and accepted salary reductions, the matter with athletes 239

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 The Impact of COVID-19 on Sponsorship in Slovenian Sports

who are not in the first league is even more difficult. They do not receive very high rewards for their achievements, and not all sports are equally financially supported. Thus, some athletes actually found themselves in a very difficult and stressful financial situation. Perhaps it can only now be realized how strong industry is the sport. Many individuals live from it, not just athletes. Worldwide, this industry recorded the highest growth, but it stopped. The fight for television rights sent the numbers to the skies, so the extreme payments to athletes could be observed. When things go to extremes, however, the bubble may burst. The sport will have to be reset and now is the ideal opportunity.

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Recreational Sports Users Description: recreational user or amateur is not an athlete that is not paid to play sports; in fact they often receive some compensation for their efforts. They might compete at sports events or they are engaged only for fun. Codes: amateur events’ participation, recreation facilities. Slack (2004) argues that even recreational athletes are subject to constant pressures to improve their game by purchasing the latest high-tech sports equipment; so, it is understandable the urge of sporting goods industry to sponsor or endorse the professional athletes and teams – it is called the commercialization of sports. At the beginning of the Covid-19 escalation, sports Slovenian health care minister approved individual training, if the mask is not necessary when performing activities, if a 3-meter distance is provided in a space of 20 m2. Later these numbers were changed to 5-meter distance and 50 m2 (Lopatič, 2020). In addition, there were different regimes for those regions, where the health situation was not so critical. And all these measures were changing very quickly, facilities and activities were opened and then closed again from week to week, communicated in a pretty unorganized manner, through Twitter, website of the National institute for public health (NIJZ), and different media. So, it’s not surprising that people were disoriented and could not follow the fast speed of changing regulations. STA (2020a) posted: “Basically, the view of the sports sphere in Slovenia differs in comparison with most neighboring countries. While in Slovenia, in the period of the new coronavirus pandemic, athletes are labelled as recreational or registered athletes and measures are taken at this level, the rest of the world has taken a step forward. In measures to curb the spread of a pandemic, the question of the professional status of the athlete is crucial.” With the closure of sports facilities, many recreational athletes were left without the opportunity for further sports activities in their current form. But there were some differences between the professional and recreational athletes. In the case of athletes who make a living from their activity, in most cases a negative test is enough to continue the activity in contact with an infected person abroad, but in Slovenia is in such case currently quarantined the entire team. Rotovnik Kozjek (2020) explained: “Dynamic exercises that increase the capacity of the cardiovascular system also help to more effectively mobilize protective lymphocytes from reservoirs such as the spleen, bone marrow, and blood vessels into the first lines of defense of the upper respiratory tract, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. Thus, “border control” before viruses enter the human body is increased.” Recreational athletes are in a dilemma as to how to proceed due to the ordered quarantine and lockdown measures. Physical activity is a powerful regulator of the immune system, because during and after it many factors called myokines are released, lymphocyte circulation is increased and more immune cells are recruited, which are important in fighting viruses. All of these factors affect the expression 240

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of the immune response in a viral infection. It would probably be systemically best if the quarantine measures were such as to allow everyone to exercise regularly, taking into account the social distance. Since problem solving in a crisis is always just an art associated with given possibilities, common sense must be used in the first place. Mijatović (2021) described the case: “Four kids went out to the field to pass the ball. A policeman and an inspector come and list them. Fortunately, it was just a reminder. About a month earlier, the coach had given them the task of running 800 meters in a certain amount of time. They went in the evening when there were fewer people. Three, four guys because it’s easier if someone keeps up the pace. They just couldn’t run with the mask on and they had to run away from the patrol again.” Already after the first wave, the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Sports found a drastic decrease in motor skills and an increase in obesity in the primary school children, the second lockdown has been going on for much longer (Jurak, 2020). Parents, coaches, clubs and federations are getting louder, but there is no unite approach to this problem. The development of sports culture is in practices one of the most important tasks of the time we live in. Too little sports activity can mean a significant deficit in the lives of individual generations.

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Sports Spectators Description: Spectators are those who watch sport, either directly (in person) or indirectly (via the media), while fans also watch but have an affiliation in which aspects of identity, emotional significance and value are derived from group membership (Kremer et al 2012, 159). Codes: fans, spectators, TV transmission. Wann et al. (2001) provide the understanding of the theories of fan behavior through a multidisciplinary approach, and they emphasize the importance of attending the sports for society. STA (2020a) posted: “The Ministry of Education and Sports confirmed at the end of the week that competitions and trainings can run smoothly, of course under strict NIJZ regulations. Appropriate documentation must be obtained for international events, member competitions in team sports or where spectators are also present.” In October 2020, the epidemics situation seemed still under control, and it was possible to attend some of the sports events, if the approval was granted, but later almost every event was cancelled or it has been allowed, but without spectators (e.g., FIS Ski flying world championship in Planica). Uroševič (2021) argued: “The great Slovenian hockey derby has been attracting special attention for many decades; there is no doubt that the festive atmosphere of the Podmežakla hall in Jesenice would be very lively today. But this way, hockey fans will have to stay at home, and they can watch the broadcast of the match on TV.” In recent months, people have often thought about how nice it would be if, among other things, especially at those most resounding sporting events, spectators also enjoyed themselves directly on the venues. However, players also face new feelings when they play in front of empty stands, without the cheering of loyal fans. Sports facilities are closed, safety straps flutter on children’s playgrounds and outdoor gyms, there is a gap between the goals and baskets on the playgrounds, and the gym doors are sealed. Measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus have paralyzed much of the activity, but public life is still moving on. Just as classes and, for many, jobs moved online, most other activities have moved to the virtual realms.

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Gumzej (2020), regarding the e-sport: “The most important thing is to have a balanced day. This is all the more important in the time of Covid-19. It is important that the school is organized, that we have time with friends, some hobbies, movement - that we have balanced activities.” It is possible that due to the lack of sports events, spectators might redirect to e-sports. Azor (2017) thinks that e-sport will be an Olympic discipline, and not just one of the obscure, under-represented disciplines, but one of the most important, most-watched disciplines. It will be measured by basketball, football, marathons, athletics, swimming, etc.; millions will watch e-sports games. If one looks at today’s e-sports competitions, one can see that it’s about the same emotions as in other sports, there are already a lot of spectators, cheering for teams and individuals, admiring their skills and talent. E-athletes, like in other sports, have their period of maturity when they are in the best shape, they have coaches, they are followed by entire organizations that take care of strategy, funding, advertising, etc.

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Sports Organizations Definition: a public, private or voluntary social entity involved in the sport industry. Codes: sports clubs, sports associations, sports events organizers. Marcu & Buhas (2014) confirm that the management of sports organizations, operating in the pattern of strategic thinking is definitely a strategic management. Kolar (2020) explained: “Digitization is very important from the point of view of the sponsorship industry, as modern digital channels offer immeasurable advertising and sales potential, which wellorganized and modern sports organizations take advantage of as part of their offer for potential sponsors.” Organizations can contact directly sports fans aka their customers, understand the clusters needs and develop appropriate communication channels. Knafelc (2020) pointed out: “The loss of revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic has also forced Slovenian sports organizations to look for alternative solutions. There are many unknowns, but many clubs and federations are better prepared for the current crisis than for the economic one a decade ago.” The state can look for measures in various spheres of activity to encourage companies that want to help develop sport as a business. Here, sport becomes an inter-ministerial phenomenon; forces must be joined by various government departments in order to be able to activate development together. It is needed the support of financiers, the economy, the intervention should be based on available EU resources. In doing so, we can look at sport through sustainable development and also include environmental aspects (Križnik & Bizovičar, 2020). Perko’s (2020) observation: “In terms of public funding, sport is likely to receive some support from the state. But associations and federations are also financed from other sources that could dry up - tuition fees, donations and sponsorships, organization of events […] Parents of children will find it difficult to decide to pay for expensive tuition fees during the economic crisis. This can cause a snowball effect and close some of the associations. Donations and sponsorships are also declining in the economic crisis, as each company saves itself first, with sponsorship costs being cut first.” Covid-19 has severely affected the sports sector in the EU, clubs and associations could find themselves on the brink of extinction. A large part of sport in Slovenia and in the European Union (EU) is organized in the form of non-profit organizations that also work in the public interest. This means that they also generate revenue through commercial programs, but according to Gabrovac, they must use it for their own operation and development, not to generate profit (as cited in Bizovičar, 2020a). This

