This ethnographic report is on how covid-19 has affected the english premier league. I have already tried to do what i can but according to my lecturer it cant be passed as i have no form of questionn
NAME: TAMUNOKURO JOSHUA BEN-KALIO (1812735)
COURSE: FOOTBALL STUDIES
UNIT: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
REFERRAL ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH PROJECT
Premier League suspended indefinitely due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Introduction
This research project will be focused on how the on-going Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) has affected the world of football, mainly, the English Premier League (EPL). According to the EPL, the health and safety of fans around the world is their number one priority, the league states that the only goal that matters right now is to save lives by staying at home and the only support that matters is to support one another. (Premier League, 2020)
BBC SPORT states “The entire football landscape has been transformed in the space of just four weeks as the world seeks to limit the impact of the virus.
The sudden loss of revenue has also forced clubs and players to make tough decisions in order to safeguard their future and help the fight against the disease.” (BBC SPORT, 2020)
In order to develop an effective research project, I have centred my project around these research questions; How the Pandemic affects football and fandom? How are fans coping without football?
Review of Literature
COVID-19
According to (Newey and Gulland, 2020), Coronaviruses are a group of infections that cause illness in living creatures. Seven, including the new infection, have made the hop to humans, however, most only cause cold-like Symptoms. Coronavirus is firmly identified with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which cleared far and wide in 2002 to 2003. That virus contaminated around 8,000 individuals and killed around 800 people, but it long forced itself to leave, to a great extent in light of the fact that the greater part of those infected were truly sick so it was simpler to control.
COVID-19 & THE FIGURES
COVID-19 emerged from (Wuhan) China at the end of 2019 and has quickly spread round the globe. Up until this point, around 20 percent of Covid-19 cases have been classed as "extreme" and the current death rate differs between 0.7 percent and 3.4 percent relying upon the area and, essentially, access to great medical clinic care. More than 4.2 million people are known to be infected and more than 291,000 deaths have been recorded - including 33,186 in the UK.
An aggregate of 229,705 individuals in the UK have tested positive for the virus. An old individual with underlying medical problems became the first individual in Britain to die having been declared to have the illness, Royal Berkshire NHS Trust affirmed on March 5. From that point forward, an aggregate of 33,186 individuals have died. (Newey and Gulland, 2020)
COVID-19 & FOOTBALL
Elite football in England has been required to be postponed until further notification, with a few different leagues across Europe additionally being deferred due to the coronavirus outbreak. Juventus centre back Daniele Rugani became the first player to be infected with the virus across Europe. Rugani's team mates, Blaise Matuidi and Paulo Dybala then tested positive for COVID-19. From that point onwards, the virus quickly spread across Italy and then affected players from Sampdoria and Fiorentina football clubs.
(Wilson, 2020)
In England, Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, 19, became the first Premier League player to test positive for coronavirus. The clubs entire squad had to go into self-isolation however the club said Hudson-Odi has now recovered after series of medical help. It quickly became a serious issue when Arsenal’s head coach Mikel Arteta tested positive for COVID-19 and the club had to shut their training facilities while players and staff who had close contact with Arteta self-isolate. This caused the game that was to be played between Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove Albion postponed. A few numbers of clubs stated that several players and staff have contacted the virus, which led to them self-isolating. The teams in the league did everything they could to ensure the safety of players, coaches and staff as well as imposing self-isolation measures. (Wilson, 2020)
Following this news, a good number of Premier League players took to social media to express their thoughts concerning the Pandemic. Manchester City’s striker Sergio Aguero expressed reservations about returning to action as the nation continues to be overwhelmed by the Coronavirus. (Skilbeck, 2020)
COVID-19 AND FANDOM
COVID-19 has affected the world in so many different ways, physically dangerous and mentally harming to humans. Taking the world by storm, this global pandemic has brought about a drastic change which has caused sporting organizations to go on a suspension till it has been declared safe to return to its normal procedures. Several organisations have made it known that the safety of their employees and fans remain their main priority.
THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION’s STATEMENT (COVID-19)
On the 19th of March 2020, The FA released an official statement in regard to the on-going pandemic.
“The FA, Premier League, EFL and women’s professional game, together with the PFA and LMA, understand we are in unprecedented times and our thoughts are with everyone affected by COVID-19.
We've collectively supported UEFA in postponing EURO 2020 to create space in the calendar to ensure domestic and European club league and cup matches have an increased opportunity to be played and, in doing so, maintain the integrity of each competition.
The FA’s Rules and Regulations state that “the season shall terminate not later than the 1 June” and “each competition shall, within the limit laid down by The FA, determine the length of its own playing season”.
Additionally, we've collectively agreed that the professional game in England will be further postponed until no earlier than Thursday 30 April.”
UEFA COMPETITIONS (COVID-19)
The FA published these statements concerning UEFA competitions;
"People’s health and well-being has to be the primary concern for all of us, so we fully support UEFA’s decision to postpone EURO 2020," said FA CEO Mark Bullingham.
UEFA EURO 2020 was scheduled to take place in twelve cities across Europe from 12 June to 12 July 2020. The proposed new dates are 11 June - 11 July 2021.
"The health of fans, staff and players has to be our number one priority, and, in that spirit, UEFA tabled a range of options so that competitions can finish this season safely and I am proud of the response of my colleagues across European football.” said FA chairman Greg Clarke.
The chairman praised UEFA for taking the bold step to postpone the UEFA EURO competition knowing that was a big sacrifice which comes at a huge cost for UEFA.
He also added, "Purpose over profit has been our guiding principle in taking this decision for the good of European football as a whole."
