ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has sent a shockwave into society and sport. As result of this, sport and football resuming without spectators - fans or supporters, has brought a number of financial issues that has threatened the sustainability and future of many clubs. This commentary unpicks what has happened and some of the tensions, decision-making and consequences surrounding the return of spectators. The commentary presents the case that spectators are key to the survival of football clubs and that the United Kingdom Government must reverse their decision to not let spectators return. Now more than ever, these words hold substance, meaning and truly matter to clubs and their networked communities, "Football without fans is nothing".
ABSTRACT
Following advances in information technology and the rise of social media, prosumption - a model of simultaneous production and consumption of the commodity - has become a significant focus in many industries and for academic study. Prosumption represents a new message creation and delivery paradigm, where anyone can seamlessly shift from consumer to contributor, to creator. Central to this is the idea of creating 'use-value' and re-orientating 'exchange value'. Perhaps an overlooked facet, but one deeply engrained in its manifestation is that prosumption is inherently relational, involving micro-interaction between consumer and producer. The recent global COVID-19 pandemic, it too being relational in its transmission, has had a paralysing effect on global leisure activities with households and sports organisations experiencing some form of state-enforced residential lockdown. Using social network analysis, this commentary examines the network structure of a prosumed leisure activity during societal lockdown and its implications for the leisure industries.