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means that such sports organizations do not and cannot have financial reserves with which to finance their own activities in times of crisis. STA (2020c) posted: “Today, Gabrovec [president of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia, author’s note] appealed to the government to come to the aid of the organizers of major sporting events, who were forced to cancel them due to the pandemic. It is necessary to identify “that part of the costs which is irreversible and which has affected a wider group, not just sports. This is tourism, this is transport, and these are hotel accommodations. People have to show some solidarity with this part of the economy that is experiencing damage.” At the same time, the government has been called upon to follow the example of neighboring countries in deciding on measures and to come to the aid of sport in financial proportion to Slovenia’s position. Gabrovec mentioned the examples of Austria and Switzerland, which have already announced direct aid to sports, each with a few hundred million euros (as cited in STA, 2020c). Maver (2020) stated: “The management of the Koper Primorska Basketball Club recently informed the Basketball Association of Slovenia that it will not play the planned match of the first SKL with Krka. With that, it also withdrew from the national championship. [...] The working group, which has been leading the club for several months, prolonged the agony until the last possible moment, so that the sponsor would really appear or the promised money would really land in the club’s account. The current national and cup champions are just history today.” The company, which was the club’s main sponsor, landed in bankruptcy this year, its owner in personal bankruptcy, and the rest of the club’s operatives believed the promises of an unknown potential sponsor. But the termination of members’ team isn’t the worst thing. The worst scenario might be if the price would be paid by the children, because last summer they sacrificed the existence of basketball in the region of Koper, as they merged the holder of the first league license and the basketball association Koš in Koper. SPINS (2020) proposed: “According to sports unions, by far the most appropriate solution for the Slovenian sponsorship market in sports is the exemption from corporate income tax for the sponsor and the recipient of sponsorship in sports. It is proposed a complete exemption from corporate income tax for the recipient of sponsorship for the activity of sports clubs and other sports activities, for sponsorship funds. Also, sponsorship funds at the sponsor’s sponsor should be tax deductible in the amount of 3 times the given sponsorship.” With the aim of preserving current sponsors who have been or will be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and encouraging the economy to invest sponsorship in sports, the SPINS union has already formed a group of representatives of professional athletes and all professional sports associations to highlight issues created due to the pandemic and advocated legislative solutions with which Slovenia’s top professional sport will be able to survive the consequences of the crisis and at least partially maintain its competitiveness in European and world competitions. Okoren (2020) concluded: “The crises so far have shown that sponsorship money will certainly be reduced, at least initially, and that government aid will hardly remain at the same level. Therefore, the crisis is and will have to be seen as an opportunity to create additional sources of funding, and the crisis will in some way expose most sports entities in our country. That impact is and will be implicated in a positive and unfortunately also in a negative sense.” It is necessary to be aware that for companies, sponsors, a good sponsorship story or activation provides a comparative advantage in the eyes of the target groups. In the light of the overall situation, the whole story will be perceived in a slightly different way - also in the light of corporate social responsibility in 243

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support of professional and recreational sports. Sport is one of the main tools or indicators of a return to normality - here sponsors can play a key role and at the same time take advantage of the attention that fans will pay to the return of the sport in any form.

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Sports Sponsors Definition: an organization or person that pays for or contributes to the costs involved in staging a sporting event, team or athlete in return for advertising. Codes: sponsor, investment, financing, contract, risk. Alonso-Dos-Santos et al. (2016) propose to segment and model the sport consumers behavior in sponsorship by their level of involvement with the event, which explains that the companies are interested to know how to increase their customers’ willingness to purchase, how to improve their image, how to increase supporters’ involvement and finally, how to design effective communication for supporters according to their level of involvement. Kolar (2020) argued: “Although the share of sponsorship funds is relatively small in the total volume of expenditure on sports, these are the main part of financial revenues of professional sports organizations, i.e. those with the highest annual budgets, that are traditionally the most successful, the most exposed to the media and also the most recognized by the general public. In Slovenia, they represent about 1.5 percent of all sports organizations; they are highly structured and organized, strong in terms of staff and have a large amount of knowledge, in addition to sports professionalism, also in management and marketing. These organizations are also traditionally the most successful in obtaining funding from sponsorship.” The sponsorship of sports organizations in Slovenia has undergone a significant change in the last thirty years, mainly due to the privatization of companies, the appearance of foreign owners, increased competitiveness of the environment and last but not least the departure of some executives, enthusiasts and lovers of Slovenian sports and athletes. If the first reason is mainly the loss of an important segment of national affiliation and the coexistence of the national economy with national sports, the second is the reduced interest of foreign owners in sponsoring Slovenian sports and different standards of corporate governance. For state-owned companies, however, the possibility of sponsorship is increasingly limited, including by regulations. Bizovičar (2020b) find out: “Sponsorships can be a very successful model for brand recognition in selected foreign markets, both among end consumers and organizations.” But companies need to be careful. The projects they support must reflect the company’s business strategy and also be linked to its values and goals. This is the only way to qualitatively achieve the purpose of such a financial investment, be it the desire to identify in the market, promote sales, gain new customers, raise the reputation, social and other responsibilities of the company. Žnidarič (2020) stated: “We put the brand first. When we think about the possibilities of how to present it, bring it closer to consumers, we also see one of the important channels in sponsorship, and when deciding it is important whether we can connect the values and characteristics of the brand with a potential sponsor.” Sport should also be an emotion, not just business. Žnidarič (2020), CEO of Ljubljanske mlekarne, pointed out that an athlete who wants to successfully obtain sponsorship funds must be a brand himself. This can remain strong even when the athlete may not be successful, e.g. skier Ilka Štuhec, who also in the season when she was injured, won certain awards, which are a reflection of popularity and recognition in public.

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Jazbec (2020) posted: “In the Sava Insurance Group, we decide with individual companies to sponsor strong international sports teams and festivals, as this is the only way we can cross borders and connect the countries in which we operate. Our primary goal is to strengthen the brand in all the markets where we operate. An important goal is also networking, as we invite important business partners to larger events, including international ones, and we use this for a relaxed atmosphere during socializing and strengthening business contacts.” In the new Covid-19 situation, which has a strong impact on the conduct of events, any such sponsorship or patronage will be even more at the discretion of decision-makers, as the effects will have to be ensured through even greater innovation and creative use of technologies. Gole (2020) concluded: “We need to know that sponsoring the Adria Mobil cycling club is not economically and economically justified. Sponsorship does not pay off with sales results in the space where the club operates. We see this sponsorship as an expression of our social responsibility and support for the environment, which we want to develop and through this also raise the reputation and visibility of the Adria brand. This year there were not as many races and events as in previous years and therefore not so much promotion. We do not see this as a great loss.” Above all, it is important that government is aware of the importance of such promotion of Slovenia in the European space. The investment is otherwise huge for such a small country, where every million is difficult to raise. It will be increasingly difficult and increasingly important how the state will recognize that sponsoring this kind of sport is important for Slovenia’s recognition, international reputation and success.

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Sporting Goods Industry Definition: industry in which people, activities, business, and organizations are involved in producing, facilitating, promoting, or organizing any experience or activity focused on sports products. It is the market in which the businesses or products offered to its buyers are sports related and may be goods, services, people, places, or ideas. Codes: sports equipment, sports goods, sports equipment producers. Rabuza (2020) findings are that: “Every second Slovene has made a purchase online in the last year, but food is not in the forefront, but purchases of clothing and sports equipment and shoes predominate, followed by purchases of household goods.” Dernovšek (2020) reports that nine percent of Slovenian customers bought sporting equipment (without sporting clothes) online in 2020. During this period, 25 percent of 16-74-year-olds bought clothes online, including sports products. This is not at all surprising, as SORS (2020) informs that in the last twelve months (2020), as many as 63 percent of the population of Slovenia aged 16 to 74 have made at least one online purchase, which is seven percentage points more than in 2019. The share of online customers has increased in all age groups, mostly among people aged 25 to 34, by as much as 10 percentage points, in the age group of 35 to 44, the share of e-shoppers increased by ten percentage points, and among 45 to 54-year-olds by eight percentage points. some athletic equipment faces declining numbers (Powell, 2020), running shoes sale is going upward (Verry, 2020). Faganel et al. (2020) found out that online shopping in Slovenia is becoming more popular and widespread in different age groups. While Voščun (2020) noted: “So far we have not promoted online sales, but I see that we will have to dedicate all our energy to this,” says Maruša Škopac from the company Fama Trend, which has a sports equipment store in Kranjska Gora.”