UEFA has though reassured existing ticket buyers and hospitality clients that if they are unable to attend the competitions in 2021, the value of their tickets and packages will be refunded in full. (Veevers, 2020)
Champions League and Europa League matches are scheduled to be played behind closed doors, says UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. The presidents said “football is not the same without spectators” but he insisted that it is better played behind closed doors and to be broadcasted on TV than not at all. (Sky Sports, 2020)
What does this mean for football fans and how are fans coping without football?
Football being played behind closed doors is like an orchestra performing in an empty recital hall. Football is played with eleven players but on several occasions, the fans are being regarded as the 12th man. The support of the fans brings an electrifying atmosphere in football stadiums. The relationship between a fan and its football club could be established in so many ways. Majority of the fans who are affiliated with their clubs is as a result of them being from the same community. It has become a tradition for some families to support their community’s football club for generations. In doing so, the community becomes a family itself. The love fans have for their clubs is unexplainable, making the sport more than just a game.
This Pandemic has deprived fans from doing what they enjoy doing. Fans are having to adapt to a new way of life, for those who have made it a routine to always be at the pub at noon to watch the weekends round of fixtures have been affected seriously as that part of their life is taken away. Some people make living from betting from weekend matches, with games not being played, it has made it very difficult for them to sustain themselves and their families. World Health Organization is yet to announce a reliable vaccine meaning no one is certain how long the Coronavirus will last. Leaving fans to deal with not knowing when next they will be able to watch their favourite teams play again. BBC, BT and Sky use the football season to encourage fans to subscribe. As there is no football, fans are left thinking they have spent all that money only to not get the full value. Football clubs are doing their best to protect the integrity of the staff and fans. As several teams have decided to take pay-cuts to keep up with the maintenance and the safe running of the club. Some clubs are giving back money for tickets with Champions League and Premier League games set to be behind closed doors.
The mental health of fans is very important as a lot of people use football as their escape.
Research Design
To produce a critical research project on the topic; Premier League suspended indefinitely due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. I used a focus group method and a document analysis method. The focus group method assisted in obtaining data from a selected group of individuals (FANs) rather than from a statistically representative sample pf a broader population (Football organizations).
Since I was unable to get people to interview due to me self-isolating, I decided to use the document analysis method to give voice and meaning around my research topic.
Critical Analysis
Emergent themes from the research;
PUBLIC HEALTH
The Public Health of England’s core functions is disease surveillance; making sure we have the right information available to us at the right time to inform decisions and actions across the public health system. (GOV.UK, 2020)
Code: Coronavirus, self-isolation, social distancing, games played behind closed doors.
PHYSIOLOGY
Frontline clinicians treating coronavirus patients can now gain access to up-to-the-minute advice from human physiology experts thanks to a new initiative hosted by The Physiological Society.
Code: infecting the body, symptoms, football players staying healthy
RACE AND ETHNICTY
This was another prominent theme in this research as it had to deal with different aspects such as the virus emerging from Wuhan China, different leagues across Europe being affected and also different ethnicity of players.
FINANCE
The postponement of the UEFA EURO 2020 really caused the organization a lot due to how much had been invested into the tournament that was meant to be held in 2020, it has now been postponed till 2021.
REFRENCES
BBC Sport. 2020. Coronavirus: How Premier League Has Been Hit By Pandemic. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52254512> [Accessed 10 May 2020].
Newey, B. and Gulland, A., 2020. What Is Coronavirus, How Did It Start And How Big Could It Get?. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/13/what-coronavirus-global-pandemic-china/> [Accessed 13 May 2020].
Premierleague.com. 2020. Coronavirus (COVID-19) We Are One Team | Premier League. [online] Available at: <https://www.premierleague.com/coronavirus> [Accessed 10 May 2020].
Publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk. 2020. Coronavirus (COVID-19): Using Data To Track The Virus - Public Health Matters. [online] Available at: <https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/04/23/coronavirus-covid-19-using-data-to-track-the-virus/> [Accessed 11 May 2020].
Skilbeck, J., 2020. UK Government Rules Players Can 'Opt Out' As Premier League Training Given Green Light Amid Coronavirus Pandemic | Goal.Com. [online] Goal.com. Available at: <https://www.goal.com/en/news/uk-government-rules-players-can-opt-out-as-premier-league/axa3chr4yvn013bp3w8n1j8dz> [Accessed 11 May 2020].
Sky Sports. 2020. Champions League And Europa League Could Be Played Behind Closed Doors, Says UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin. [online] Available at: <https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11968972/champions-league-and-europa-league-could-be-played-behind-closed-doors-says-uefa-president-aleksander-ceferin> [Accessed 14 May 2020].
Veevers, N., 2020. Mark Bullingham Speaks On Postponement Of UEFA EURO 2020 And COVID-19 Updates. [online] www.thefa.com. Available at: <http://www.thefa.com/news/2020/mar/17/uefa-euro-2020-statement-170320> [Accessed 11 May 2020].
Wilson, A., 2020. Coronavirus In Football: List Of Players, Managers Who Have Tested Positive For COVID-19. [online] Express.co.uk. Available at: <https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1255618/Coronavirus-in-football-confirmed-cases-who-tested-positive-Premier-League-Serie-A-La-Liga> [Accessed 10 May 2020].
www.thefa.com. 2020. COVID-19 Sees Professional Football Postponed Until 30 April. [online] Available at: <http://www.thefa.com/news/2020/mar/19/joint-fa-efl premier-league-statement-update-on-professional-football-covid-19-190320> [Accessed 12 May 2020].
www.thefa.com. 2020. The FA Handbook 2019-20. [online] Available at: <http://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/lawsandrules/fa-handbook> [Accessed 12 May 2020].
