Thu. Sep 19th, 2024

Coronavirus derails Olympic Games, other sport events

By Bronwen Bain 4 years ago

The first Coronavirus case on South African soil was confirmed on 5 March, and with the number of cases increasing daily, countries all over the world are taking drastic measures to flatten the curve. This includes cancelling most sport events.

The 2020 Olympic Games, due to be held in Japan in July, have just been postponed to next year, but this is merely the greatest of many sport events around the world that have been cancelled or postponed.

On Sunday 15 March, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that gatherings of more than 100 people would be banned indefinitely, bringing the world of sport in South Africa to a standstill.

The novel Coronavirus has led to several sporting events being cancelled or postponed, with no real indication as to when fixtures will resume. Photo: Nathan Rogers on Unsplash.

Here is a list of sporting events that have been affected by Covid-19:

Potchefstroom

  • Parkrun: suspended until at least the end of March.
  • Varsity Cup: postponed, with Varsity Cup management set to reconvene at the end of April to decide the fate of the rest of the tournament.
  • University Sport South Africa: all USSA events set to take place in March and April have been postponed.
  • Potchefstroom Open: cancelled.

National

  • Football: all competitions and qualifiers suspended.
  • Hockey: all hockey events scheduled between March and May have been postponed.
  • Cricket: all forms of cricket have been cancelled for the next 60 days.
  • Tennis: all professional tennis tours have been suspended until 7 June.
  • Netball: all netball activities scheduled for March and April have been suspended with immediate effect.
  • Super Rugby: suspended for the foreseeable future.
  • PRO 14: suspended indefinitely.
  • Hong Kong and Singapore Rugby Sevens: rescheduled for October.
  • Two Oceans Marathon: cancelled.
  • Comrades Marathon: yet to be determined.

International

  • Pakistan Super League: cancelled with immediate effect.
  • English Premier League: postponed until at least 30 April.
  • La Liga: suspended indefinitely.
  • UEFA Champions League and Europa League: postponed.
  • US Masters: postponed.
  • Roland Garros: postponed, moved from May to September.
  • Formula 1: season pushed back until June.
  • Le Mans 2020: postponed, moved from June to September.
  • Copa America: postponed until 2021.
  • Euro 2020: postponed until 2021.
Some sporting associations considered playing matches behind closed doors, but player safety is paramount. Photo: Nathan Rogers on Unsplash.

Canada and Australia previously announced that they would not send athletes to compete if the Olympics were to go ahead in July.

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