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The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has adopted a decree on the temporary prohibition of offering and selling textile and sports goods and services directly to consumers during the epidemics. This forced trade organizations to redirect their activities to the internet, as this was the only way they could sell the mentioned products.

National Identity and Sports Definition: sport is one of the factors influencing the nurturing and strengthening of the individual’s national identity and is used as an area to reflect a particular social view of the world. Codes: national pride, national interests, nationality. Väyrynen (1984) argues about the conflict perspective of the role of sports in society; sport should be viewed as a form of collective social competition, as well as competition between individuals and teams. Porter (2017) says that sport could be seen as a cultural practice possessing the demonstrable capacity to generate events and experiences through which imagined communities are made real, but most often the relationship between sport and national identity is reproduced in everyday life, flagged daily by the mass media as an expression of banal nationalism. Kolar (2020) claimed: “Therefore, if as a society we are so dependent on the offer of sports events, it is natural that in other areas, especially in support, joint projects and sponsorship, we connect with sports organizations. Sport is also an important building block of our identity and a basic information and communication channel with the majority of our customers.” National identity can be divided into two (sub)identities: national and civic. Although these two identities form a national identity in modern countries, their origins are different. The national is based primarily on ethnic foundations, and the civil reflects an identity based on civil liberties. The development of print media, the emergence of strong nationalist movements, the establishment of international sports federations and the International Olympic Committee, and the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens were the reasons for linking sport and the idea of the nation. In individual and team sports, Slovenian athletes have achieved and are achieving results of international value, which are an important factor of identity for the Slovenian nation. In this way, they have contributed and continue to contribute a significant share to the international recognition of the state of Slovenia.

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Laws and Regulation Definition: governments provided regulation for sponsors’ tax exemptions, sponsors’ contracts regulation and the regulation to deal with the Covid-19 situation. Codes: taxes, measures, state, sponsor contract law, sponsorship policy, Covid-19 measures. SPINS (2020) posted: “At its 13th regular session, the SPINS General Assembly unanimously supported and approved the content of the proposal for exemption from corporate income tax for the sponsor and the recipient of sponsorship in sports.” Sports syndicates are trying to ease the situation of their sponsors, fearing that athletes and sporting associations might lose their support. Gabrovec (2020) stated: “We want VAT to be reduced or even abolished for events, which would have direct effects on clubs and societies. We also want the allocated funds from the state to be earmarked for sports activities as soon as possible, regardless of the fact that there is no activity. However, all prepara-

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tions are underway, when the crisis is over, it will be necessary to have everything ready to make up for all that has been lost in these months.” Olympic Committee of Slovenia addressed to the government proposals for measures to mitigate the loss of income of sports organizations. According to the estimates of the umbrella sports organization in the country, a loss of revenues for sports organizations is expected, according to the data collected so far, tens of millions of euros. For this reason, it proposed special state financial assistance to sports organizations in the amount of the loss of provable income due to the cancellation of activities. Kolar (2020) delineated: “Among the proposed measures of the OKS are a number of good solutions, and many of them are also related to tax policy. Most of the proposed measures in the field of taxation would contribute to a friendlier and stimulating environment for the operation of sport. [...] Among the measures is the abolition of the lottery tax, which was introduced in 2013 as part of measures to mitigate the effects of the then financial crisis. [...] The sports lottery as a company has adapted to this tax and sees it as a fact, not as an obstacle. However, its abolition would have a positive effect on the financing of sports, as it reduces the basis on which the amount of the concession fee for foundations is calculated. Tax policy is a very complex system, so I do not believe that any government would abolish any tax, which is also the case. Therefore, I think the solution with the purposeful provision of part of the funds collected with this tax for the direct financing of Slovenian sport is good.” At the moment no information is available on how the competent institutions and responsible individuals in government circles think about this, nor is it known whether the proposal is part of any serious consideration or even already part of some legislative process.

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CONCLUSION It is quite obvious that the sports in Slovenia and its stakeholders in the times of the Covid-19 epidemics are in a complex situation, as it happens all around the globe. Government is trying to provide financial help to the most vulnerable citizens, to save the economy, to cope with the health issues. Companies have to deal with the drop of sales and health safety measures for their employees. The population is facing the consequences of a lockdown: physical, mental, health and financial. Athletes and sports organizations are waiting for health conditions to improve and sports competitions to be restarted, and they are fighting hard for financial survival. Like all other spheres of activity, sports organizations have had to change their operations overnight, the way they communicate and their plans for the future. The consequences of this crisis will not be entirely clear for some time to come. It is clear, however, that sport, like most other activities, will not be the same for a long time to come and quite a few of its segments will change forever. But one of the main messages of any good sports product is perseverance, flexibility, strong will and a winning mindset. Thus, it can be expected that sport will also be one of those areas that will be among the first to get back on its feet, and quite a few sports entities have already begun to adapt to the current situation. This is already showing the main trends that will be at the forefront of their activities in the next period in the field of sports and all involved sports organizations, athletes, sponsors, fans and the media (Okoren, 2020). The OCS sent an open letter to the Slovenian Prime Minister in November 2020 stating that the measures taken to alleviate the corona crisis do not say anything about measures in sports and activities related to sports. Among other suggestions, they reveal that sponsors or the economy are important cofinanciers of Slovenian sport. At a time of lowering costs in companies, it will be crucial for Slovenian 247

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sport (as well as other activities that receive sponsorship funds) to maintain sponsorship funds as much as possible. Therefore, they proposed measures that would represent, in their opinion and in the opinion of the representatives of individual major sponsors of Slovenian sport, at least a temporary (intervention) incentive in the tax area, on the basis of which sponsorships could survive as much as possible. They also suggest relief for sponsorship recipients i.e. exemption from corporate income tax for 2020 and 2021 for the recipient of the sponsorship. Expenses from the sponsor should also be tax deductible in the amount of 3 times the sponsorship. Okoren (2020) also predicts that a time when there are no sporting events on the schedule, fans turn directly to athletes who are also interesting outside of sports fields and consequently have much more content to offer than possibly any “classic” sports organization. In sponsorships, stories that are longterm and consistent will be rewarded and well received. The new definition will also be given to social responsibility in or through sport. The sport will play an important role as a kind of indicator of a return to normality, and sponsors who will actively participate in this role will be much more accepted in the eyes of fans than those who will continue to strive only for maximum exposure of the logo. Sport can become one of the key tools of corporate social responsibility. Vidmar (2020) also agrees that thanks to all the tools and channels, even athletes themselves create a huge amount of content today. Therein lays a vast field of opportunity. Athletes must be used by sponsors for projects that are close to them; otherwise, the content loses all authenticity. The brand needs to understand the sport and the athlete and connect the two stories into a whole that will bring the desired effects to both parties. Term strategic sponsorship management has been used in this chapter, which means that we are aware of what the characteristics of our brand are, what the values and attitudes of the sponsor are, and where this intersection is where we can create effective collaboration. However, associations and clubs are very differently organized and ready for these collaborations. Global investments in sports are bigger and bigger, but in Slovenia the situation doesn’t appear to be going in that direction yet. Slovenian athletes (e.g. Goran Dragić, Luka Dončić, Aleš Kopitar and many others), on the other hand, achieve incredible global results and appear on the covers of the world’s largest newspapers. This is certainly something that is not used enough for the time being, also in terms of the state’s engagement.

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FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Very few companies have a sponsorship strategy in place, which is unfortunately quite ineffective. The fact is that a sponsor who knows in advance what he wants and is actively looking for a sports story that addresses the same target audience is inappropriately more successful than one who merely accepts an offer after a good presentation. If the search for good sports stories is the first step, the second must certainly be a strategic consideration of the activation of sponsorships, which must take place before the contract is signed. The review of various branches of research and trends has shown that decadesold theories and definitions still hold and do not need to be changed. It is only necessary to change the knowledge that theories may have fallen asleep compared to the development of the sponsorship industry. Among the emerging trends in sports sponsorship, it can be seen that sustainability becomes more and more important, not only due to the companies feeling for responsibility but also because consumers will increasingly demand it. Other trends that have been noticed are the rise of fan engagement, the importance of long-term measurement, digital transformation and innovation, while gathering and

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analyzing data is already become the norm. Not less important are also personalized content, brand purpose, women in sport and entertainment, and eSports. With the increasingly developed sponsorship market, saturation similar to advertising saturation is also intensifying, and it is increasingly difficult for the user to hear the company’s message. For sponsors who, in addition to investing in sponsorship rights, fail or are unable to invest in sponsorship promotion, it is better not to participate in sponsorship at all. Possible further research could be mainly focused on the efficiency of sponsorship, which is fundamentally related to resource theory, and in practice known as sponsorship activation. Therefore, we appeal to the further development of sponsorship in this direction, as we can assume that such an understanding leads to a greater satisfaction of all stakeholders.

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Campbell, J. L., Quincy, C., Osserman, J., & Pedersen, O. K. (2013). Coding In-depth Semistructured Interviews: Problems of Unitization and Intercoder Reliability and Agreement. Sociological Methods & Research, 42(3), 294–320. doi:10.1177/0049124113500475 Caudo, F. (2018). Il contratto di sponsorizzazione sportiva [The sports sponsorship contract] (Laurea Magistrale thesis). Messina: Università di Messina. Cornwell, T. B. (2019). Less “Sponsorship As Advertising” and More Sponsorship-Linked Marketing As Authentic Engagement. Journal of Advertising, 48(1), 1–12. doi:10.1080/00913367.2019.1588809 Cornwell, T. B., & Kwon, Y. (2019). Sponsorship-linked marketing: Research surpluses and shortages. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(7), 607–629. Advance online publication. doi:10.100711747-019-00654-w

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Delhom, C. (2019). The art of partnerships in the festival field (Master’s Thesis). Helsinki: University of the Arts Helsinki, Sibelius Academy. Denton, R. (2020, April 24). Covid-19’s impact on the sport sponsorship industry. https://johancruyffinstitute.com/en/blog-en/sport-marketing/covid-19s-impact-on-the-sport-sponsorship-industry/ Dernovšek, I. (2020, November 6). Spletna prodaja med epidemijo cveti [Online sales are booming during the epidemic]. Dnevnik. https://www.dnevnik.si/1042942717 DMS. (2020). Sponzorsko okolje v Sloveniji po pandemiji s pozitivnim sporočilom [Sponsorship environment in Slovenia after the pandemic with a positive message]. https://www.dmslo.si/novice/sponzorskookolje-v-sloveniji-po-pandemiji-s-pozitivnim-sporocilom Drisko, J. W., & Maschi, T. (2016). Content analysis. Oxford University Press. ESA. (2020). ESA Sponsorship Market Overview 2020. https://sponsorship.org/resources/13362-2/ Faganel, A., Krajnc, Ž., & Janeš, A. (2020). Analysis of consumers’ intentions for online shopping. In Contemporary Issues in Economy & Technology - CIET 2020: conference proceedings (pp. 142-151). Split: University of Split, University Department of Professional Studies. Faganel, A., & Trnavčević, A. (2013). Constructions of private tutoring in Slovenian online chatrooms: a content analysis. In M. Bray, A. E. Mazawi, & R. G. Sultana (Eds.), Private tutoring across the Mediterranean: power dynamics and implications for learning and equity (pp. 167–176). Sense. doi:10.1007/978-94-6209-237-2_10 Fahy, P. (2001). Addressing Some Common Problems in Transcript Analysis. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 1(2). doi:10.19173/irrodl.v1i2.321 Farrelly, F., & Quester, P. (2005). Investigating large-scale sponsorship relationships as co-marketing alliances. Business Horizons, 48(1), 55–62. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2004.10.003 Forneci, K. (2016). Sponzorstvo v športu: praksa v izbranih slovenskih podjetjih [Sponsorship in sports: practice in selected Slovenian companies]. UL FDV.

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Gabrovec, B. (2020, April 8). Slovenski sponzorji naj ne bi krčili prispevkov športu, toda ... [Slovenian sponsors are not supposed to cut contributions to sports, but …]. Interv. STA. Siol. https://siol.net/sportal/ drugi-sporti/slovenski-sponzorji-naj-ne-bi-krcili-prispevkov-sportu-toda-522832 Gole, S. (2020, October 25). Z ničimer drugim ne moreš doživeti toliko kot z avtodomom [You can’t experience as much with anything else as with a motorhome]. Interv. M. Hočevar. Delo. https://www. delo.si/nedelo/z-nicimer-drugim-ne-mores-doziveti-toliko-kot-z-avtodomom/ Gough, C. (2020, Jun 11). Sports Sponsorship - Statistics & Facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/1382/ sports-sponsorship/ Gumzej, R. (2020, December 21). Igranje videoiger kot šport? Poznavalci napovedujejo, da gre za neizogiben razvoj [Playing video games as a sport? Experts predict that this is an inevitable development]. Interv. M. Zavrtanik. MMC. https://www.rtvslo.si/znanost-in-tehnologija/igranje-videoiger-kot-sportpoznavalci-napovedujejo-da-gre-za-neizogiben-razvoj/546325

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Guttman, A. (2019). Global sponsorship spending since 2007. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/196864/global-sponsorship-spending-since-2007/ Howarth, B. (2020, June 2). How brands are pivoting sports sponsorship in the face of COVID-19. CMO. https://www.cmo.com.au/article/680202/how-brands-pivoting-sports-sponsorship-face-covid-19/ Hruschka, D., Schwartz, D., Cobb St. John, D., Picone-Decaro, E., Jenkins, R., & Carey, J. (2004). Reliability in Coding Open-ended Data: Lessons Learned from HIV Behavioral Research. Field Methods, 16, 307–331. doi:10.1177/1525822X04266540 IEG. (2020). IEG Outlook 2020: Predicting the Future of the Sponsorship Industry. https://www.sponsorship.com/Latest-Thinking/Sponsorship-Infographics/IEG-Outlook-2020--Forecasting-the-Future-of-the. aspx Ikävalko, M. (2004). Pas de deux of art and business: a study of commitment in art sponsorship relationships. Serie: Acta Universitatis Lappeenrantaensis, 181. Lappeenranta: Lappeenranta University of Technology. Jazbec, M. (2020, July 9). Praznik za ozaveščanje o pomenu gibanja [A holiday to raise awareness of the importance of movement]. Interv. M. Bizovičar. Delo. https://www.delo.si/sport-2020/praznik-zaozavescanje-o-pomenu-gibanja/ Jurak, G. (2020, November 17). Če otroci niso dovolj gibalno aktivni, bodo manj pozorni na učno snov. Interv. V. Sossa. Primorski dnevnik. https://www.primorski.eu/sport/ce-otroci-niso-dovolj-gibalnoaktivni-bodo-manj-pozorni-na-ucno-snov-GF676008 Kim, D. Y., & Kim, H.-Y. (2020, February). (in press). Influencer advertising on social media: The multiple inference model on influencer-product congruence and sponsorship disclosure. Journal of Business Research. Advance online publication. doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.02.020 Knafelc, R. (2020, July 18). Oglaševanje v športu med koronakrizo: Boj za sponzorska sredstva bo neizprosen [Advertising in sport during the corona crisis: The fight for sponsorship will be relentless]. Dnevnik. https://www.dnevnik.si/1042934441/sport/ostali-sporti/drugi-sporti/oglasevanje-v-sportu-medkoronakrizo-boj-za-sponzorska-sredstva-bo-neizprosen

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Kolar, E. (2020, August 27). Sponzorstvo v športu je predvsem posel [Sponsorship in sports is primarily a business]. Interv. M. Kristan Fazarinc. Delo. https://www.delo.si/sport-2020/sponzorstvo-v-sportu-jepredvsem-posel/ Kremer, J., Moran, A., Walker, G., & Craig, C. (2012). Key Concepts in Sport Psychology. Sage. doi:10.4135/9781446288702 Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology (4th ed.). Sage. Kurasaki, K. S. (2000). Intercoder Reliability from Validating Conclusions Drawn from Open-ended Interview Data. Field Methods, 12(3), 179–194. doi:10.1177/1525822X0001200301 Lopatič, J. (2020, October 15). Zaradi vse hujših razmer država uvedla ukrepe na področju športa [Due to the worsening situation, the state introduced measures in the field of sports]. Siol. https://siol.net/ sportal/drugi-sporti/zaradi-vse-hujsih-razmer-drzava-uvedla-ukrepe-na-podrocju-sporta-536672

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Marcu, V., & Buhas, S. D. (2014). Sports Organizations – Management and Science. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 117, 678–682. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.02.281 Maver, R. (2020, December 23). Konec za KK Koper Primorska, izstopajo tudi iz domačega prvenstva [The end for BC Koper Primorska, they also stand out from the domestic championship]. Primorske novice. https://www.primorske.si/2020/12/23/konec-za-kk-koper-primorska-izstopajo-tudi-iz-doma Mijatović, B. (2021, January 1). Otrokom dajemo slab zgled, predvsem pa izgovore [We set a bad example for children and, above all, excuses]. Interv. P. Zalokar. Delo. https://www.delo.si/sport/drugi-sporti/ otrokom-dajemo-slab-zgled-predvsem-pa-izgovore/ Mijatović, Z. (2020, March 31). Šport bo posledice trpel dlje kot drugi [Sport will suffer the consequences longer than others]. Večer. https://www.vecer.com/sport/drugi-sporti/sport-bo-posledice-trpel-dlje-kotdrugi-10150287 Mori, K., Morino, T., & Takeda, F. (2020). Does Athletes’ Performance Influence a Sponsor’s Market Value? Journal of Advertising Research, 60(4), 439–451. doi:10.2501/JAR-2020-001 Morton, A. (2020). What does COVID-19 mean for sports and entertainment sponsorship? https://home. kpmg/uk/en/home/insights/2020/06/what-does-covid-19-mean-for-sports-and-entertainment-sponsorship.html. Okoren, U. (2020, May 15). Šport in sponzorstvo v času vračanja družbe v normalnost [Sport and sponsorship at a time when society is returning to normalcy]. Svet kapitala. https://svetkapitala.delo.si/trendi/ sport-in-sponzorstvo-v-casu-vracanja-druzbe-v-normalnost/ Porter, D. (2017). Sport and National Identity. In R. Edelman & W. Wilson (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Sports History (pp. 477-490). Oxford University Press. Powell, M. (2020, March 31). Sneakernomics: A Turning Point for Athletic Footwear Sales amid COVID-19. NPD. https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/blog/2020/sneakernomics-a-turning-point-forathletic-footwear-sales-amid-covid-19/ Rabuza, M. (2020, November 3). Koronavirus spreminja navade Slovencev: nekateri komaj dohajajo, drugi še ne razmišljajo o tem [The coronavirus is changing the habits of Slovenes: some are barely keeping up, others are not yet thinking about it]. Siol. https://siol.net/posel-danes/novice/koronavirusspreminja-navade-slovencev-nekateri-komaj-dohajajo-drugi-se-ne-razmisljajo-o-tem-538072

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Rotovnik Kozjek, N. (2020, November 16). COVID-19 in šport [COVID-19 and sport]. Delo. https:// www.delo.si/polet/covid-19-in-sport/ S. K. (2020). OKS Janezu Janši poslal odprto pismo, premier se je odzval [The OCS sent an open letter to Janez Janša, and the Prime Minister responded]. SIOL. https://siol.net/sportal/olimpizem/vlada-jespet-pozabila-na-sport-tole-predlagajo-v-oks-538620 Slack, T. (2004). The prologue. In T. Slack (Ed.), The Commercialisation of Sport (pp. xxii–xxx). Routledge. SORS – Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. (2020). Online purchasing is growing: 52% of 16–74-year-olds made at least one online purchase in the last 3 months. https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/ en/News/Index/9191

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SPINS. (2020, November 19). Skupščina podprla predloge ukrepov za pomoč športu [The Assembly supported the proposed measures to help sport]. SPINS.si. http://www.spins.si/novice/1/ukrepi_pomocsportu_covid19.html Sponsorship.com. (2016, December 19). Average Activation-to-Fee Ratio Passes Two-to-One Mark for First Time. http://www. sponsorship.com/iegsr/2016/12/19/Average-Activation-To-Fee-RatioPassesTwo-To-One-.aspx Sponsorship.com. (2018). What sponsors want & where dollars will go in 2018. http://www.sponsorship. com/IEG/files/f3/f3cfac41-2983-49be-8df6-3546345e27de.pdf STA. (2020a, October 13). Karantena v športu: Rokometaši razmišljajo o pripravah v Avstriji [Quarantine in sport: Handball players are considering preparations in Austria]. Primorske novice. https://www. primorske.si/sport/karantena-v-sportu-rokometasi-razmisljajo-o-pripra STA. (2020b, March 30). OKS: Športne organizacije imajo 25,5 milijona evrov izpada prihodkov [OCS: Sports organizations have a € 25.5 million revenue shortfall]. Siol.net. https://siol.net/sportal/drugi-sporti/ oks-sportne-organizacije-imajo-255-milijona-evrov-izpada-prihodkov-522100 STA. (2020c, April 8). Slovenski sponzorji naj ne bi krčili prispevkov športu, toda ... [Slovenian sponsors are not supposed to cut contributions to sports, but …]. Siol.net. https://siol.net/sportal/drugi-sporti/ slovenski-sponzorji-naj-ne-bi-krcili-prispevkov-sportu-toda-522832 Uroševič, S. (2021, January 2). Nocoj derbi, jutri v Tivoliju brez hokeja [Derby tonight, tomorrow in Tivoli without hockey]. Delo. https://www.delo.si/sport/hokej/nocoj-derbi-jutri-v-tivoliju-brez-hokeja/ Väyrynen, R. (1984). Nationalism and Internationalism in Sport. In M. Ilmarinen (Ed.), Sport and International Understanding (pp. 64–71). Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-49961-6_11 Verry, P. (2020, June 30). Running Shoe Sales Grow for 5 Weeks Straight — Here Are the Brands Leading the Way. Footwearnews. footwearnews.com. https://footwearnews.com/2020/business/retail/ running-shoe-sales-increase-may-june-2020-1203015684/ Vidmar, P. (2020). Darwinova evolucija športnih sponzorstev [Darwin’s evolution of sports sponsorships]. DMSSlo.si. https://www.dmslo.si/zapis/darwinova-evolucija-sportnih-sponzorstev

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Vilani, G. (2009). Sponsorship and Conflicts of Interests in CME: The Italian Experience. Medicine and Law, 28, 197–209. PMID:19705637 Voščun, T. (2020, October 21). Virus pospešil spletno prodajo. Trgovce skrbi tudi nedeljsko zapiranje [The virus accelerated online sales]. 24ur.com. https://www.24ur.com/novice/slovenija/virus-pospesilspletno-prodajo-trgovce-skrbi-tudi-nedeljsko-zapiranje.html Wakefield, L., Wakefield, K., & Lane Keller, K. (2020). Understanding Sponsorship: A Consumer-Centric Model of Sponsorship Effects. Journal of Advertising, 49(3), 1–24. doi:10.1080/00913367.2020.1751011 Wann, D. L., Melnick, M. J., Russell, G. W., & Pease, D. G. (2001). Sport Fans: The Psychology and Social Impact of Spectators. Routledge.

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WHO. (2020). COVID-19 Emergency Committee highlights need for response efforts over long term. https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/01-08-2020-covid-19-emergency-committee-highlights-needfor-response-efforts-over-long-term WordSense.eu. (n.d.). Partitus (Latin). https://www.wordsense.eu/partitus/

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Žnidarič, T. (2020, September 8). Pomembno povezovanje športa in gospodarstva [Important integration of sport and economy]. Interv. B. Križnik and M. Bizovičar. Delo. https://www.delo.si/sport-2020/ pomembno-povezovanje-sporta-in-gospodarstva/

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Australian Government Workplace Gender Equality Agency. (2019). 2019: The defining year for equality in sport. https:// www.wgea.gov.au/2019-the-defining-year-for-equality-in-sport Australian Sports Commission. (2018). AusPlay Focus Children’s Participation in Organised Physical Activity Outside of School Hours. https://www.sportaus.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/675562/AusPlay_focus_Children_Participation_2.pdf Avraham, E., & Ketter, E. (2008). Media strategies for marketing places in crisis. Butterworth-Heinemann. Azor, F. (2017, September). E-šport sodi na olimpijske igre [E-sports belongs to the Olympic Games]. Interv. M. Varga. Monitor. https://www.monitor.si/clanek/e-sport-sodi-na-olimpijske-igre/181602/

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Žnidarič, T. (2020, September 8). Pomembno povezovanje športa in gospodarstva [Important integration of sport and economy]. Interv. B. Križnik and M. Bizovičar. Delo. https://www.delo.si/sport-2020/pomembno-povezovanje-sportain-gospodarstva/

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About the Contributors

Asli Elif Aydin earned her Ph.D. in Marketing at Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey in 2013. Currently she is an Assistant Professor at Istanbul Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey. She is teaching consumer behavior and brand management courses in Istanbul Bilgi University MBA Programs. Her main research interests are in non-profit marketing and consumer behavior fields. Ranjit Barua is a Senior Researcher at Centre for Healthcare Science and Technology, IIESTSHIBPUR. Core research area Bio-Mechanical System, 3D Bioprinting, Tissue Engineering. Fatih Bedir is a Asst. Prof. Dr the Faculty of Sport Sciences of Atatürk University, Dr. Fatih Bedir completed his master’s and doctoral studies at Atatürk University, Institute of Winter Sports and Sports Sciences, Department of Sports Management. He has published widely in various journals, and has authored a number of article. His research interests are sports management, recreation management, and sports psychology. Soeren Dressler is Professor of International Management Accounting at the University of Applied Sciences Berlin. He also serves as the Director of the Master in Business Administration and Engineering program. Before joining the university, he was a Principal with A.T. Kearney Management Consultants in Chicago. He also was a senior process auditor in the Daimler Group. Soeren Dressler holds a PhD in Organizational Theory from the University of Technology Dresden and a Diploma (equivalent to MBA) in Business Administration from the University Bamberg.

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Sarah Duffy is a lecturer in Marketing at Western Sydney University. Sarah has extensive professional experience working in marketing and as an academic has published on issues relating to gender and diversity in the workplace and is interested in the influence of marketing on society. David Edgar is Professor of Strategy and Business Transformation and member of the Department of Business Management at Glasgow School for Business and Society. His main areas of research and teaching are in the field of strategic management, specifically dynamic capabilities, responsible management, business uncertainty and complexity, and innovation. He has worked with a range of organizations on Business Transformation projects in particular relating to e-Business strategies, innovation, ethical sustainability and knowledge or talent management. David’s interest in innovation relates to innovation as an element of dynamic capabilities and the design of business models. He has a wide range of academic experience from programme development at all levels, to international collaboration and  

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

About the Contributors

academic management and leadership. Professor Edgar is on the editorial board of a range of journals and regularly reviews for journals and conferences. In addition, he regularly contributes to international conference organizing committees, has a number of large research projects and acts as a specialist advisor for a range of organizations and grant awarding bodies. Steven Edgar is a Sports Design Engineering graduate with a Masters from the University of Strathclyde. Having completed a successful design internship with Drafthound, and with a deep interest in football and working on football-related projects, Steven is now working as a design consultant. Daša Fabjan is a senior lecturer for statistics and methodology at the Faculty of Tourism Studies – Turistica at the University of Primorska. Her educational background is in the field of transport technology. Her areas of research include methodology with statistics, transport and tourism. Her present research interest is in tourism planning, destination management, event management, volunteering, and research methods. She is also a member of a successful running event organizing committee. Dirk Förster-Trallo, PhD, is a research associate at the Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW. He conducts research in the field of digital and demographic transformation. He uses quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the influence of digitalisation on innovation processes in small and medium-sized enterprises. He is also an active researcher in the area of individual information processing and decision-making in the occupational field as well as in sports and sports management.

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Andrés Gómez-León is an Economist and master’s degree scholarship holder in economic sciences with emphasis on public management at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. I have 17 years of university experience in teaching, research, consulting and administrative management in the country’s universities. I am an evaluator and member of editorial committees of national journals. I have been an advisor to the ICFES Colombian Institute for the Promotion of Higher Education as an evaluator for the economic analysis module of the Saber PRO test in economics and a consultant to the IDB Inter-American Development Bank on social innovation issues. My research has focused on the topics of sports economics, economics of happiness, economics and film, job satisfaction, social innovation in Latin America, macroeconomics and public finance, microeconomics and consumer behavior, labor market, the field and training of economists, teaching economics to non-economists, social security in Colombia, new political economy and job satisfaction. I have been coordinator of the presentation of qualified records and accreditation of economy programs before the MEN. I act as a member of the Board of Directors of the Asociación de economistas de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Lecturer University of Rosario and Universidad Los Libertadores. Christopher Hayes received his PhD from Cardiff University (2019). His research interests include contemporary British media representation of Japan, the persistence of Orientalist discourses, and foreign tourist perceptions of Japan. In 2019, he undertook research on tourist perceptions of Japan and experiences during the Rugby World Cup 2019 as a Kyoto Studies Research Fellow of the Kyoto Institute, Library and Archives. Now, he is a Research Associate at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, part of the University of East Anglia. He is also a part-time lecturer for the University of Suffolk. His research has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals, as well

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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About the Contributors

as picked up by the British and Japanese press. He is currently interested in how the 2020 Olympics will affect the image of Japan in the British press and is working on a long-term project analysing how press representation of Japan has changed in the past 20 years. Ivan Hernandez is an economist from the National University of Colombia, Ph.D. in Economics of Innovation in Developing Countries from the University of Manchester, UK and has two Masters in Economics (from the National University of Colombia and the University of Warwick, UK). He was for two years Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences at the University of Ibagué, Colombia and is currently a Full Professor of economics at that Faculty. He has also been linked as an employee and advisor of the public sector of Colombia in various national and regional entities. He has worked as a research professor in several Colombian universities and has been a Visiting scholar and research associate at the universities of Sussex and Manchester in the United Kingdom. He is a Member of Number the Colombian Academy of Economic Sciences. Gregor Jagodič is a Professor at International School for Social and Business Studies Celje, Slovenia. His research interests include the areas of marketing research, consumer behavior, brand management marketing, entrepreneurship and leadership. He is an Author or Coauthor of papers published in scientific journals and paper presented at scientific conferences. Aleksander Janeš has a doctoral degree received from the University of Primorska, Faculty of Management. From the diversity of experiences in the economy, with emphasis on project work in the field of operational management, he continues upgrading his professional experiences and skills in tertiary education with lecturing, as a researcher in projects with the economy and by participating in international projects, and as a licensed EFQM assessor. He received the Breakthrough certificate for Leadership Initiative For Excellence from Consortium Institute of Management and Business Analysis – CIMBA. His research areas are first of all operations management, leadership and quality management, and business excellence.

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Saša Zupan Korže received her B.A. from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, completed MBA at Clemson University, USA, and received her doctoral degree from the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Maribor. Her research interests are state administration and justice, privatization, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, hotel management. She lectures at several faculties and colleges in Slovenia. Miha Lesjak is vice dean for international and business relations at University of Primorska, Faculty of tourism studies Turistica. His research interests are focused on sport tourism, impacts of sporting events, international student mobility, event management and destination management. He has performed many contributions in the scientific journals from the field of his research and appearances at the scientific international conferences. Adrian Lubowiecki-Vikuk is an Assistant Professor - Department of Consumer Behaviour Research, SGH Warsaw School of Economics Researcher (Academic) A graduate of Poznan University of Physical Education (MA in Tourism and Leisure, PhD in Physical Culture Science) and SGH Warsaw School of Economics (‘Innovation Manager’). 298

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

About the Contributors

Hazel Maxwell is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania (at the Sydney campus). Her research and teaching focuses on physical activity, community sport, social inclusion and diversity management. She is currently exploring social capital and diversity in non-for profit organisations in sporting contexts. Prior to this, she has worked in a variety of community sport development, health promotion and education settings in Australia and the UK. She regularly presents her research at conferences including the Australia and New Zealand Leisure Studies Association. She publishes in Annals of Leisure Research and Sport Management Review among other journals. Branislav Mitić was born in Belgrade in 1969. He graduated from the College of Mechanical Engineering in 1995 (BA), after which he earned his another BA in economics from the Faculty of Commerce and Banking in 1999. In 2005 he obtained his MA in the field of economic diplomacy from the Faculty of Commerce and Banking in Belgrade and in 2010 he earned PhD from the same faculty with a thesis entitled Foreign Direct Investment Performance and its Impact on Transitional European Countries – the Position of Republic of Serbia. Since March 2001 he has worked as a researcher at the Institute for Foreign Trade in Belgrade, after which he worked at the Yugoslav Chamber of Commerce, and subsequently at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce since 2004. In 2011 he started with activities in education area as assistant professor at the PIM University in Banja Luka – Faculty of Economics (field of marketing) and later as an associate professor (since 2016 at the same University & field). Since 2011 he was on several positions in higher education: Vice-rector for international cooperation (UPIM) Dean of TF (UPIM), and also taught several courses on BA and MA studies. Also he was mentor for more than 70 graduated students. So far he has published 4 university textbooks and more than 70 science and professional papers in the fields of international economic relations, foreign investments, marketing, interpersonal communications, social psychology, logistics, management, foreign trade, employment policy and HR management, as well as non-profit organizations and SME’s. He has also published numerous articles on (monthly) market conditions related to different economic parameters in the Republic of Serbia. He has participated in international conferences. As an associate, he worked on six projects at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and the Institute for Foreign Trade in Belgrade. Branislav is married and has two children.

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Michelle O’Shea is a Senior lecturer and researcher in the faculty of Business at Western Sydney University. Her research interests are in the areas of sport, culture, and society. More specifically her research involves the critical examination of professional and non-profit sport organisation functioning addressing issues relevant to gender and diversity, sport organisation community and societal impacts. Prior to joining Western Sydney University her professional expertise was in Sport Marketing and Sport Business Development. Nicole Peel’s research and teaching focus on leisure and health, recreation therapy, creative approaches and innovative solutions. Nicole is interested in how systems operate and where the areas for change exist to optimise opportunities for healthy outcomes using leisure for marginalised individuals. Matej Plevnik, Ph.D., is a physical education teacher and kinesiologist whose expertise lies in assessing lifelong motor development. He completed undergraduate study in physical education at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Ph.D. study in kinesiology at the University of Primorska (Slovenia). He

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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works as an assistant professor at the University of Primorska, Faculty of Health, where he is a current Vice Dean for Quality for the field of Kinesiology. Thomas Rachfall is Professor for business administration with a special focus on management accounting at HS Merseburg University of Applied Sciences. His research interests are big data, information overload, the influence of management reporting on humans as well as stress - and overload analyses. Furthermore, he is interested in modern (digital) teaching methods and sports data management. Greg Selber is a prolific sports historian who has covered Valley sports since the late 1980s from every possible platform and has published four books on area athletics. He is the winner of numerous journalism honors, from the TABC Golden Hoops award and multiple prizes from the Houston Press Club to the 2011 Putt Powell Award for Texas Sportswriter of the Year. He is also member of the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame. Selber is a full professor at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the department of Communication. Kimberly Selber is an associate professor and director of the graduate program at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the department of Communication. She is also an international awardwinning art director and copywriter.

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Jaime Sierra-González is an Associate Professor at the Business Department, School of Business and Economics - Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Col). PhD in Business and Management, The University of Manchester (UK); Master in Economics of the Internationalisation of Business and Finance, Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”, Rome (Ita); Master in Economics, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; Diploma in International Relations, Academia Diplomática (Col); BA in Education, Universidad Distrital (Col). Co-founder and member of two research groups and two international networks on innovation. Consultant in different projects for entities such as: CAF, IADB, WLO, Colciencias, ISA, Bancoldex, OCyT, Ministry of Industry of Italy. Former member of the Board of Directors at Fundación Escritores. Papers in scientific books published in Italy, Chile, Singapur and Colombia, and journals such as: Journal of Banking and Finance; European Journal of Innovation Management; Latin American Business Review; Journal of Macromarketing; Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science; Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental, Cuadernos de Administración (PUJ); Revista Contaduría (UdeA). Peer reviewer for: Technology Analysis & Strategic Management; International Journal of Innovation Management; Journal of Innovation Economics and Management; Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development; Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science; Academia - Review of the Latin American Council of Management; Cuadernos de Administración (PUJ). Marijana Sikošek has a doctorate degree in Management. She is an assistant professor of tourism management at the Faculty of Tourism Studies – TURISTICA, University of Primorska. Her academic career is based on ten years of experience in tourism and hospitality industry, and event management as well. Her main areas of research interest are Business Tourism, Event management, Special Interest Tourism, tourism education, and tourism experience design. Her research has been published in many scholarly journals.

300

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

About the Contributors

Bruno Sousa is a Professor in Polytechnic Institute of Cavado and Ave (IPCA, Portugal) Head of Master Program - Tourism Management - PhD Marketing and Strategy. He was Market Analist at Sonae Distribuição – Modelo e Continente, S.A. (2006 to 2009) and he was Marketing Assistant - Jornal O Jogo at Controlinveste (2005) - Teaching Award of the School of Economics and Management of the University of Minho 2015/2016 - Best Thesis in Tourism Award - ICIEMC 2015 - Management Graduation, University of Minho Award - Best performance (2006) - Merit Scholarship for Students in Public Higher Education Awards of Merit Scholarship by University of Minho in 2001/02 - 2002/03 - 2003/04 Rresearch centre: CiTUR and Applied Management Research Unit (UNIAG). He is author or co-author of several papers and her research interests include tourism management, marketing and strategy. Editorial board member of several peer reviewed scientific journals and ad-hoc reviewer of several peer-reviewed scientific journals. Member of the scientific committee of several national and international congresses and conferences. Ebru Ulusoy is an Associate Professor in the Business Management Department. Dr.Ulusoy joined Farmingdale State College in Fall 2016. She earned her Ph.D. in Business Administration with a Marketing focus from University of Texas – Pan American. Before joining the School of Business at Farmingdale State College, Dr. Ulusoy served as an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Maine Business School at the University of Maine. Dr. Ulusoy has professional experiences as Assistant Production Manager at a TV channel, and as an account manager in the oldest Public Relations firm in Turkey. Tina Vukasović is a Professor at International School for Social and Business Studies Celje, at Doba Business School Maribor, Slovenia and at University of Primorska, Slovenia. Her research interests include the areas of marketing research, consumer behavior and brand management marketing. She is an Author or Coauthor of papers published in scientific journals and paper presented at scientific conferences.

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Juan Zabala-Sandoval is a Psychologist and Master in Education. He is currently a student of the Doctorate in Social Sciences at the University of Chile. Researcher of the GESS Group, member of Node of social and critical psychology of ASCOFAPSI, director of the research seedbed “From the Margin”. Par evaluator of SCielo and latindex magazines in the areas of social psychology, social sciences and education. He has directed and participated in research projects on the life trajectories of ex-combatants of the Colombian armed conflict and the construction of social identity in street inhabitants. She is currently working on issues related to the processes of individualization in vulnerable populations and the construction of subjectivities in conditions of social exclusion.

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301

Index

2020 Olympics 141, 143, 153

A activation 233, 237, 243, 248-249 aikido 180-181, 185, 187-188, 190-192, 194 Application-Based Exercise 12 athletes 10, 40-41, 43, 51-53, 55, 59, 65, 69-70, 72, 74, 77-79, 145-148, 153, 155-156, 164, 167, 169, 171, 176-177, 180-181, 183-185, 187, 189191, 195-196, 200, 205, 210-211, 213, 215-216, 218-221, 223, 225-226, 232-234, 237, 239-240, 243-244, 246-248, 252 athletics 61, 77-78, 169-172, 174-179, 242 attachment theory 13-14, 17-20, 33-34 Australia 41, 58, 61, 209-219, 221-230

B bodybuilding 180-181, 185, 187-188, 194 Braga Romana 107-109, 112-113, 115-116, 119 brain 1, 3, 5-12 broadcasting 26, 40-41, 43-45, 54, 59, 78, 148, 200, 231, 236 broadcasting rights 43, 59, 236

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C carrying capacity 91-92, 94-95, 97, 102 cognition 1, 4-5, 7-8, 10 Colombia 180-181, 190, 197 community theory 13-14, 17-20, 33 complex and contested growth 209-210 consumer behaviour 38, 73-76, 80, 86, 88-89, 121 coronavirus 1, 6-9, 11, 13-14, 16, 36, 38, 60-62, 64, 66, 68-73, 77-78, 88, 90, 92, 107, 111, 116, 136137, 139-142, 144, 149-150, 153, 169, 179, 197, 205-208, 217, 226, 228, 233, 240-242, 252 COVID-19 1-17, 20, 25-26, 29-37, 40-41, 43, 45-48,

50-75, 77-84, 86-89, 91-92, 96, 98, 101-102, 105, 107, 111, 116, 122, 125-126, 133-139, 152, 154157, 160-164, 166, 168-171, 178, 180-181, 197, 199-201, 203, 205-213, 215, 217-218, 222-223, 225-226, 228, 230, 232-233, 236-238, 240, 242243, 245-247, 249-252, 254 Croatia 137, 199-202, 205-208 Cultural activities 107

D development 10, 12, 16, 18-19, 38, 43-44, 64, 67, 70, 74-75, 78, 88-89, 92-97, 103-105, 107-110, 115-117, 119, 133, 160, 165, 169, 171-172, 177, 182, 188, 196-197, 200-201, 204-205, 210-211, 216, 224, 226, 230, 233, 241-242, 246, 248-250 discipline 171, 173, 176-178, 184-185, 187, 190, 192, 194-196, 242 diversity 21, 75-76, 92, 152, 162, 180-181, 209, 214, 218, 223-224, 226, 229

E education 2, 6-7, 10-11, 64, 74, 80-82, 89-90, 93, 98, 104, 118-119, 131, 134-135, 170-171, 174, 178, 197, 205, 222-223, 231, 241 empty stadiums 13, 16, 55 English Premier League 13-17, 25-27 E-Satisfaction 121 esports 154-168, 249 E-WOM 121 exercise behavior 122-123, 126-135, 182 expected benefts 122-124, 126-128, 130, 132 extra charges 50, 55-56, 59

F fan identity 13-14, 16-17, 19-26, 29-36 Fandom 13-14, 16-17, 20-23, 30-31, 33, 35-36, 38,

 

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

161, 164, 228-229, 231 Fantasy Sports 63, 154-156, 159-168 fnancing 97, 234-235, 244, 247 football 13-14, 16-26, 29-38, 41, 43, 49, 54, 58, 62, 64, 68, 72, 77-78, 119, 161, 163, 166-168, 170, 173-174, 176, 179, 205, 208-210, 212-214, 216217, 225-226, 229, 235, 242

G gender equity 209, 213, 217 German Bundesliga 44-45, 145

I identity theory 13-14, 17-18, 20, 33, 36, 38 Immersive Spectacles 154, 159 inclusion 64, 74, 95, 159, 209, 218, 223-224, 226-227 institutional response 199-201 integration 1, 19, 180-181, 184, 192, 195, 254 international image 139, 142, 148 International Perceptions 139 internet streaming rights 40, 45, 59 IOC 61-62, 64, 139-140, 144-149, 151, 153, 237 isolation 2, 4, 12, 16-17, 20, 122-123, 125-129, 131, 133-138, 164, 181, 183, 195, 201, 239

J Japan 64, 139-153, 237 Journalism 139, 152, 229

L life skills 169, 172-173 longevity 4, 12, 122 Long-Term Cognitive Efects of COVID-19 12

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M media hype 139, 141, 150 mega sports events 147 memory 1, 3, 5-6, 12, 23, 31, 75, 110 Mental Fitness 12 mental health 1, 4-6, 8-10, 12, 16-17, 28, 32-37, 66-67, 69-71, 93, 123, 125, 133, 135, 137, 171, 181-183, 222 mentoring 173-174 merchandising 40-43, 45, 48, 51-52, 57, 59 morale 14, 171, 174, 178

N nationalism 169-170, 177, 179, 200, 246, 253

O Olympics 41, 63, 68, 74, 78, 139-153, 200, 217, 226, 233, 235, 237

P pandemic 1-12, 40-41, 43, 45, 48, 50, 52-54, 56-58, 60-69, 71-78, 80-81, 86-89, 96-98, 101-102, 105, 107, 111, 116, 122-123, 125-127, 130-132, 134137, 139-151, 153-157, 160-171, 176, 178, 180181, 183, 185, 188-189, 191-192, 194-195, 197, 199-200, 205-207, 209-211, 215-219, 221-224, 228, 230, 232-234, 237-238, 240, 242-243, 250 perceived barriers 122-128, 130-134, 137 Performance Increasers 154, 160 physical activity 1-12, 35, 78-79, 89, 91-93, 95, 97-106, 122-126, 131-138, 160, 182-183, 195, 199-201, 207-208, 222-223, 225-227, 229-230, 233, 240 physical environment 91-92, 94, 101-103 physicality 169-170, 219 physiological health 122-123 professional soccer 40, 42, 45 professional sports 40-45, 48-50, 52-55, 57-59, 155, 211-212, 219, 222, 243-244 Professional Sports Revenues 59 Public Health 7, 14, 16, 37, 60, 62, 64, 68, 71, 73, 91-92, 97, 104-105, 111, 123, 132-133, 135-138, 182, 194, 197, 206-207, 230, 240 purchase decision 73, 86

Q quarantine 1-2, 4, 7, 12-13, 66-67, 146, 151, 176, 181, 183, 185, 187-189, 191-192, 194-196, 207, 240-241, 253 Quarantine-Induced Depression/Stress 12

R recreation 91-92, 94, 97-98, 101-102, 104, 134-135, 206, 221-222, 224, 226, 237, 240 recreation load 91, 97-98, 101-102 Recreational Sports Users 232, 239-240 regular exercise 1, 4, 12, 123, 126, 131 Rio Grande Valley 169-170, 179 routines 1, 12-14, 16, 32, 122, 131, 170, 180-181, 184,

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,

186-192, 194-195

S

T teamwork 160, 162, 169-172, 177-178 territorial marketing 107-108, 110-112, 116 Ticket pricing 40 ticket sales 42-43, 45-47, 55-56, 59, 63 Tokyo Olympics 68, 74, 139-151, 153 tourism destination 91-94, 96, 102

U UEFA 14, 41-44, 58, 62

V Virtual Exercise 12 visitor management 91-92, 94-95, 102-104, 106

W walking 5, 93, 97, 99, 102-104, 127, 181 who 2-3, 6, 11-12, 14, 17-19, 23, 26, 42-43, 45, 47, 50-51, 60, 62-64, 68, 71-73, 77-81, 83-84, 86-88, 90-91, 98, 101, 113-114, 116, 123-126, 130-131, 138, 141, 146-147, 150, 154, 156, 158-160, 162164, 171, 173-178, 182, 184, 187-192, 195-196, 201-202, 212-213, 217, 219, 221, 233-236, 238241, 243-244, 248-249, 254

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sedentary lifestyle 1, 3-4, 12, 122, 125 self-esteem 18, 21, 34-35, 124, 171, 173, 178 Serbia 199-201, 203-207, 232 Slovenia 1, 73, 76-77, 89, 91-92, 96-98, 101-102, 104106, 232-233, 236-237, 240, 242-248, 250, 252 social interaction 16, 22-24, 29-30, 147, 154-155, 159, 181 social media 20, 25-26, 30-32, 79, 121, 141, 213-214, 216, 218, 231, 236, 239, 251 social networks 37, 39, 86, 121, 222, 234 socialisation 21, 23-24, 34 socialization 1, 159, 166, 169-170, 176, 178, 228 soft power 139-140, 142-143, 147, 151 spatial planning 91, 95, 102-105 spectators 25, 34, 37, 41, 44-46, 50, 55, 57, 60-61, 66, 145-149, 151, 153-154, 159, 162, 185, 201, 232, 239, 241-242, 253 Sport practices 180 sport sponsorship 232-234, 250 sport system 199-203, 205-206, 208, 237 sports 1, 3, 6, 9-12, 16-17, 21, 29, 33-36, 39-50, 52-55, 57-74, 77-89, 93, 97-99, 101, 103-104, 107-108, 116, 119, 124, 126, 130, 133-134, 137, 139-151, 153-156, 159-174, 176-196, 207, 209-213, 216, 219, 222, 224-225, 227-253 sports and leisure products 73-74, 80-88 sports industry 21, 41-43, 60-65, 67-68, 70-72, 78, 80, 88-89, 154-155, 160, 163, 165, 207, 236 sports organizations 6, 60, 66-67, 108, 231-233, 237, 239, 242-244, 246-247, 252-253 Sports Venue Capacity Management 59 sportsmanship 79, 170-171 squash 180-181, 185, 187, 189-190, 192, 194

strategy 2, 4, 8, 45-47, 55-56, 58-59, 67, 75, 89, 95-96, 109-110, 112, 115-116, 151, 159, 180-181, 184, 187, 194, 232, 234, 238, 242, 244, 248 stress 4-6, 8-9, 12, 16, 18, 32, 35, 66, 122-126, 131133, 162, 171, 182-183, 187 subjectivation 180-181, 184, 195 supporters 13-14, 16-17, 21-23, 26, 28-29, 31, 33-34, 36, 38, 45-47, 51-54, 57, 60-61, 64, 66-67, 146, 244

Impacts and Implications for the Sports Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era, edited by Armand Faganel, et al., IGI Global, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central,